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Released by: Twilight Time Releasing
Released on: April 8th, 2014.
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Nick Apollo Forte, Morty Gunty
Year: 1984
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The Movie:
Written and directed by Woody Allen, 1984's Broadway Danny Rose begins with a scene in Manhattan's iconic Carnegie Deli where a group of comedians (played by Sandy Baron, Corbett Monica, Jackie Gayle, impressionist Will Jordan) are sitting around a table telling stories to one another about the worst talent agent in the business - Danny Rose (Woody Allen). Oh sure, he's got a good heart, he's a nice guy too, but he has a knack for picking the goofiest clients imaginable and has somehow made a career out of booking acts like an aging couple who make balloon animals.
As the four men tell their stories, one of them soon brings up what he claims is the best Danny Rose story, which segues into the main plot of the film wherein Danny decides he's going to spearhead a comeback for Lou Canova (Nick Apollo Forte), an alcoholic lounge singer who had one hit back in the 1950s. On top of Lou's drinking problem, he's also pretty full of himself, but Danny, being Danny and having the best of intentions, believes in Lou. He does what he can to start booking him better gigs and after a solid performance at the Waldorf Hotel, Lou winds up with the chance to open for Milton Berle (playing himself) for a few nights. Lou starts to crack under the pressure and tells Danny that the only way he can pull this off is if Danny becomes Lou's beard and brings his mistress Tina (Mia Farrow) in from New Jersey to sit in the audience. So he does, but after he picks her up, they wind up being tailed by some hitmen (one of whom is the late Paul Greco, who will be instantly recognizable to fans of Walter Hill's The Warriors as the leader of The Orphans). As Lou falls inside a bottle, Danny and Tina strike up an unconventional relationship.
Say what you will about where Woody Allen and Mia Farrow's relationship has gone over the years but they really did make some great movies together and Broadway Danny Rose is one of their best. Allen isn't really breaking new ground as an actor here, he plays the type of nebbish but likeable neurotic stereotype he's known for but Farrow really does think outside the box with her take on the Jersey girl she plays in this film. Normally waifish and mild, here she's brassy, tough talking and fearless and it's interesting not only to see Farrow cast against type in this part but also to note just how convincing she is in the role - you really forget that it's her for most of the movie. Nick Apollo Forte is also very good here, he's completely believable as the boisterous has been and he's definitely got the right sort of pompous swagger to pull off the performance scenes perfectly, but at the same time he's able to really communicate just how insecure his character really is. All three of the leads here really deliver great work, and the supporting cast members are all enjoyable as well, and those scenes with the four comedians in the deli are just classic.
The movie goes at a good pace, it's consistently funny throughout and as it builds to its conclusion, it develops an affectionate warmth that makes it hard to dislike. On top of that, the cinematography by Gordon Willis is flawless. There are some amazing compositions here that, like in the best of Allen's films, really makes the city as important a character in the film as any of the human performers.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Framed at 1.85.1 widescreen and presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition, Broadway Danny Rose looks gorgeous on Blu-ray. The black and white picture is free of all but the tiniest specks of print damage while contrast and detail remain pretty much perfect. The black levels are rich and deep but shadow detail stays strong. There are no issues with noise reduction at all, so the image is sometimes quite grainy but in the best possible way. This is a very film-like transfer with nice texture and no problems at all with edge enhancement or with obvious compression artifacts. A very strong effort here, the movie looks great.
The DTS-HD Mono track, which comes with optional subtitles in English only, is fine. This is primarily a dialogue based movie but the score has some effective depth to it and there are no problems with any hiss or distortion. The levels are properly balanced and all in all this is a perfectly fine single channel track that suits the feature just fine.
Extras are limited to the film's isolated score in DTS-HD format, a theatrical trailer, an MGM 90th Anniversary promo piece, menus and chapter selection. Julie Kirgo contributes a set of liner notes on the accompanying insert booklet that do a fine job of detailing Farrow's unique performance in the film and which offer up some interesting analysis and background information on the film (including that the role played by Nick Apollo Forte was originally intended for Sylvester Stallone!).
The Final Word:
Broadway Danny Rose is all about characters and on that level, it's quite successful. The film is clever, it's funny, it's warm and it's beautifully shot with some fantastic black and white cinematography. Twilight Time's Blu-ray debut for the film is light on extras but it looks and sounds excellent.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
