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Directed by Hal Asby
USA 1975

 

Shampoo gives us a day in the life of George (Warren Beatty), a Beverly Hills hairdresser and lothario who runs around town on the eve of the 1968 presidential election trying to make heads or tails of his financial and romantic entanglements. His attempts to scrape together the money to open his own salon are continually sidetracked by the distractions presented by his lovers—played brilliantly by Goldie Hawn, Julie Christie, and Lee Grant (in an Oscar-winning performance). Beatty dreamed up the project, cowrote the script with Robert Towne, and enlisted Hal Ashby as director, and the resulting carousel of doomed relationships is an essential seventies farce, a sharp look back at the sexual politics and self-absorption of the preceding decade.

***

A frankly adult comedy about the sex lives of the aimless and the rich, Shampoo is also a pointed commentary on the demise of 1960s idealism at the dawn of the Nixon era. It is Election Day, 1968, and randy Beverly Hills hairdresser George Roundy (Warren Beatty) is too worried about attending to all of his women's tonsorial and sexual needs, while trying to swing a bank loan to fund his own salon, to notice the fateful Presidential race. As George juggles the demands of girlfriend Jill (Goldie Hawn) and mistress Felicia (Lee Grant), not to mention Felicia's daughter (Carrie Fisher), he meets Felicia's husband Lester (Jack Warden) to get money for the salon and discovers that his beloved ex-girlfriend Jackie (Julie Christie) is now Lester's mistress. Lester asks George to escort Jackie to a banquet for Nixon supporters, leading to a series of climactic confrontations at the dinner and a Hollywood orgy that expose the conflicting demands of sex, love, and security among these terminally narcissistic L.A. denizens. As Nixon's victory speech drones in the background the following day and Paul Simon's mournful '60s music plays on the soundtrack, George's free-wheeling world collapses around him for reasons that he can barely begin to comprehend. Produced and co-written (with Chinatown scribe Robert Towne) by its star Warren Beatty, Shampoo became Beatty's second critical and popular success as a producer after Bonnie and Clyde, and it bolstered Hal Ashby's track record as director. Shampoo earned Grant an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, as well as a Supporting Actor nomination for Warden and Beatty's first nomination as writer. With Nixon's 1974 Watergate disgrace adding an extra edge to the humor for 1975 audiences, this tragic bedroom farce became one of the highest-grossing films in Columbia Pictures' history at the time.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: February 11th, 1975

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Review: Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Distribution Criterion - Spine #947 - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:50:15.317      
Video

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rays

Disc One: 48,455,988,788 bytes

Feature: 36,502,364,160 bytes

Video Bitrate: 35.96 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3614 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3614 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles English (SDH), None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Criterion

 

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rays

Disc One: 48,455,988,788 bytes

Feature: 36,502,364,160 bytes

Video Bitrate: 35.96 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• New conversation between critics Mark Harris and Frank Rich (30:12)
• Excerpt from a 1998 appearance by producer, cowriter, and actor Warren Beatty on The South Bank Show (12:41)
• PLUS: An essay by Rich


 Blu-ray Release Date: October 16th / November 5th, 2018
 Transparent Blu-ray Case

Chapters 11

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Criterion new Blu-ray is described as a "New 4K digital restoration". Shampoo was shot in 35mm but DoP László Kovács and Ashby gave the film a very textured, thick, look not unlike the director's The Last Detail, two years earlier. Colors carry some richness but it is the grain that is the most noticeable feature of the HD visuals. The 1080P image is clean and shows some depth appearing consistent and very film-like. It is in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate.

Criterion provide a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) track in the original English language or the option of a robust DTS-HD Master in 5.1 surround. The latter adds bass depth and some subtle separations. The film has no demonstrative effects and I was comfortable with the original mono audio. The score is credited to Paul Simon - as well as Silent Eyes, and his brand of folk rock, we get memorable music of the era including The Beach Boy's Wouldn't It Be Nice, The Monkees' I'm a Believer, Carole King's It Might as Well Rain Until September, some Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass and even The Beatles. It rocks and sounds super in the lossless.  Criterion add optional English (SDH) subtitles and being available in North American and the UK it is a Region 'A' / 'B' Blu-ray depending on your geographic location.

No commentary and only two digital supplements. Criterion include a new 1/2 hour conversation between critics Mark Harris and Frank Rich discussing the time the film was made, Beatty's input and much more. Included is a 12-minute excerpt from a 1998 appearance by producer, cowriter, and actor Warren Beatty on 'The South Bank Show' where he seems honest and moderately revealing. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by 'Rich'.

Shampoo exports many themes - of superficiality, casual infidelity, honesty about sex and it takes place over about 24-hours. There is a great cast and the Criterion Blu-ray gives a solid, authentic, presentation with their 4K restoration.  Supplements aren't extensive but encourage appreciation and exposing the film's lesser-investigated depth. Absolutely recommended! 

Gary Tooze

 

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Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

  

Distribution Criterion - Spine #947 - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray




 

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