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Released by: Etiquette Pictures
Released on: July 14th, 2015.
Director: James B. Harris
Cast: Zalman King, Tisa Farrow, Carol White, Richard Pryor, Veronica Anderson
Year: 1973
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The Movie:
The second directorial effort from former Stanley Kubrick producer James B. Harris, 1973's Some Call It Loving top bills Zalman King as a man named Robert Troy who takes a break from his successful career as jazz saxophonist to visit a travelling carnival. Here he heads into the sideshow where a supposedly real 'Sleeping Beauty' (Tisa Farrow) is on display. Patrons can pay a dollar to give her a kiss to see if she wakes up, but of course, that doesn't happen. Robert is instantly smitten, however, and he makes a deal to buy her for a substantial amount of money knowing that she's actually in a medically induced coma.
So he does just that - he takes her back to his place, which just so happens to be the massive mansion that he shares with his wife, Scarlett (Carol White), and their submissive accomplice, Angelica (Veronica Anderson). Robert's new toy, named Jennifer, wakes up and once she does, his obsession with her becomes increasingly more intense. Soon enough, Scarlett takes Jennifer under her wings and begins to 'train' her to act in the ways that she knows Robert appreciates. Robert grows closer to Jennifer, encouraging her to come to the club and see him perform along with his friend, a junkie named Jeff (Richard Pryor), and she obliges him. As their bizarre courtship continues, however, Robert stars to run into some problems at home.
If you could imagine a film that combined elements of David Lynch style surrealism with elements of Radley Metzger's more artistically developed erotica you'd wind up somewhere near what Harris would seem to have been going for with this picture. While it's definitely more of an art-house film than an exploitation picture the film doesn't shy away from the sexualized side of its storyline. The obvious scene where this is thrust into the front of the story is when we see a naked cheerleading sequence but there are other aspects, not the least of which is King's coupling with a topless Farrow. The training sequences never approach what we see in The Opening Of Misty Beethoven of The Image but they certainly have their own element of kink running through them.
All of this unfolds in a strange, dream-like fashion with King's Robert being the eye of the storm. Seen here with a rather shocking mop of thick, wild looking hair he plays the part with enough distance that he brings to the character a sort of sad, lost quality that really works quite well. His work in this picture is quite a contrast to his more manic performances in movies like Blue Sunshine and Trip With Teacher. Complimenting this nicely is Tisa Farrow's work. She has a very unorthodox beauty about her in this movie, a definite innocence to her doe-eyed features that makes her a good fit for the part. At the same time, there's enough sex appeal to her that you can see why Robert's attraction to her would develop the way that it does. Add to this great supporting work from the incredibly alluring Carol White, the equally attractive Veronica Anderson and a great minor turn from Pryor and you can see how and why the cast wind up really connecting not just with each other but with the narrative as well.
The movie is beautifully shot and at times remarkably colorful. There is occasional use of diffusion and soft focus that helps to create a very specific 'fairy tale' atmosphere in certain scenes but it's never overdone or out of place. The locations used for the shoot are also impressive, with the Troy's mansion home both impressive and at times very empty. It's a strange film to be sure, and not one for all tastes, but Some Call It Loving is, when you're in the right mood for it at least, a pretty beguiling film.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Some Call It Loving looks very nice indeed framed here at 1.78.1 widescreen and in an AVC encoded 1080p high definition “in a new, Director & Cinematographer approved 2K restoration from the 35mm camera negative.†As you watch the film you can't help but notice that certain scenes were obviously shot with an eye towards softness while others look to have been intentionally under-lit. As such, those scenes don't always provide the type of detail you might want, but they are evidently in keeping with how the movie should look. Those scenes aside, the rest of the movie looks excellent and really does take advantage of the format. Skin tones look nice and natural and the detail and texture evident in the costumes and set decorations are frequently quite impressive. Colors look excellent and black levels are strong. No compression artifacts or edge enhancement issues creep into the frame and aside from a few nicks and minor specks here and there, the picture is also very clean. So while the image here is true to the filmmakers' artsy intentions, the transfer is still a very strong effort. It's all about balance.
The only audio option on the disc is an English language track but it's presented in DTS-HD Mono and it sounds quite too. Optional closed captioning is provided in English. There's a bit of mild hiss present in some spots and occasional moments where the high end borders on shrill but in the grand scheme of things, the movie sounds fine. You won't once have a problem understanding the dialogue, the levels are balanced right and the score sounds good, especially those odd jazz numbers.
Extras on this release kick off with a great audio commentary from director James B. Harris moderated by Sam Prime. Given the film's obscurity and release history, getting the picture's origins documented like this is a good thing indeed. Harris speaks very frankly about the making of the film, what it was like working with the different cast members that appear in the picture and quite a bit more. It's an interesting and thorough talk that does a fine job of explaining just what exactly Harris was going for on this one.
Harris also shows up in a video interview entitled Some Call It History where he talks for just under seven minutes about his early days in the industry and quite interestingly about his work with the late Stanley Kubrick. He also shares some stories about the making of this feature and about how it was received during its all too brief run. The film's cinematographer, Mario Tosi, shows up for the eight minute A Dream So Real featurette where he talks about his work behind the camera on this and other pictures as well as what it was like working with Richard Pryor.
The disc also includes a selection of outtakes available with commentary from Harris and Prime. There's sixteen minutes of material here and while none of it has any audio aside from the commentary, it's interesting to see particularly because some of it elaborates on the death/funeral of Robert's mother.
Menus and chapter selection are also included and as this is a combo pack, inside the case is a DVD version of the movie featuring the same extras. This release also comes with a six page color insert booklet that features an essay on the film by Kevin John Bozelka that works as both an appreciation of the film and as a nice primer on its history. Last but not least, we also get some nice reversible cover art.
The Final Word:
As strange and artistically indulgent as Some Call It Loving is, the film is never too far gone as to alienate nor too abstract to intrigue. It's a sensual art-house fantasy, a film that goes to strange places but for reasons that, in the context of the movie at least, somehow manage to make perfect sense. Etiquette Pictures has done an excellent job bringing this legitimately obscure cinematic oddity to Blu-ray in grand style. The presentation is excellent as are the extras.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
