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Sleeper
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Features: Widescreen Anamorphic - 1.85:1, Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1. Subtitles: Spanish, French. Theatrical trailer.
The Movie:
By 1973 Woody Allen had already established himself as one of the most important new talents in Hollywood. His films 'Play it Again Sam' and 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex' were critical and popular successes but his best was yet to come. Over the next ten years Allen would write and direct a string of classics including Anny Hall, Interiors, Stardust Memories, Zelig and Sleeper.
Sleeper concerns the adventures of a health food store owner and clarinet player Miles Monroe who, in 1973, is placed in cryogenic suspension after complications arise during routine surgery. Two hundred years later dissident scientists uncover Monroe, thaw him out and recruit him as an agent in their underground movement against the fascist government. Monroe is wholly unequipped to deal with life in 2273 though and quickly falls into the hands of the authorities where he is reprogrammed.
The story doesn't end there but to focus strictly on plot is to miss the entire point of Sleeper. The film is in large part Allen's tribute to his favorite comics and he pays homage in turn to the Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields and a host of others. The laughs come fast and furious thanks to copious one liners, innumerable sight gags, a host of absurd situations and a heaping helping of '70s satire.
The Picture:
Sleeper is presented in full anamorphic widescreen. The transfer is passable but not spectacular. Contrast, black levels and shadow detail are right on but color saturation is a little intense leading to various instances of bleed. In addition you'll find a number of cases of digital artifacting in the form of dot crawl and a good deal of ringing. In addition the original film elements used were far from pristine showing some dirt and scratches and several instances of frame jitter.
The Sound:
The original mono track is intact here and sounds very clean and clear. The dynamic range is somewhat limited and the dialogue has a tendency to distort when voices get loud.
The Extras:
Sleeper is almost completely devoid of ancillary content. The disc contains a battered version of the original theatrical trailer and both full screen and wide screen versions of the film. In addition there's a nice but brief printed insert with some historical information and a list of the principal cast.
Conclusion:
Considering the fact that Woody Allen is one of the most important directors of our time one has to wonder why MGM didn't devote more effort to this disc. Granted, Sleeper is far from his most significant film but I would have enjoyed learning more about its production. That being said I recommend the disc based on the quality of the film alone.
The Movie:
By 1973 Woody Allen had already established himself as one of the most important new talents in Hollywood. His films 'Play it Again Sam' and 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex' were critical and popular successes but his best was yet to come. Over the next ten years Allen would write and direct a string of classics including Anny Hall, Interiors, Stardust Memories, Zelig and Sleeper.
Sleeper concerns the adventures of a health food store owner and clarinet player Miles Monroe who, in 1973, is placed in cryogenic suspension after complications arise during routine surgery. Two hundred years later dissident scientists uncover Monroe, thaw him out and recruit him as an agent in their underground movement against the fascist government. Monroe is wholly unequipped to deal with life in 2273 though and quickly falls into the hands of the authorities where he is reprogrammed.
The story doesn't end there but to focus strictly on plot is to miss the entire point of Sleeper. The film is in large part Allen's tribute to his favorite comics and he pays homage in turn to the Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields and a host of others. The laughs come fast and furious thanks to copious one liners, innumerable sight gags, a host of absurd situations and a heaping helping of '70s satire.
The Picture:
Sleeper is presented in full anamorphic widescreen. The transfer is passable but not spectacular. Contrast, black levels and shadow detail are right on but color saturation is a little intense leading to various instances of bleed. In addition you'll find a number of cases of digital artifacting in the form of dot crawl and a good deal of ringing. In addition the original film elements used were far from pristine showing some dirt and scratches and several instances of frame jitter.
The Sound:
The original mono track is intact here and sounds very clean and clear. The dynamic range is somewhat limited and the dialogue has a tendency to distort when voices get loud.
The Extras:
Sleeper is almost completely devoid of ancillary content. The disc contains a battered version of the original theatrical trailer and both full screen and wide screen versions of the film. In addition there's a nice but brief printed insert with some historical information and a list of the principal cast.
Conclusion:
Considering the fact that Woody Allen is one of the most important directors of our time one has to wonder why MGM didn't devote more effort to this disc. Granted, Sleeper is far from his most significant film but I would have enjoyed learning more about its production. That being said I recommend the disc based on the quality of the film alone.
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