845 The Squid and the Whale

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swo17
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845 The Squid and the Whale

#1 Post by swo17 » Mon Aug 15, 2016 6:04 pm

The Squid and the Whale

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With excruciating honesty, The Squid and the Whale chronicles the experiences of two young brothers growing up in 1980s Park Slope, Brooklyn, as they navigate the jagged contours of the divorce of their parents, both writers. The acclaimed third feature by Noah Baumbach marked a critical development for the filmmaker as he turned toward an increasingly personal style—a move that garnered him an Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay. Shot in Super 16 mm and featuring a quartet of nuanced, understated performances from Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg, and Owen Kline, this comic and poignant drama, peppered with autobiographical elements, deftly captures the heartache and confusion of a fracturing family.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED EDITION:

• New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Robert Yeoman and director Noah Baumbach, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New interviews with Baumbach and actors Jeff Daniels, Jesse Eisenberg, Owen Kline, and Laura Linney
• New conversation about the score and other music in the film between Baumbach and composers Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips
Behind "The Squid and the Whale," a 2004 documentary featuring on-set footage and cast interviews
• Audition footage
• Trailers

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#2 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Mon Aug 15, 2016 6:32 pm

First Criterion to feature Pink Floyd, albeit not a song specifically written for the movie. Hopefully not the last, with Zabriskie Point a possibility because of the Warner deal. Perhaps more crucially this won't be the closest we get to a Blue Velvet release either.

I saw this one a long time ago and liked it but haven't revisited it since.
Last edited by flyonthewall2983 on Mon Aug 15, 2016 6:37 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#3 Post by domino harvey » Mon Aug 15, 2016 6:34 pm

flyonthewall2983 wrote:First Criterion to feature Pink Floyd, albeit not a song specifically written for the movie.
Found Anna Paquin

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#4 Post by domino harvey » Mon Aug 15, 2016 6:38 pm

Also, hopefully this will inspire Criterion to use their resources to get Baumbach's brilliant Margot at the Wedding out on Blu as well

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#5 Post by domino harvey » Mon Aug 15, 2016 8:39 pm

So, this does not carry over Baumbach's 53 minute commentary or the 38 minute NYFF interview from the DVD

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#6 Post by The Narrator Returns » Tue Aug 16, 2016 12:41 am

More importantly, the back copy tries to cover up the existence of Highball. I'm going to show up in a dinosaur costume at Criterion's offices to protest this snub.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#7 Post by djproject » Tue Aug 16, 2016 10:15 am

flyonthewall2983 wrote:First Criterion to feature Pink Floyd, albeit not a song specifically written for the movie. Hopefully not the last, with Zabriskie Point a possibility because of the Warner deal.
Speaking of Pink Floyd, More and La vallee (sometimes known as "Obscured by Clouds") are going to be a part of the massive Pink Floyd early years set to be released in November.

Pink Floyd The Wall - which will mark the Criterion debut of Alan Parker - may be a possibility, though I'm sure Roger Waters/Pink Floyd will want to do their own thing with it. (Plus what I love about the DVD is the menu configuration.)

===

The story goes that Noah Baumbach wanted to use The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes", but I think "Hey You" works better since
SpoilerShow
1) It is easier for Walt to steal it for his own. (Though I'm also in the camp that believes way more people should have caught on this was a direct lift.)
2) The choices Walt made and the bridges he burnt is an equivalent of building a self-imposed wall to isolate yourself from the pain of being human. This is quite apparent when sections of the actual studio recording play toward the end.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#8 Post by djproject » Tue Aug 16, 2016 10:22 am

Ah yes, and this is also the Criterion debuts of Jesse Eisenberg, Owen Kline and Laura Linney. (Jeff Daniels already appeared in both Tanner '88 and Something Wild)

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#9 Post by swo17 » Tue Aug 16, 2016 10:29 am

Well Owen Kline's barely been in anything so that's hardly a surprise, but in researching this post, I did just learn that he's the son of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#10 Post by eastguy » Tue Aug 16, 2016 2:12 pm

domino harvey wrote:So, this does not carry over Baumbach's 53 minute commentary or the 38 minute NYFF interview from the DVD
Wasn't planning to get rid of my copy, for sentimental reasons, guess now it's somewhat practical. Sad to see no Kicking and Screaming upgrade paired with this though. Hopefully it and Margot at the Wedding will show up at some point. As for cover, which seems to be garnering a love it or hate it response, I'd be lying if I didn't say I like it even more today than I did yesterday.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#11 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Tue Aug 16, 2016 4:04 pm

djproject wrote:(Jeff Daniels already appeared in both Tanner '88 and Something Wild)
And is in a deleted scene from The Player.

I'm surprised there wasn't an earlier thread for this when it came out.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#12 Post by Ribs » Wed Sep 14, 2016 2:31 pm

Now added:

PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Kent Jones and a 2005 interview of Baumbach by novelist Jonathan Lethem

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#13 Post by djproject » Tue Oct 18, 2016 8:24 am

Beaver (meets Squid and Whale)

Contrast is stronger and the colours are quite different (it appears the original DVD looked de-saturated).

I wonder if the source was the original Super 16 negative or the 35mm blow-up.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#14 Post by djproject » Tue Nov 22, 2016 10:09 pm

djproject wrote:I wonder if the source was the original Super 16 negative or the 35mm blow-up.
The source is the Super 16 A/B negative. I wonder if the DVD had the 35mm answer print as the source.


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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#16 Post by Andrew_VB » Mon Nov 28, 2016 3:55 pm

wow, plus a copy of the criterion blu-ray and a criterion tote. now that's a deal.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#17 Post by barryconvex » Tue Nov 29, 2016 2:15 am

I really wanted to like this but outside of Daniels' and Linney's excellent performances i mostly see a director who hasn't found his voice yet and is borrowing Wes Anderson's in the interim.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#18 Post by swo17 » Tue Nov 29, 2016 2:21 am

To be fair, Baumbach had co-written one of Anderson's films before making this.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#19 Post by knives » Tue Nov 29, 2016 2:34 am

Though I don't seen any real comparison to even that unless Anderson has the market covered on droll, American comedy.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#20 Post by domino harvey » Tue Nov 29, 2016 2:46 am

Considering it is consistent with his entire ouevre, the idea that Baumbach not only hadn't found his voice but is using Wes Anderson's is just... man, barryconvex, maybe this one should have not ended with hitting Submit

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#21 Post by mfunk9786 » Tue Nov 29, 2016 11:30 am

Baumbach has been making films for as long as Anderson has, with a similar degree of immediate recognition and success. He's been collaborative to the same degree as Anderson if not moreso, and as has been pointed out here, has very few formalistic similarities. Anderson's never co-written a Baumbach film, but he has seen fit to borrow the talents of Baumbach at least twice for his films. Totally puzzling to imply that he's doing nearly anything that Anderson does either here or throughout the rest of his career. Not to mention that this might be his most personal movie.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#22 Post by djproject » Tue Nov 29, 2016 12:58 pm

While they may have some similar thematic interests (self-delusions, makeshift families, inability to allow for change) and certainly a similar pedigree (both have intersecting influences, particularly and especially French cinema), they are very particular filmmakers in their own right. For starters, Baumbach does not conform his stories to a consistent style paradigm the way Wes does. Another way to phrase it is Baumbach often feels free to try any style that's best suited for the story (for Squid/Whale, it owes to the 1980s American independent films as well as to Cassavetes and, I would add, Pialat).

Now, what I got from his interview for the Criterion release, The Squid and the Whale represented for him a certain confidence in his craft and being able to tell the kind of story he wants. Kicking and Screaming can be seen as a Preston Sturges type film but looking at Gen-X post-college. (I can't speak for Mr. Jealousy as I have not seen it.) But while Squid/Whale has its precedents - some obvious, some maybe not so obvious - it does feel more that he is making a film on his terms and with more of his own voice. Quite the opposite of depending on someone else. (Yes, Wes was one of the producers ... but after working on the scripts to both The Life Aquatic and Fantastic Mr. Fox, you can imagine some mutual backscratching done out of friendship and creative respect =] ).

Also keep in mind - at least as it was revealed by him - that the Squid/Whale was in his head for a long time before he had the chance to write something initially, let alone when it was finally made in 2004/2005.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#23 Post by swo17 » Tue Nov 29, 2016 1:02 pm

Mr. Jealousy is wonderful. It would be great if Criterion could rescue that and Highball from OOP obscurity.

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#24 Post by domino harvey » Tue Nov 29, 2016 1:04 pm

Mr Jealousy is the best Woody Allen film not made by Woody Allen

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Re: 845 The Squid and the Whale

#25 Post by hearthesilence » Tue Nov 29, 2016 1:06 pm

Having lived in NYC for a while now, Baumbach's film feels very much like someone who's been a life-long New Yorker (specifically the type who runs around in intellectual circles and would call Park Slope home now), and it feels so grounded and personal, it's a huge contrast to, say, the fairy-tale like quality of (the outsider and Texas-bred) Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums. That alone would preclude me from giving Anderson much credit for the vision behind this film.

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