Salinger (Blu-ray) (2013)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Trailer-Parkland Trailer-Red Obsession
Rating
Year Of Production	2013
Running Time	129:09
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Shane Salerno
Studio Distributor	Weinstein Company Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Philip Seymour Hoffman Edward Norton John Cusack Martin Sheen Tom Wolfe Gore Vidal
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Lorne Balfe

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 (2304Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (640Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

“Uncover the mystery but don't spoil the secrets!”

    The observation that Jerome David (JD) Salinger only published one novel amongst a slew of short stories in over twenty years is unremarkable - except for the fact that the novel in question was The Catcher in the Rye. With Catcher JD Salinger had written one of the most important pieces of fiction in modern literary history, and made the novel’s hero Holden Caulfield an inspiration to young people of all persuasions and generations. The enormous success that came with Catcher also brought with it a heavy weight which seemed to crush the already fragile Salinger. Turning to a semi-reclusive lifestyle Salinger battled with demons including the knowledge that he’d never be able to top Catcher or escape the fame that came from it. In this documentary Shane Salerno has brought to the screen a definitive expose of Salinger’s life, including his harrowing war years, his intellect, his ego, and finally his ultimate decline. Not to be glossed over are his faults and frailties – some exposed and some implied. Salinger is a fascinating literary figure, and fortunately Salerno has managed to capture the aura surrounding this enigmatic man.

    Born on New Year's Day in New York 1919, JD Salinger was still in secondary school when his first short stories were being written. Despite poor grades at school and university Salinger had a love for writing and eventually The New Yorker magazine became a favoured repository for his works. It was from that publication that fame came with the 1947 inclusion of Perfect Day for Bananafish. Salinger had been traumatised by his WWII experiences including the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, and Bananafish with its themes of self-absorption, depression and suicide is considered to be Salinger’s take on his own psyche. Real fame came in 1951 with publication of The Catcher in the Rye - a novel that spoke to adolescents everywhere and which made him a literary superstar. Over the next fifteen years Salinger wrote and published further short stories but became a virtual recluse, moving to rural New Hampshire and preferring the company of young people. Having been briefly married in 1945 to the mysterious Sylvia Welter, a 26-year-old German-born ophthalmologist, his subsequent marriage in 1955 to 22 year old student Claire Douglas produced two children, Matthew and Margaret (Peggy). 1965 saw the publication in the New Yorker magazine of his final released work, a short story Hapworth 16, 1924 which was not received favourably by critics. Divorced again in 1967, Salinger began a dalliance with 18 year old student Joyce Maynard, but again that romance does not last. After a period including litigation to prevent unauthorised publications of his work and an unauthorised biography Salinger married for a third time around the year 1991. Nurse Colleen O’Neill was forty years younger than the 72 year old author. In 2010 at the age of 91 Salinger died of natural causes at his home. Up until that time his health had been good although an earlier hip fracture had rendered him fragile. The Salinger legend remained strong however, and was perhaps even enhanced by his reclusive nature. Given the mystery surrounding the man his story was ripe for telling, and sensitivities for his distaste of publicity was negated with his death.

    Shane Salerno’s documentary is obviously a labour of love and designed to humanise the subject rather than just depict a set of cold facts. A notable range of famous and not so famous faces are regularly on screen to add their thoughts to the Salinger story, with either personal memories or anecdotes of how their lives were affected by Salinger and his famous book. Most of the surviving players in Salinger’s life are included and encouraged to open up on the reclusive man. This presentation is not a hagiography and his vices and foibles are explored as much as his virtues. Along with his genius Salinger was vain, egocentric, and impatient. He also had an apparent predilection with young girls – although it is stressed that this never seemed to stray into illegal activities. Although an apparent recluse in the latter half of his life, Salinger was not scared of people - he just could not be bothered with social intercourse unless it was on his terms.

    Salinger is relatively long at a little over two hours but there is enough here to satisfy even the casual viewer. Salerno has incorporated a fascinating selection of contributors and extensive archival footage into proceedings. If there might be a criticism it would be in his usage of re-enactments which I found a bit amateurish. Salerno also leaves us with a teaser that Salinger left a wealth of unpublished material that might yet be released to the public.

Video

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu featured looping audio with animated background.

Movie Trailers (appearing before the main menu)

    All HD video and Dolby Digital 2.0 at 640 Kb/s. Parkland (2:26); Red Obsession (2:51).

    At time or writing there isn’t a region A release of Salinger but I anticipate the contents will be the same apart from language options.

    Salinger is a bit long and repeats itself somewhat, but as an expose in the mysterious JD Salinger it succeeds. Salerno didn’t have a lot to work with so the use of contributors with little or no direct contact with Salinger is understandable. I came away from this review thinking that there was a lot more to Salinger than what we know. It’s a pity JD Salinger was so miserly with his thoughts, but I'm sure he would have hated this movie.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    Extras are poor.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall