Teen superstar Matt Dillon (The Outsiders, My Bodyguard) stars in this tender tale of love’s first promise… and its enduring strength.
Dillon plays Jack Duncan, an athletic, hardworking boy from the small town of Noble, Texas. Jack is happy just enjoying himself with the local boys, until he meets Ginny Peterson (Cindy Fisher, Hide in Plain Sight, The Blues Brothers), the town’s wealthiest young lady. Despite their obviously different backgrounds, Jack and Ginny fall desperately in love.
Even though their parents have forbidden them to meet, Jack and Ginny sneak out, and finally elope, hoping to find happiness far from their hometown. But theirs is a love that falls prey to the sins of their elders – as the intrigue of two families reaches out an angry hand to its innocent victim in this touching, tragic story of youth, love and hope.
For thoughts on Liar’s Moon, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Liar’s Moon debuts on Blu-Ray via the MVD Rewind Collection with a 1080p transfer that largely looks pretty nice. The exact source of the transfer is unclear, but it would appear to be derived from a decently maintained older master. While there is definitely room for improvement, the film presents with an organically filmic presentation that only occasionally suffers from compression artifacts in the shadow-drenched moments. For the majority of the film, the transfer is moderately detailed, but there is a stylistically hazy aesthetic that does not allow for distinct clarity. The presentation features some pleasing detail in the production design and texture of clothing. Colors are fairly vibrant and bright, especially in the daytime portions of the film. The black levels could be a bit stronger as they struggle with depth. There is the occasional nick or scratch present in the print, but overall this is free of blatant damage. This is a fairly solid presentation that gets the job done.
Audio Quality
MVD Visual brings us this new Blu-Ray with two LPCM 2.0 tracks, one in stereo and one in mono, both of which offer a very strong audio experience. The dialogue holds up quite nicely, coming through clearly without being stepped on by the score or sound effects. The music in the film always presents with a nice fidelity. The environmental effects are delineated nicely including the chatter at the carnival and the sounds of the boys jumping into a lake. This track does not present with any glaring instances of age related wear and tear. This is a track that represents the film in a very pleasing way. Optional English (SDH) subtitles are provided on this disc.
Special Features
- The Making Of Liar’s Moon: A terrific 105-minute making-of featurette which offers a collection of Zoom interviews with Janice Thompson (story co-writer), Ray Benson (composer), Tonja Walker (actress), Jeanene Hanna (widow of story co-writer and producer Billy Hanna, who was Janice Thompson’s father), Susan Vogelfang (production designer), Maria Caso (set decorator), and David Fisher (screenwriter and director). In this piece you get some great background information on the development of the story, the research that went into making the period details more authentic, the score which captured the mood of the time period, the performances in the film, the release and legacy of the feature, and much more.
- The Music Of Liar’s Moon: An additional 14-minute piece with composer Ray Benson and director David Fisher in which they further discuss the creation of the music in the film.
- Alternate Ending: A two-minute alternate ending is provided here which is decidedly less optimistic.
- Trailers: This disc provides the Theatrical Trailer (2:25) and the Video Trailer (1:21) for Liar’s Moon. There are also trailers provided for Edmond, Final Justice, Dirty Laundry and The Last Time I Committed Suicide.
- Poster: A fold-out poster of the cover art is included in the case.
Final Thoughts
Liar’s Moon is an emotionally volatile melodrama which takes a classic Romeo & Juliet story and puts it in the murky southern past filled with surprising twists and turns. The film makes big tragic choices that will leave your mind reeling as you reckon with the consequences. The narrative does not always work, but it is compelling enough to keep you glued to the screen until the very end. The performances are strong across the board and aid the material quite a bit. MVD Entertainment has released a new Blu-Ray as a part of their Rewind Collection which sports a fine A/V presentation, some tremendous supplemental features and some spiffy packaging. If you are a fan of high-stakes melodramas that could be solved with some simple truth-telling, give this one a shot.
Liar’s Moon is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: MVD Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.