Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski), Michelle Pfeiffer (What Lies Beneath) and Beau Bridges (The Descendants) enchant in this “lovely and fragile” (New York Magazine) tale about sibling musicians and the sultry singer who leads them to success. “Wry, sexy and enormously rewarding” (Jeffrey Lyons), The Fabulous Baker Boys is sizzling, slick entertainment that could “play just about everybody’s strings” (Washington Post).
Jack and Frank Baker are stuck in a rut. Playing the same tired tunes night after night; the brothers are in desperate need of change. So when they meet a sultry songbird named Susie Diamond, their future starts to sparkle. But when life in the limelight brings old rivalries to the surface as Jack and Susie’s relationship heats up, the Baker boys soon find their act – and their lives – growing more entertaining than either of them may be able to handle!
For thoughts on The Fabulous Baker Boys, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
The Fabulous Baker Boys makes its return to Blu-Ray courtesy of MVD Entertainment as a part of the Marquee Collection with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in its original aspect ratio. The film was previously released on the format by Twilight Time, which has long been out of print, and this appears to be derived from the same older master that is in decent shape. Instances of print damage such as nicks and scratches do pop up, but overall clarity and detail is impressive given the quality of the source material. This transfer maintains the natural film grain of the presentation with only minor instances of seeming a bit loose or clumpy.
The presentation is enjoyable throughout most of the runtime, but it occasionally struggles with image stability and delineation. The biggest issues come during the smoky, shadowy club environments that appear a bit soft and can lack fine detail. The picture maintains a greater depth in the bright daytime shots, and colors are fairly well saturated with only some moments where it looks a bit anemic. Skin tones are natural and consistent with subtle facial features easily noticeable in closeup. Black levels could be a bit better defined in the problem in the problematic environments. This presentation is a really nice effort that brings the film back to the land of high definition.
Audio Quality
This new Blu-Ray comes with a LPCM 2.0 mix that features all of the sounds of the film really well. With this film so thematically tied to music, you want the audio track to deliver the goods, and it achieves that here. The tunes that make up the film maintain a distinct clarity and a pleasing fidelity as they come through the room. The dialogue holds up admirably, coming through clearly without being stepped on by competing elements. The environmental effects are delineated nicely from the din of the crown to certain weather noises. The track avoids most instances of age related wear and tear or distortion. This is a track that represents the film without issue. Optional English subtitles are provided on this disc.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary #1: Writer-Director Steve Kloves provides a great commentary track hosted by Twilight Time’s Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman. In this conversation, Kloves discusses the inspiration for the project, his initial resistance to casting actual brothers in the film, working with the performers, the look of the film, the noir-esque aspects of the atmosphere and more. These three together keep things lively and entertaining.
- Audio Commentary #2: Director of Photography Michael Ballhaus delivers another archival commentary track in which he discusses how he became involved with this picture, helping Kloves out as a young director, the lighting choices he decided on for the characters and much more that digs deep with the technical details which should please film fans.
- Isolated Music & Effects Track: An option to watch the film only with the lovely score and some sound effects.
- Deleted Scenes: This disc provides 21 minutes of unused footage including more moments between Jack and Frank, moments with Frank’s family, additional scenes with Jack and Susie and more.
- The Fabulous Baker Boys – BTS Featurette: A seven-minute piece which features archival interviews with the cast and creative discussing the film, the characters, the music and more.
- Jeff Bridges & Beau Bridges – BTS Featurette: A three-minute look at the off-screen brothers teaming up on screen, what their real-life relationship brings to the performances, how they compare to their characters and more.
- Michelle Pfeiffer – BTS Featurette: A nearly four-minute look at the character of Susie, the performance of Pfeiffer, how this compares to her previous roles and more.
- Trailers: The Theatrical Trailer (2:47) and TV Spots (0:32, 0:31) for The Fabulous Baker Boys are provided here. There are also trailers provided for Desperate Hours, Miami Blues and Vampire’s Kiss.
Final Thoughts
The Fabulous Baker Boys is a pretty solid adult drama which does not break new barriers yet entertains all the same. The reason to gather around this one is the charming performances from your trio of lead performers. While it may seem a slight bit gimmicky to have the Bridges brothers play that relationship on screen, there is no denying that there is a shared history that radiates through their performances. The new Blu-Ray for MVD Entertainment is pretty solid in its A/V presentation which is complemented by a strong number of special features. If you are a fan of the film, you should really like this release. Recommended
The Fabulous Baker Boys 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.