Directed by Joe Massot (who would later make The Song Remains The Same) in 1968, Wonderwall is noteworthy for being the first movie that George Harrison did the music for. The storyline, such as it is, follows a strange fifty-something man named Professor Oscar Collins (Jack MacGowran) who lives all alone in his apartment. His life changes when a beautiful, and much younger, model named Penny Lane (Jane Birkin) moves into the apartment next door. Somewhat understandably, Collins quickly finds himself drawn to his gorgeous new neighbor, but this quickly seems to turn from admiration to obsession as he starts drilling holes in the walls that connect their abodes so that he can spy on her.

The more he indulges in this, the more he seems to drift from reality into a trippy dreamscape. When he stops showing up at work to spend as much time peering through the wall as he can, his colleague, Perkins (Richard Wattis) starts to wonder if he'll ever return. Meanwhile, Penny is suffering from depression brought about her relationship with her boyfriend (Iain Quarrier),

Wonderwall (and yes, that is where Oasis got the name for their song) shares some interesting similarities with Polanski's Repulsion and given that both movies were written by Gerard Brach, it's probably not a coincidence. This film takes a far stranger and much lighter approach to the idea, however, with most of the comedy (not all of which is that effective) stemming from MacGowran's enthusiastic portrayal of the eccentric and absentminded Collins. Here is a man who very obviously lacks focus, who writes down the things that he has to do each day and seems to have trouble remembering some of his co-workers' names. Yet when Penny moves in next door, his focus is singular and precise. Her arrival, at first an annoyance to him when he hears her music coming through the walls, creates a massive shift in her character and it's once this shift occurs that the movie delves head first into acid-inspired hallucinatory where inanimate butterflies erupt into animated life and where an older man like Collins can battle Penny's younger, stronger boyfriend with the aid of exaggerated prop weapons like a giant pen or a massive cigarette (the boyfriend sporting a Superman outfit with an ‘L' and a ‘D' on the left and right side of the trademark ‘S' respectively).

Harrison's soundtrack work for the picture is heavy on sitar music so how much you get out of what is obviously the film's main draw (for most people… some of us are more interested in this for the presence of Birkin!) will depend on your personal appreciation for that particular instrument but the compositions are interesting. Also worth noting is the film's use of color, which is heavy on psychedelic swirls and strange contrasts, particularly in the scenes that take place in Collins' apartment rather than Penny's (possibly in an attempt to point out that the life of a fashion model is not as interesting as some might expect it to be).

The performances are decent here. MacGowran brings an eclectic tone to his work in the picture and makes out of Collins an eccentric and socially awkward character that is, if nothing else, interesting to watch. Birkin's work is very much the opposite of his. She has nothing to say, her character goes about her business and we see this ravishing beauty in mundane situations that then morph into Collins' fantasies. Given that she doesn't have a whole lot of dialogue it's to her credit that she's as mesmerizing to watch here as she is. Birkin was always beautiful, here she's beyond that and quite captivating. The movie might be fairly plotless and decidedly weird simply for the sake of being weird, but it is not without its merits or its curiosity value.

Note: This Blu-ray release of Wonderwall includes both the original theatrical cut of the movie and the director's cut of the film. Going against the grain, the director's cut is actually seventeen minutes shorter than the theatrical cut. As to which version is better? It all comes down to personal preference, really. The theatrical cut is more unusual and at times more surreal while the pacing on the director's cut is improved. Having both versions presented as they are here is the ideal solution. Massot's director's cut does include a Harrison song called ‘In The First Place' that didn't make its way into the theatrical cut.

Video:

Wonderwall arrives on Blu-ray in an AVC encoded 1.66.1 1080p high definition transfer that generally looks really nice. Colors are reproduced very vibrantly here without ever looking artificially boosted while black levels stay pretty solid throughout. Some shots show heavier grain than others but there isn't much in the way of actual print damage to complain about. Detail looks quite impressive most of the time, though some shots look to have been done with some softness in mind, while skin tones appear lifelike and natural throughout. There aren't any problems with heavy noise reduction or edge enhancement and shadow detail looks pretty good here as well. If you squint and look for it you might pick up on some minor crush in a few of the darker scenes but otherwise, this is a very good transfer.