(aka "mag-no'li-a" )
directed
by Paul Thomas Anderson
USA 1999
The film, in my opinion, explicitly refers to Exodus 8:2 ( obvious "8"s and
"2"s throughout the film ), so, at some level, I think the raining of the
frogs should be read in that context. In the Biblical story, God tells Moses
to go to Pharaoh and demand the release of the enslaved Jews. Should Pharaoh
refuse, God threatens a series of plagues including, of course, a plague of
frogs.
All the characters in Magnolia are enslaved, not by Pharaoh, but by their
pasts, by circumstances, by loneliness, by resentment, by hatred, by shame, by
guilt... When we first meet them, they're trapped, unredeemed, and desperately
longing for some release.
Quote at the end of the film:
"Like it says in the Book, we may be through with the past, but the past ain't
through with us." By the way, my new favourite quote!... definitely going in
the next book...
Over the course of the film, some of the characters are redeemed...others are
not. Included among the doubles and doppelgangers that populate this film (two
wives, two children, two child geniuses, two saviors, and at least one angel),
we're presented with two patriarchs, Earl Partridge and Jimmy Gator, who's
past and present mirror one another's. Both have committed nearly unforgivable
sins against their children and families. Both are dying of cancer. Both are
forced to confront the meaning of their lives and the pain they've
caused...and both recognize that they've committed horrible acts against those
they love, acts which for so long have prevented them from experiencing and
sharing love. As death approaches, both men seek redemption.
From his deathbed and through eyes hollowed by the ravages of his disease,
Earl Partridge faces his past and acknowledges the pain he caused his family
and, in particular, his son. He reaches out to him, admits his transgressions
and seeks his forgiveness. His damaged son overcomes his own deeply-felt
resentment to connect with his father, if only to watch him die just as he
watched his mother die so many years before - but not before he overcomes the
hatred that for so long has informed his entire existence as he breaks down at
his father's bedside.
Conversely, Jimmy Gator cannot bring himself to admit what he's done to his
daughter and his family - not even to himself. He tries, vainly, to connect
with his daughter, to impress upon her that he is a dying man, to seek some
solace in her comfort...but he cannot face the extraordinary damage he's
inflicted upon her, he cannot own up to it, he cannot seek forgiveness for it.
When we last see him, he is left unredeemed, enslaved by his past, his wife
and daughter now completely lost to him, doomed to meet death as a lonely and
unloved man.
As Dixon raps, "...They're runnin' from the devil, but the debt is always
gaining...And when the sunshine don't work, the Good Lord bring the rain in."
I think it would be a mistake to overanalyze this film ( you mean like I'm
doin' ?? ). It exists well within the realm of the emotional and quite apart
from the analytical. It's not something to be solved cerebrally, but rather
something to be experienced at a gut level. The metaphors inform our feelings
about the characters and coincidences cause their fates to criss-cross, but
these are like leitmotifs in music, emotional cues and analogies that tie one
person to another and amplify our emotional reactions by playing on similar
themes, desires and sorrows, as Anderson mounts his operatic melodrama to its
fantastical conclusion. Watch this film as you would listen to great music,
and open your heart and allow your soul to be harrowed. I rate it the best
film of the 90's...
Posters
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Theatrical Release: December 17, 1999
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
New Line Home Video (Platinum Series) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. TF1 - Metropolitan (Ed. Prestige) - Region 2 - PAL
Thanks to Guillaume for all the screen caps !
(New Line Home Video (Platinum Series) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. TF1 - Metropolitan (Ed. Prestige) - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)
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| Distribution |
New Line Home Video Region 1 - NTSC |
TF1 -
Metropolitan Region 2 - PAL |
| Runtime | 03:08:3 | 03:00:42 (4% PAL speedup) |
| Video |
2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes |
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Bitrate:
New Line Home Video (Platinum Series) . |
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Bitrate:
TF1 - Metropolitan (Ed. Prestige) |
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| Audio | English DD 5.1 , English DD 2.0 |
English DD 5.1 , French DD 5.1 |
| Subtitles | English, none | English, French, none |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: New Line Home Video Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 13 |
Release Information: Studio: TF1 - Metropolitan Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: January 17, 2001 Chapters 13 |
| Comments |
Both have a great video
quality : sharpness, seemingly the same master without dust. Colors look
natural, blacks deep, and the contrast control is quite good. Then, the
exemplary compression is surprising for a 3 hours movie. However, one thing differs between the two versions : The R2 picture is a little smoother (see the Tom Cruise's eyes and skin details) while the R1 is the more faithful to the cinema version (more grain). Last point, the R1 DigiPack is really handsome compare to the sober French case. MAGNOLIA - Besides a stunning cast doing an exemplary job with great material, this is a great looking film. Though the R1 New Line version has the grain from the Panavision scope shooting, the TF 1 Metropolitan version is much closer to what I recall seeing theatrically in 35mm, but some people prefer grain, so multi-region player owners have a choice. In the R2 frames, blacks looks a bit richer and whites more ivory by comparison, which is more naturalistic to me. Definition is noticeably better too in the R2 when you see the improvements in depth and detail on the left-hand-side store windows of instance of the first freeze frames below. That is how the 35mm is supposed to and did look. With the rest of both versions being dead even, it is a disaster that a DTS soundtrack has yet to be issued for this (or Anderson's BOOGIE NIGHTS, which did come out as a 12' DTS LaserDisc) on DVD. MAGNOLIA has the additional bonus of a powerful set of songs by the great singer/songwriter Aimee Mann, who should have received the Academy Award (among other things) for the amazing "Save Me” and DTS would have really brought that music home. Here’s hoping both New Line and TF1 will consider DTS reissues down the line. |
DVD Menus
(New Line Home Video (Platinum Series) -
Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. TF1 - Metropolitan (Ed. Prestige) - Region 2
- PAL - RIGHT)
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Screen Captures
(New
Line Home Video (Platinum Series) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. TF1 -
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(New Line Home Video (Platinum Series) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. TF1 - Metropolitan (Ed. Prestige) - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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(New Line Home Video (Platinum Series) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. TF1 - Metropolitan (Ed. Prestige) - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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(New Line Home Video (Platinum Series) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. TF1 - Metropolitan (Ed. Prestige) - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)
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Report Card:
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Image: |
New Line (R1) |
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Sound: |
tie |
| Extras: | tie |
| Menu: | tie |
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DVD Box Covers |
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Distribution |
New Line Home Video Region 1 - NTSC |
TF1 -
Metropolitan |
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