HOME   News   Reviews   Adv Search   Features   My DVD   About   Apps   Stats     Search:
  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.78:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Mono
  Subtitles
    English - Hearing Impaired
  Extras
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Cast/crew biographies
  • Production notes
  • Dolby Digital trailer - Rain

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion

Dreamworks/Roadshow Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 97 mins . G . PAL

  Feature
Contract

It’s no wonder that those who don’t like Woody Allen’s movies are quite vocal about the fact. They’re probably jealous. After all, no other director gives his audience so many movies so quickly, and arguably no other director has been as consistent in terms of style and quality. The definitive New York filmmaker, Allen has become a household name (even amongst those who’ve never seen his work) thanks to his one-of-a-kind persona and an uncanny ability to shift gears from one-liner comedy to introspective seriousness and actually get away with it, often in the same movie. At his best - Annie Hall, Zelig, Manhattan or the underrated Love and Death - Allen captures the funny side of being human in a way nobody else can. And while his output in recent years has been far less consistent than his earlier work, even an average Woody Allen movie is a better proposition than the majority of what passes for cinema in these corporate times. You may not click with his films, but at least one thing is always perfectly clear - they’re his films, and if everyone might take them more seriously than he does then so be it (“I don’t care if they’re flushed down the toilet after I die,” Allen says of his movies, which he never watches again once they’re completed).

Clocking in as (by our count) his 31st theatrical feature film, Curse of the Jade Scorpion sees Woody heading back once again to his earlier, “sillier” comedy style, with one-liners aplenty and a determined lack of realism. The latter is appropriate, as the story is set in the New York of 1940, a time when women were “broads” and war was just around the corner. C.W. Briggs (Allen) is a top insurance investigator who is renowned for solving the most heinous of insurance crimes - in fact, he’s just miraculously recovered a lost Picasso painting from inside a telescope (“I’m supposedly looking for a picture of a woman with a guitar,” he says, “but it’s all little cubes, and it took me two hours to find the nose!”) But all the investigative talent in the world won’t save him from Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt), who’s been brought in to streamline the company. Briggs and Fitzgerald, needless to say, take an instant dislike to each other. When the office staff go for a night out and see a performance by stage hypnotist Voltar (played by Allen regular David Ogden Stiers, who some will also recognise as Mr Myer from Better Off Dead!) Briggs and Fitzgerald get more than they bargained for when they are sent into a trance and told to do embarrassing things, much to the amusement of the audience. But Voltar has other plans, and unbeknownst to Briggs he is soon being used as a hypno-burglar. Problem is, as an insurance investigator, he now has to investigate crimes that he himself has unknowingly committed.

This is fairly broad comedy (pardon the pun) throughout, and even die-hard Woody Allen fans might initially feel a little worried; his harried, stuttering and wise-cracking insurance investigator initially comes across as a ham actor who’s concentrating on the script so hard he forgets to act in between his lines. But it soon becomes apparent that this is intended - the film’s not only set in 1940, but is intended to play like a vintage film, stilted acting and all - and the gorgeous production design and Zhao Fei’s warm cinematography certainly make the time and place feel real enough, too. The main problem is an overdose of “snappy” one-liners at the expense of character development, and some early scenes feel more like stand-up comedy routines where the audience is stony silent. But the film picks up momentum from the first Voltar scene and turns out to be great fun, if a little unevenly paced. The cast certainly seem to be enjoying themselves, though only Charlize Theron (playing a voluptuous woman who isn’t used to men saying no!) really throws herself into her role with abandon; many will not even recognise her.

At the end of the day it’s all about the guy getting the girl, of course, and while a 65 year-old insurance investigator might seem unlikely material for the role of ladies’ man, that incongruity is actually, believe it or not, all part of the joke in this odd vintage variation on Get Smart. By the way, the film’s “G” rating is perhaps a little surprising given the subject matter; we wonder what a family audience would make of Woody’s line when asked about the identity of a “chorus girl” he’s hiding in the back room. “I don’t know,” he says. “They all look the same upside down, I can never tell”!

  Video
Contract

Another lovely video transfer greets Woody fans with this DVD release, the intensely saturated warm colour palette of Zhao Fei’s cinematography coming up perfectly on DVD, with the insurance-office scenes particularly vibrant and warm. Being set in 1940, the dominant browns and oranges of that era’s decor are everywhere, and that seems to have been deliberately emphasised at the colour-timing stage. It’s a very inviting picture, with ample shadow detail and razor-sharp clarity. Black levels are a little higher than usual, but this appears to have been an entirely deliberate decision. Overall it’s a marvellous transfer, and not a blemish to be seen throughout.

With an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, it’s had its matte opened up slightly from the theatrical version, but this does not seem to hurt shot composition. The 16:9 enhanced stream is stored on a single disc layer, and in typical Roadshow style there are no compression problems at all. Hearing-impaired people will also appreciate the subtitles, which once again are in Roadshow’s terrific style - a clear, crisp font with text positioned in front of whoever’s speaking at the time. The subtitles also tell you the title and artist of the songs used in the background, by the way.

Ignore the “filmed in Panavision” logo in the end credits; it wasn’t.

  Audio
Contract

Woody Allen is not a big fan of stereo sound in movies, and it’s no surprise at all to find a mono soundtrack here. It’s encoded (contrary to what the back cover says) as a 2.0 Dolby Digital stream, which will be welcomed by those with miniscule centre speakers. Sound is extremely clear and well-defined (and quite loud) and as always Allen makes the most of his single channel; it’s a wonderfully effective, full-range soundtrack that suits the material well.

We’re guessing the source master was analogue at some stage - there’s a distinct analogue-style level drop in the left channel right near the end of the movie. Other than that, the sound is where it should be - panned dead centre and resolutely mono.

  Extras
Contract

Woody’s never been one for dishing out DVD extras, and this disc is no exception; fans have to make do with a good set of cast and crew bios and filmographies, a few pages of production notes, an extremely well animated main menu, and a theatrical trailer that shows you all too clearly how good the transfer of the movie proper is - the trailer, by comparison, looks awful.

A badly downmixed two-channel version of Dolby’s “Rain” trailer is also stapled on to the start of the movie, seeming a little out of place on a film with mono sound.

  Overall  
Contract

A lightweight, fun romp that’s decidedly old-fashioned both in its setting and in its approach to comedy, Curse of the Jade Scorpion is merely average Woody Allen. But if you’re keen on the man’s work, even an average Woody Allen film is liable to make your day.

Roadshow’s DVD might be lacking in extras, but the picture quality is stunning and the sound, despite a minor and brief flaw, is a crisp and accurate representation of the director’s intentions.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=1911
  • Send to a friend.

    Cast your vote here: You must enable cookies to vote.
  •   
      And I quote...
    "...merely average Woody Allen... Roadshow’s DVD might be lacking in extras, but the picture quality is stunning..."
    - Anthony Horan
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Sony DVP-NS300
    • TV:
          Panasonic - The One
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-DB870
    • Speakers:
          Klipsch Tangent 500
    • Centre Speaker:
          Panasonic
    • Surrounds:
          Jamo
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard Optical
    • Video Cables:
          Monster s-video
      Recent Reviews:
    by Anthony Horan

    Immortal Beloved
    "For two hours, this film will transport you..."

    Pet Shop Boys - Pop Art
    "A must-buy for Pet Shop Boys fans, Pop Art is also highly recommended for those who remember how good pop music could be in the ‘80s."

    Alias - The Complete First Season
    "One of the most addictive and entertaining US television series' in many years... Buena Vista's DVD set gets almost everything right."

    R.E.M.: In View - The Best of 1988-2003
    "Every home should have one."

    Queen Margot
    "A spectacular, enthralling masterpiece..."

      Related Links
      None listed

     

    Search for Title/Actor/Director:
    Google Web dvd.net.au
       Copyright DVDnet. All rights reserved. Site Design by RED 5   
    rss