Blu-ray Movie Reviews

A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television. After a run in with a limousine, he ends up a guest of a woman, Eve, and her husband Ben, an influential but sickly businessman. Now called Chauncey Gardner, Chance becomes friend and confidante to Ben, and an unlikely political insider.

This is the first time I’ve seen this film but I’ve always been a fan of Sellers’ work. In some ways this reminded me of the recent Burn After Reading in its political follies but the film doesn’t have quite the overall comedic feel of the Coen Brothers’ film. This is a character piece and Sellers is perfect as the rather lost and oblivious gardener who by chance is picked up by a businessman’s wife after a small car accident. From there Chance gets the opportunity to meet the President of the United States and influence the countries economical outlook despite not having a clue about economics or really what anyone else is talking about. The comedy is dry but works well and the film has some interesting turns in it.

This is an older film but the print seems to have been cleaned up a bit as I saw no indications of wear and tear and film grain was non-existent. There are obvious signs of noise reduction with motion taking on a subtle smearing look from time to time. Fine detail is awash but close ups don’t look too bad. The image has a decent sense of depth to it but dimension is lacking overall and the overall presentation has a softer film-like look to it. Blacks are good and shadow detail is solid but colors are a bit muted and can appear a bit drab at times. I noticed some very light ringing in the image but it was hardly a distraction.

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby TrueHD but it is only a stereo mix. The overall timbre is a bit thin and unfortunately a bit loud at times. The constant back and forth with the TV clips makes for a harsh upper end that can be a bit annoying at times. Dialogue is natural in tone and balance though and the front soundstage has a fairly open quality with a nice sense of ambiance. The film’s score is subtle but keeps the mood intact.

Extras include a couple deleted scenes as well as an alternate ending which wasn’t nearly as good as the filmed ending. There is also a making of feature and the trailer.

I did enjoy this film but found it a bit bizarre. It can be a tad slow at times but it is a great character piece with excellent performances all around. While the A/V presentation was on the weaker side, this is still easily worth a rental.