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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Interiors (1978)

Interiors (1978)

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Released 10-May-2004

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Drama Theatrical Trailer
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 1978
Running Time 88:00
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Woody Allen
Studio
Distributor

MGM
Starring Kristin Griffith
Mary Beth Hurt
Richard Jordan
Diane Keaton
E.G. Marshall
Geraldine Page
Maureen Stapleton
Sam Waterston
Missy Hope
Kerry Duffy
Nancy Collins
Penny Gaston
Roger Morden
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI ? Music None Given


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
German Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
French Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired
English Titling
French
Italian
Spanish
Dutch
Portuguese
Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    This DVD is one of seven contained in the box set The Woody Allen Collection which includes all of Woody's feature films from the 1970s. Unlike the others in the set and nearly every other film Woody Allen has made, this is not a comedy and has no comedic elements whatsoever. This film is a dark, dense and somewhat depressing drama abut human relationships focussing on family dynamics. This film was made in 1978 and was subsequently nominated for 5 Academy and numerous other awards.

    The plot focuses on one family including the mother, Eve (Geraldine Page), who is cold, manipulative and an attention-seeking drama queen. She is also an interior designer and seems to try to inflict her designs on the whole family. Her husband of many years, Arthur (E.G. Marshall) has finally decided that he has had enough of her and moves out of their home, despite her desperate desire for him to stay. Their three grown daughters approach this issue in different ways and have obviously all been affected by their mother over the years. The oldest, Renata (Diane Keaton), is a successful writer but is also quite emotionally stunted in her relationships. She bears resentment toward her mother but is unable to confront her. The next daughter, Joey (Marybeth Hurt) is completely indecisive and has no idea what to do with herself, jumping from job to job. She tends to be more honest with her mother and gets more respect from the father. The youngest daughter, Flyn (Kristin Griffith), is a budding actress who seems to avoid the problems in the family, leaving their mother to the two older daughters. It should be noted that the blurb on the back cover of this film mixes up Joey & Flynn's characters. The cast is rounded out by Renata's husband, Frederick (Richard Jordan), who is also a writer but less successful and a heavy drinker, Michael (Sam Waterston, now well known for Law & Order), Joey's long-suffering de-facto and Pearl (Maureen Stapleton), the new and very different woman in Arthur's life. The plot examines the way these changes affect the already difficult relationships within this family.

    The film has very much the feel and style of a stage play, with minimal sets & lighting, no score and music only in one short scene. The focus is on the dialogue and the interaction of the characters. Although being well received by the critics it was certainly not a box office success. Visually, this film is quite dark, with most characters (with the exception of Pearl) wearing grey, brown and tan clothing. Pearl's bright clothing and the music are used to highlight how different she is from Eve and her daughters. There is a recurring motif of light in most scenes being provided by lamps rather than normal lighting. The film was Oscar nominated for the art direction. The ensemble cast all do a good job of portraying their mostly very-difficult-to-like characters. Both Geraldine Page and Maureen Stapleton were nominated for Oscars for their acting. Woody Allen wrote and directed the film and was nominated for both.

    Overall, this is quite an artistic and interesting film, however it is lacking in entertainment value.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is reasonable but certainly not anything special. Overall the picture was quite dark.

    The feature is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was reasonably clear and sharp throughout but had a distinct softness about it. There was no evidence of low level noise. Shadow detail was poor with night scenes showing few details, although this may have been a stylistic choice.

    The colour was quite washed out but as mentioned above the film was designed to look cold and sterile with minimal colour.

    The only noticeable artefacts were reasonably regular flecks and specks.

    There are subtitles in six European languages including English and English for the Hearing Impaired. The English subtitles were clear, easy to read and quite close to the spoken word.

    This is a single layered disc.
    

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

Audio

    The audio quality is fine.

    This DVD contains five audio options, a Dolby Digital 2.0 mono soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s and the same in English, German, French , Italian & Spanish. As this film includes only a small amount of music and virtually no other sounds besides dialogue, the mono soundtrack suits the film.

    Dialogue was mostly clear and easy to understand, however, the subtitles were required to check what some dialogue actually was.    

    There were no problems with audio sync.    

    There is no score and music plays in only one short scene. The music is old jazz music as you would expect in a Woody Allen film.

    The surround speakers & subwoofer were not used.

    

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

Extras

Menu

    The menu includes a scene selection function.

Theatrical Trailer (2:37)

    The theatrical trailer is presented in 1.33:1 and consists of critics' quotes and scenes from the film.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The Region 1 release seems to be identical except for PAL/NTSC differences and the inclusion of a booklet.

Summary

    This disc contains a dark, dense and slightly depressing relationship drama directed by Woody Allen.

    The video quality is reasonable.

    The audio quality is fine for the movie but is mono.

    The disc has only a theatrical trailer as an extra.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Review Equipment
DVDToshiba 1200, using Component output
DisplaySony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC).
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationPioneer VSX-511
SpeakersBose 201 Direct Reflecting (Front), Phillips SB680V (Surround), Phillips MX731 (Center), Yamaha YST SW90 (Sub)

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