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Released by: BFI
Released on: 4/25/2011
Director: Michael Sarne
Cast: Genevieve Waite, Calvin Lockhart, Donald Sutherland
Year: 1968
The Movie:
Directed by Michael Sarne in 1968, before he exploded with Myra Breckinridge shortly after, this British/American co-production (20th Century Fox was all over this one) stars pretty Genevieve Waite as, you guessed it, Joanna. When we meet her she's in London studying art and trying to make it in the big city where she falls in love with a black guy named Gordon (Calvin Lockhart), the brother of her friend Beryl (Glenna Forster-Jones). They have a whirlwind romance and then she befriends an older man (Donald Sutherland) who just so happens to be ridiculously wealthy and into travel and who is, sadly, terminally ill. He pays for Joanna and her friends to head off to Morocco where they hang out with similarly minded Moroccan artsy types - and that's about it.
There's not much of a story here, really, the film sort of bounces Waite around from one oddball set piece to the next, culminating in a bizarre song and dance number that doesn't really provide much closure but at least ends the film on a fairly memorable note. The movie bumps the completely charming Waite around from giddy encounter to giddy encounter with a good bit of 'free love' era bed hopping thrown in though never to the point where it feels particularly dirty. Rather, the film gives you the impression that all involved are simply having a good time doing what they're doing - celebrating art, celebrating sexual freedom, and celebrating life in general. This even rings true with Sutherland's dying millionaire, a man who obviously wants to make the most of his last days and surround himself with beautiful young women.
Far more concerned with color composition, camera angles, pop art sensibility and a good score than narrative structure the movie makes good use of the music that comes courtesy of Rod McKuen, who provides both instrumental and vocal tracks throughout the film. His soft singing style and raspy voice fit well within whatever context Sarne manages to create here, and his work stands out. Sarne flirts with surrealism here, influenced by Fellini so says the liner notes, and if you squint and really concentrate you can at least understand why some might see that connection. There's a certain sense of irreverence that isn't so far removed from some of the Italian surrealist/art films that were being made around the same time as or slightly before this one.
Genevieve Waite would later marry John Phillips of The Mamas And The Papas fame and together they'd have a daughter - Bijou Phillips, who would go on to be quite famous in her own right. Calvin Lockhart would appear in The Beast Must Die for Amicus, while Donald Sutherland, who really steals the show here, is obviously famous for plenty of A-list productions but will always hold a special place in this reviewer's heart for his turn in Kelly's Heroes.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The BFI's 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen 1080p high definition transfer, taken from the film's original negative, is excellent. There's a healthy coat of natural looking film grain present throughout but no real print damage and the color reproduction is very strong and natural looking, without ever looking artificially pumped up. Skin tones, of which there are many on display, also fare quite well and look nice and detailed and lifelike, not pink or waxy at all thought it does look like a bit of DNR has been applied in some shots (you'll occasionally notice this in close up shots), eliminating some fine detail along the way. Shadow detail is also strong, with nice inky black levels staying strong and consistent without smearing the backgrounds or hiding anything from the camera. When DVNR doesn't come into play, the close up shots of the actors are very crisp and even the scenes that take place in darker locales look quite strong.
The English language 48 kHz/24 bit PCM 2.0 Mono track, which comes with optional closed captioning in English only, doesn't have a ton of range and shows the limitations of its source but is otherwise fine. There are no problems with hiss or distortion to complain about nor are there any issues with the levels. The film's soundtrack sounds quite good while the dialogue is always crisp and clear and perfectly balanced.
Extras are plentiful and the disc includes a thirty one minute short film called A Road To Saint Tropez which was made by Sarne in 1966 and which is basically a freewheeling travelogue bit that tours us around parts of Europe and which features a young Udo Kier in a prominent role - it's as interesting as it is obscure. Death May Be Your Santa Claus is another short film, this time from 1967 and directed by Frankie Dymon Jr.. Like the main feature attraction, it explores interracial relationships in the London of the 1960s, but unlike the main feature it's so disjointed that it somehow loses its point and stops making much sense. It's interesting to see though, at least from an experimental filmmaking standpoint. Menus and chapter stops round out the disc, though included with the Blu-ray is a full color booklet containing essays from authors Chris Campion and Kodwo Eshun on the film and on the people who made it which help to put all of this in context and which are completely worthwhile reads.
The Final Word:
A trippy and periodically psychedelic time capsule of the London that once was, Joanna gets a pretty impressive Blu-ray debut from the ever reliable BFI with a great transfer, nice audio, and a decent array of extras.
Click on the images below for full size Blu-ray screen caps!
