On Blu-ray - David Hare welcomes two films 'bookmarking a period of personal expression in movies' - LAST TANGO IN PARIS (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1972) & QUEER (Luca Guadagnino, 2024)

These two just arrived from the UK and USA. (Nina and the back scratcher are permanent fixtures.)

Happily, both 4K UHD discs are outstanding. Mubi, Queer’s producer created its own 4K disc transfer and the result upstages even theatrical viewing. Mubi includes a region A locked Blu-ray which I haven’t yet spun but perhaps unfortunately neither Blu-ray nor 4K includes extras, like the copious material included on A24’s UK Blu-ray only disc. There’s also an Oz Blu-ray Region B released by Madman, also not viewed by me which appears also to be extras free. 

Needless to say I thought Queer was the best film of 2024 and it’s completely swung me around from disdain for Luca Guadagnino's cinema to uncontained admiration for his passionate expression of everything that makes us queer. From style, emotion, humor, lust and unrestrained lyricism, i salute it.

The Bertolucci too remains a masterpiece to me, one of his best. Made when he was young and energetic enough to give reign to so much emotion - fear, angst, desire - in such formally gorgeous mise-en-scène. This is a new 4K scan and restoration for Vinegar Syndrome label, with supervision by Rotunno who is probably responsible for the unusually warm color tone of the actors, shots and settings. I had a look at the now ancient MGM Blu-ray from ca. 2009 before ordering this and I have to say that disc remains an extremely strong, highly resolved transfer. But Rotunno’s little dial spin with the color grading won me over after twenty minutes. He’s commented about this element here and there and, given at least he hasn’t meddled with the aspect ration (it remains 1.85) I happily buy this new rendering.

Indeed both films, now fifty plus years apart have so much context and history and expression and formal lyricism, it feels as though the two pictures are bookmarking a period of personal expression in movies that now seems so starkly absent from so much cinema, whether arthouse or popular or both.

Vale Berto and grazie Guadagnino.