Description: An extraordinary debut from one of Hollywood's
most bankable UK ex-pats, Tony Scott's Loving Memory (1970)
follows an isolated brother and sister who live with their
memories and a grisly secret. Critically acclaimed on its
release Loving Memory was beautifully photographed by
celebrated cinematographer Chris Menges - who captures
perfectly the misty mystery of the Yorkshire moors - and
feature a stunning, sinister performance from Rosamund
Greenwood (Village of the Damned, The Witches) as a haunted
innocent.
The Film:
"Loving Memory" showcases talents you wouldn't have guessed
that Tony (then a film student going by "Anthony") Scott had
if you were only familiar with his post 70s Hollywood work.
That's not to say that he isn't good at what he does, as
he's shown that he has a good deal of talent when it comes
to loud, macho action films. Yet here we see a different
side of the director. Gone are all special effects, and even
most dialogue. Instead what we get is a slow, meditative
film that showcases Scott's ability to quietly and simply
tell a story that is macabre, unsettling, and strangely
sweet. To be sure, this is a very good film, and after
finishing it, I couldn't help but wonder what else Scott
might have in him. Even those who find themselves turned off
by his post "The Hunger" oeuvre should find themselves
pleasantly surprised by this truly wonderful film.
Image:
With the image on the "Loving Memory", the BFI has only
solidified its reputation as one of the world's top
producers of black and white HD. The image here is
absolutely stunning and made even more impressive when you
consider that the film was made on a shoestring budget over
forty years ago. Despite these limitations, the image is
gorgeous, with a modest disc size (keep in mind that the
film is ultimately under an hour long) and a respectable
bitrate of nearly 30 megs. The black and white palette is
truly gorgeous, ranging from deep and satisfying blacks to
lily whites, with a seemingly infinite shades of gray in
between. Fine object detail is generally very strong as
well, but there are occasionally a few objects on the
periphery of the image that aren't as well defined as they
could be (though this is likely a remnant of the way that
Scott originally shot it, and not a deficiency of the disc
itself). Not everything is perfect though. As the booklet
informs us, the film was given an HD transfer after a full
digital restoration. However, not all problems were removed,
and there still are some brief tears and at least one
instance of a briefly unstable set of frames. These are,
however, very minor instances of damage and will likely only
be noticed by the pickiest of reviewers. There also are a
couple of close up shots that appear ever slightly too
grainy (see capture five for instance). Otherwise the grain
structure was very delicately handled in this release and
looks just about perfect for nearly the whole film. These
are of course all mere nigglings and shouldn't distract from
an overall exceptional transfer.
Audio & Music:
Like the video, the audio on this release was given a full
restoration and HD master in LPCM stereo. As I previously
mentioned, there's little in the way of dialogue or music
here, but what's included does sound absolutely fantastic
with great clarity and contrast. The booklet modestly
suggests that there may still be an occasional instance of
unwanted background noise in the form of buzzing, hisses,
pops, or crackles, but I do not remember encountering any of
this. Instead, this is a remarkably good sounding disc
without any noticeable defects on its HD stereo transfer.
Additionally, there are optional English subtitles that are
easily read and don't obstruct the main image.
Extras:
The disc comes with three extras. The first two are short
films made by Scott prior to "Loving Memory". "One of the
Missing" tells the story of Confederate soldier who finds
himself trapped in a harrowing situation in an adaptation of
an Ambrose Bierce story, while "Boy and Bicycle" (written
and directed by brother Ridley, but starring Tony) follows
the unnamed character as he rides his bike around the
British sea shore. Of the two, I definitely preferred the
former, but I've always been fond of Bierce's works. Also
included is a 24 page illustrated booklet with an essay by
the esteemed Kim Newman on all three films, a reprint of a
1970 "Time Out" interview with Scott, and an essay dealing
with the relationship between the Scott brothers and the
BFI. It's another one of their great booklets and certainly
worth the read if you liked the film.
Bottom line:
I have to admit being taken by surprise with this viewing.
I'm not a fan of Scott's Hollywood work aside from a small
handful of films, and I didn't think that he would have the
ability to make a small, thoughtful film free of the
overblown machismo that has become his hallmark. I couldn't
have been more wrong. This is a wonderful piece of ephemera
and one that I am so glad the BFI brought to light. Bravo to
everyone involved! I give this dual disc set a very, very
high recommendation and consider it to now be an essential
part of my collection.
Brian Montgomery
August 17th, 2010