Pulp Blu-ray - Michael Caine

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Mike Hodges
UK 1972

A year after they'd created one of the defining British gangster pictures with Get Carter, three Michaels writer-director Mike Hodges, producer Michael Klinger and star Michael Caine reunited for another crime picture, albeit with a more oddball flavor...

Caine plays Mickey King, a successful pulp novelist responsible for such titles as My Gun Is Long and The Organ Grinder, who is invited to ghost-write the autobiography of a mystery celebrity. His client turns out to be a former actor, played by Mickey Rooney, well-known for his gangster roles and real-life gangster connections but death is around the corner, and King finds his commission to be a lot more complicated than he first imagined.

A favourite of J.B. Ballard, Pulp has long existed in the shadow of its predecessor. Tonally, it could not be more different Get Carter never had the time for sight gags and one-liners but it s a real gem in its own right and fully deserving of a wider audience. This brand-new restoration from Arrow Films aims to right than wrong.

***

Following Get Carter was never going to be easy, and Hodge threw a lot of fans by changing tack with this comedy effort. Caine appears for the director again, this time as a trash novel author who travels to Malta to help write faded film star Rooney's memoirs. While researching the actor's past, Caine uncovers a scandal involving some of the island's more disreputable characters and becomes involved in a thuggish plot that could have graced one of his own novels. Very funny in places, not least because of Rooney's unusually acute, self-parodying performance and Hodges' deft handling of visual gags.

Excerpt from Channel 4 located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: November 1972

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Comparison:

MGM - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Arrow Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray

1) MGM - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT

2) Arrow Film - Region FREE - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers
Distribution	MGM Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC	Arrow - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:35:39	1:35:42.153
Video	1.78:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.13 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,316,514,123 bytes Feature: 27,997,453,056 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.91 Mbps
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, Spanish, None	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: MGM Home Video Aspect Ratio: Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: April 17th, 2007 Keep Case Chapters: 20	Release Information: Studio: Arrow Films Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,316,514,123 bytes Feature: 27,997,453,056 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.91 Mbps Edition Details: • Brand-new interview with writer-director Mike Hodges (17:35) • Brand-new interview with director of photography Ousama Rawi (9:14) • Brand-new interview with assistant director John Glen (4:58) • Brand-new interview with Tony Klinger, son of producer Michael Klinger (6:07) • Original theatrical trailer (2:03) • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector s booklet containing new writing by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Blu-ray Release Date: December 18th-19th, 2017 Custom Blu-ray Box Chapters: 13

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Arrow Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray - December 17':

Arrow's transfer is cited as a "Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements, supervised and approved by director of photography Ousama Rawi, produced by Arrow Films exclusively for this release".

This is the another Arrow Blu-ray release that is being simultaneously released in both region 'A' (US) and 'B' (UK). It is the exact same transfer, extras etc. in both Europe and North America.

NOTE: As Michael Brooke informs us on Facebook in regards to Day of Anger: 'As the producer of Arrow's release, I can confirm first hand that the UK and US discs are absolutely identical: we only paid for one master, so there's no doubt about this at all! Which means that no matter which package you buy, the discs will play in any Region A or B setup (or Region 1 or 2 for DVD - and in the latter case the video standard is NTSC, to maximise compatibility). The booklets are also identical, but there are minor cosmetic differences on the disc labels and sleeve to do with differing copyright info and barcodes, and the US release doesn't have BBFC logos.' Pulp is the same situation.

The new 1080P image is more earthy/yellow than the greener SD with warmer skin tones. These colors are more accurate with the transfer supervised by director of photography Ousama Rawi, as he states in the included interview. There is some minor movement in the frame much the Blu-ray's 1.85:1 seems marginally cropped beside the DVD's opened-up 1.78:1. The higher resolution ha more film grain and detail heightens. No gloss, film-like textures, but the overall image is not overwhelming - but probably accurate to the film's original appearance.

The audio is transferred via a linear PCM at 2304 kbps (24-bit) in the original English (and some Maltese). There are effects - car crashes etc. - that come through fairly passive and flat. The score is by The Beatles producer George Martin (A Hard Day's Night). It's fairly light supporting the film's many moods. Arrow add optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray disc.

Arrow add four new interviews in the Blu-ray's supplements, with with writer-director Mike Hodges, director of photography Ousama Rawi, editor John Glen and Tony Klinger, son of producer Michael Klinger. They run about 35-minutes in total. There is also an original theatrical trailer, the Blu-ray package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh and for the first pressing consumer get a collector's booklet containing new writing by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.

I think Pulp suffer from switching genres, without buffers, from comedy to crime but Caine is always good and it remains an interesting film. I enjoyed premise and reading the authored fiction in sequences, plus that women are ready to offer themselves sexually to the Mickey King character at the drop of a hat - based on his, seductive, writings. Fun, strange... the Blu-ray is obviously, the way to go.

***

ON THE DVD (2007): Although the MGM DVD is dual-layered and progressive the image is somewhat unremarkable looking hazy in spots with dull colors. The audio is clean and clear and it sports optional subtitles. The screen captures give a fair representation.

There are no extras and I had trouble getting into this film which is unusual as I really like Michael Caine. Needless to say this is not a glowing recommendation but the price is right if you at all have any inkling.