“Boxcar” Bertha Thompson (Barbara Hershey, The Last Temptation of Christ), a transient young woman living in the American south in the 1930s, rides the rails bouncing from job to job and town to town, often leaving dishonest men in her wake. She eventually comes across “Big” Bill Shelly (David Carradine, Death Race 2000), a hard-working laborer turned union organizer. They quickly develop a romantic relationship and, along with two friends—Rake Brown (Barry Primus, New York, New York) and Von Morton (Bernie Casey, Hit Man)—begin an old-fashioned crime spree, robbing banks and trains, and becoming fast enemies of both the railway company and local law enforcement.
The sophomore narrative feature for Martin Scorsese, who also co-edited the film, Boxcar Bertha bears not only many of the hallmarks of his filmography to come but those of producers Roger and Julie Corman as well. Adapted from the book Sister of the Road: The Autobiography of Boxcar Bertha, Scorsese’s film combines elements of true crime grit with the style, and excesses, expected in drive-in exploitation pictures of the 1970s. Long overlooked in the filmography of one of American, and world, cinema’s greatest filmmakers, Cinématographe is proud to bring Martin Scorsese’s Boxcar Bertha to 4K UHD for the first time in the world, from a new restoration supervised by Scorsese himself.
For thoughts on Boxcar Bertha, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:
Video Quality
Cinématographe presents Boxcar Bertha with a sumptuous 2160p HDR/Dolby Vision transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio sourced from a 4K restoration of the Original 35mm Camera Negative. This film was previously released on Blu-Ray courtesy of Twilight Time in 2016 and Sandpiper Pictures in 2022. We have never seen those releases, but we can only imagine it is a welcome improvement over some of the dated MGM masters we have seen floating around. This release has been supervised by Martin Scorsese to ensure the utmost authenticity.
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray allows the film to be cleaned up without sacrificing the natural look of the picture. A few fleeting specks of print damage remain, yet this barely registers thanks to the overall quality of the transfer. The film grain is plentiful, while never being less than consistently natural or stable. You will not find any signs of unwanted manipulation as everything resolves perfectly. The fine detail is pivotal to this experience as you unveil new textures in the raggedy clothing and within the various rural landscapes allowing this film to feel more tactile than ever.
The utilization of Dolby Vision for refined color output is a welcome benefit for this title. The palette for this one is very earthy with many dry plains broken up by delightful pops of green from some of the trees. The level of accuracy is surely unparalleled when stacked up against any previous master. Scorsese and Director of Photography John M. Stephens let the frame open up with their compositions, which this disc executes it well. The bright skies largely avoid spiking, swarming, or other stray encoding issues. Black levels are deep with nothing in the way of crush present, and highlights are radiant without completely falling apart with blooming. The encoding appears to be devoid of any digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, or other such nuisances. Cinématographe has treated this one with the necessary respect.
NOTE: As mentioned in the above video, I did have issues with the 4K UHD disc on my Panasonic player. Whenever I first attempted to watch in Dolby Vision, I got a black screen with the audio playing in the background. This happened repeatedly until I put in another 4K disc with Dolby Vision, switched back immediately to Boxcar Bertha, and the movie played without issue then. Another fix for this issue seems to be disabling Dolby Vision and watching in HDR10. I know of no plans to implement a replacement program, but I will update this review if there is one.
Audio Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of the film comes with the original DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mono track which stands every bit as tall as the video side of the presentation. This may be a crime film, but the narrative focuses more on interpersonal exchanges than violent shootouts. When violence does occur, usually in the form of a beating, sound effects are distinct and effective. The vintage music that is featured has a believable amount of wear and tear to transport you back to this time. Dialogue is the standout element, and it comes through crisp and clear without being drowned out by competing elements. All of the environmental sounds along the journey seem faithfully executed so that nothing ever feels unnatural. This presentation is clear of any hiss or other age-related wear and tear. Cinématographe has done exceptional work with this one to make it sound as strong as possible. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.
Special Features
The Limited Edition version of Boxcar Bertha comes beautifully packaged in a hard outer slipcase that opens up to a MediaBook that includes a bound booklet featuring new essays by film critics Robert Daniels, Bilge Ebiri, Beatrice Loayza, and Glenn Kenny, author of Made Men: the Story of Goodfellas, plus select archival photo reproductions. These essays delve into the film from multiple angles and provide a great analysis in a thoughtfully written style. There is also a new interview with Martin Scorsese, conducted by Justin LaLiberty, in which he speaks about Roger Corman. The on-disc special features are as follows:
Disc One (4K UHD)
- Audio Commentary: Film critic Adrian Martin provides a great new commentary track that takes a historical approach to discussing the movie, as he explores the production of the film, where this fits into the career of Martin Scorsese, how it compares to the source material, the cinematography of Jean Boffety, the adaptation of the source material, how this fits into the work of the actors, and much more that puts things into context.
- Turner Classic Movies Introduction: A six-minute optional introduction featuring Ben Mankiewicz reflecting on the career of the late Roger Corman, before throwing back to a 2016 conversation with the producer, who discusses working with Martin Scorsese.
Disc Two (Blu-Ray)
- Audio Commentary: Film critic Adrian Martin
- Turner Classic Movies Introduction
- Interview with Film Scholar Ian Christie: A new 22-minute interview in which the film scholar urges everyone to look at the film in the context of when it was made, instead of how it fits into the career of Martin Scorsese afterwards. You learn the avant-garde tendencies of young Scorsese, the collaboration with Roger Corman, the cinematic landscape of the time, and more.
- An Interview with Actor Barry Primus: A 20-minute modern interview with the star who talks about his character and getting involved with the production, working with Martin Scorsese, memorable sequences from the shoot, memories of his fellow performers, and more.
- Video Essay by Film Historian Daniel Kremer: A nearly 11-minute visual essay in which the historian delves into the place of women as protagonists in the works of Martin Scorsese.
- Trailers from Hell featuring Julie Corman: A three-minute piece with producer Julie Corman, wife of Roger Corman, who reflects on her memories of producing Boxcar Bertha.
- Trailers from Hell featuring Chris Wilkinson: A three-minute piece with screenwriter Chris Wilkinson, who gives an overview of the film with a look at its strengths and weaknesses.
- Storyboard Gallery
Final Thoughts
Boxcar Bertha is not the best Martin Scorsese effort by a long shot, but even filmmaking legends have to build up their skills somewhere. This holds early signs of the talent that Scorsese would come to wield in the coming years and beyond. The film is entertaining when divorced from the career of an icon, even if it is a bit more pedestrian than we expect from the master. Barbara Hershey is excellent in the titular role, and the rest of the ensemble suits the material quite well. Even with some bumpy aspects, this is well worth watching if you are a fan of Scorsese or simply want to watch a decent crime film. Cinématographe has delivered a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a first-rate A/V presentation and a valuable assortment of special features. Recommended
Boxcar Bertha is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD + Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Cinématographe has supplied a copy of this set 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.
