Academy Award-winner John Schlesinger (Marathon Man) reunites with Midnight Cowboy screenwriter Waldo Salt (Coming Home), a victim of the 1950s McCarthy-era blacklist, to adapt Nathanael West’s acid satire of Hollywood decadence and broken dreams. Painter Tod Hackett (William Atherton, Looking for Mr. Goodbar), working in the art department of a movie studio during the 1930s ‘golden age’ of Hollywood, falls in unrequited love with aspiring starlet Faye Greener (Karen Black, Five Easy Pieces). He competes for her affections against other men: a pair of cowboys (Bo Hopkins, American Graffiti and Pepe Serna, Scarface), and a forlorn accountant (Donald Sutherland, Invasion of the Body Snatchers). As Faye’s career fails to take her beyond roles as an extra, her life becomes increasingly desperate and her relationships with men take a darker turn, reaching fever pitch at a red-carpet movie premiere that explodes into barbaric chaos. A bitter critique of tinsel-town’s empty promises and the lost souls cheated by them, featuring lush, dreamlike cinematography by Conrad Hall (In Cold Blood), and stunning performances by its talented cast, The Day of the Locust remains a relevant and shattering experience.
For thoughts on The Day of the Locust, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
The Day of the Locust comes to Blu-Ray courtesy of Arrow Video in its original 1.85:1 sourced from a pretty solid 4K scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative at Paramount with restoration from Arrow Video. This presentation looks very nice with the vintage Hollywood setting that shimmers in high definition with natural grain intact and nicely resolved. The grain is quite thick, but we appreciate that it has not been scrubbed of its texture. Thanks to this, you get a sumptuous amount of detail throughout with varied textures on the clothing and within the production design.
The transfer showcases virtually no signs of print damage in even the most minor instances. What it does spotlight is a significant amount of depth and enhanced detail. There are fleeting moments that may take a bit of a downturn in quality in terms of clarity, most likely due to the original elements, but they are not a dealbreaker. Black levels are pretty deep with nothing too worrisome when it comes to crush. The contrast is firmly defined with strong highlights that do not veer into blooming. Arrow Video has treated this one quite well.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a restored original DTS-HD 1.0 Master Audio mono track, as well as DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio stereo tracks in the original English (with optional English SDH subtitles). The sonic ambitions are not too daring, yet they accomplish everything they need to in order to materialize this time period on screen. Sound effects such as speeding cars or raging mobs of people are given the appropriate weight within the mix. Dialogue sounds clear without sound effects or the score overshadowing important information. The film is primarily dialogue-driven with the story getting slightly more kinetic as the film reaches the climax. The score is evocative and handled with great fidelity. This presentation showcases everything you want without damage or other unwanted issues.
Special Features
The first-pressing of the Arrow Video Blu-Ray of The Day of the Locust includes a booklet featuring the essay “Phooey On Cal: The Day Of The Locust” by film critic Pamela Hutchinson. This provides a great analysis of the film, its themes, and more. The booklet also contains the details of the restoration. The on-disc special features are as follows:
- Oral History Audio Commentary: Film Historian Lee Gambin conducts an oral history audio commentary featuring insights from assistant directors Leslie Asplund and Charles Ziarko, production associate Michael Childers, and actors Grainger Hines and Pepe Serna among others. In this piece, they discuss the landscape of Hollywood of this time, how they came to be a part of this epic, the performers and their backgrounds, shooting locations, the themes tackled within this one, and more.
- Welcome To West Hollywood: A nearly 25-minute appreciation piece from critic Glenn Kenny who discusses how the film came to be, the objections to the project by certain Paramount executives, the process of adapting the material, the performers, the themes explored, and more.
- Days Of The Golden Age: An 18-minute visual essay is provided by costume historian and film historian Elissa Rose who explores the film in the context of fashion. In this piece, there are discussions about the garments featured, how they embody the characters, inspirations from the past, how fashion evolves throughout the film, and more. There are additional insights provided by costume designer Ann Roth.
- Jeepers Creepers, Where’d You Get Those Peepers?: A 24-minute examination from film historian Lee Gambin which focuses on thematic material, the visual motifs, the journey of the characters, how the film depicts Hollywood, and much more that is very enlightening.
- Radio Spots: There are two radio spots totaling two minutes provided.
- Image Gallery: This disc provides an assortment of stills and promotional material including Promotional Stills, Photos by Michael Childers, and Photos by Ron Vidor.
Final Thoughts
The Day of the Locust is an epic examination of old Hollywood that gleefully showcases the more unsavory aspects that some tend to overlook due to the perceived glitz and glamor. Instead of giving prominence to the studios, who had their time in the driver’s seat, this story focuses on how the bit players and behind-the-scenes creatives survived at this time. The film has a tragic tone, but it never veers into emotional manipulation. This is due in part to the strong performances from the ensemble, especially a magnetic Karen Black. This one is due for a rich second life. Arrow Video has released a Blu-Ray featuring a very pleasing A/V presentation and an array of special features that increase the value of the overall package. Recommended
The Day of the Locust is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Arrow Video 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.