THE CRITERION COLLECTION: CRUMB (1995, Blu-ray released August 10, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)
I grew up fascinated with comic books, spending as much time in the classroom creating cartoons as I did reading them afterward. When the documentary Crumb was released in 1995 it was like a sucker punch to my gut – seeing so much of my own passion for the medium on screen but filtered through the incredibly twisted mind of Robert Crumb and his eccentric family.
As much as I’d love Crumb to be a story about the world of comic books or a single mad creative genius’ struggle with pen and ink, it’s just so much more. Director Terry Zwigoff‘s film spends as much celluloid, if not more, on the origins of Crumb’s illustrated visions and his damaged psyche than on the infamous illustrations themselves. It’s his family and relationships that Zwigoff is most keen on revealing to the world; Subjects that, according to the director, Crumb himself was reluctant to make available to the filmmaker and close friend.
It’s made clear early on that brother Charles Crumb was the comic book fanatic in the family, forcing his four siblings, Robert among them, to draw strips and full issues, creating something of a competitive dynamic, particularly between the brothers. But their dysfunctional dynamic extended far beyond the siblings to their abusive ex-Marine father and medicated mother, no doubt shaping the men they would become – Robert, an influential illustrator famous for his aberrant illustrations and Charles, a suicidal, schizophrenic shut-in, still living with his mother at the time the film was made (Charles took his own life shortly before the film was released.) Try as he might to be his own man, Robert Crumb lives in the shadow of Charles, crafting every image, every strip into work that he hopes will delight his brother and, at the same time, purge himself of the demons he bottles up tight.
Filmed over the course of five years and edited over three, the work ends up being an intimate and very private look at the life of the Crumb’s, as Robert, wife Aline and daughter Sophie prepare to flee to the relative serenity of the south of France from the excess of an America that no longer shares their sense of discreet culture. Crumb is a sentimental, sad yet inspiring portrait of a comic book legend whose illustrations, though controversial, epitomized the underground comic book movement of the late 60s and 70s and still make waves today.
Crumb comes to Blu-ray in the richest and most vibrant presentation of the film on home video to date, thanks to The Criterion Collection. While the film might not be the kind of eye-candy you might hope for on a high-def disc, this director approved transfer is certainly impressive.
From the liner notes:
- “Approved by director Terry Zwigoff, this new high-definition transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a 16mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, slices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system and Pixel Farm’s PFClean system, while Digital Vision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.“
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and afforded an MPEG-4 AVC encode, Crumb is far from perfect – Titles bloom, the image is generally quite soft, and there is somewhat of a slight judder in the opening moments of the film (I should also mention a strange blue line that mars the frame at around 1:40.) But when you consider the original source (one needs but look at the unused footage as evidence of the work Criterion put into making the image shine) this is a great looking disc.
Regarding the singular English LPCM Mono audio track on the disc, the liner notes have this to say:
- “The monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from 35mm monaural magnetic track. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated audio workstation.“
This is a clean, clear track that’s as stable as a rock without any discernible noise or hiss. There’s a lot of music in the film (both Crumb and Zwigoff are obsessed with old jazz music and their collections of 78 records) and it all sounds as lively as you would expect, given age and limited channels.
As great as the film and it’s presentation are, Crumb really shines on Blu-ray thanks to the extra love given it by The Criterion Collection. The packaging itself is incredible, featuring wonderful art by Robert on the exterior and his brother Charles’ notebook scribbles on the interior. It not only houses the Blu-ray disc but a 28-page illustrated booklet (featuring critic Jonathan Rosenbaum’s essay “Crumb Reconsidered“, illustrations and more!) as well as a reproduction of the art test taken by Charles, seen in the film.
The disc itself features not one, but two excellent commentary tracks by Zwigoff – one recorded in 2006 with Roger Ebert (one of the last recordings the critic would make before permanently losing his voice to throat cancer surgery) alongside a brand new Criterion exclusive solo track. They’re both worth listening to, however you’ll find some anecdotes and details shared between the two. The highlight of the robust collection of bonus feature is the over 50-minutes of unused footage, some of which is detailed by optional director commentary. This is great stuff that could have easily found its way into the doc itself. There isn’t a “Play All” function present in the menu but rest assured, if you select the first scene, “Squirrely The Squirrel“, as I did, the disc will pay through them all, in order. The Crumb Blu-ray disc is rounded out with a stills gallery that showcases behind-the-scenes photos of Robert Crumb and the crew of the film.
[...] you read my recent review of The Criterion Collection release of Terry Zwigoff‘s Crumb on Blu-ray, you’re no doubt aware of my passion for comic books. And it just so happens that one of my [...]