Stars:
Candace Evanofski, Donald Holden, Damien Jewan Lee, Curtis Cotton III, Rachael
Handy, Paul Schneider, and Eddie Rouse
Writer:
David Gordon Green
Director:
David Gordon Green
Feature
length: 90 minutes
Extras:
Commentary By Director David Gordon Green, Cinematographer Tim Orr, and Actor
Paul Schneider, Deleted Scene With Optional Commentary, David Gordon Green’s
Short Films, New Cast Reunion Interview, Charlie Rose Interview With David
Gordon Green
Languages:
English Dolby Surround 2.0
Subtitles:
English Captions
Packaging:
Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 16
Sound:
Stereo Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2000/DVD Release: 2002
Home
Video Distributor: Home Vision Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Up
until watching this DVD of David Gordon Green’s “George Washington” I had
never heard of the filmmaker and had no idea what to expect. “George
Washington” is a slice of contemporary Americana circa the Deep South. It is
not a documentary and is not a film about the African American experience in the
south even though the majority of the cast is African American. This film has
absolutely nothing to do with our founding father President either. The best way
to describe “George Washington” is to say it is an atmospheric drama about
the disenfranchised and it presents the characters in such a way as to suggest
the audience are passive observers whose function is not to morally judge any
one character, but rather just watch and take it all in. Like one of Raymond
Carver’s short stories, which were the basis for Robert Altman’s “Short
Cuts,” we follow a stream of consciousness filled with poetic imagery inspired
by Terrance Malick. This is not some bright insight I gained from watching the
film alone although anyone who has seen the work of Altman and Malick will note
the stylistic similarities. Writer and Director David Allan Green makes mention
of both filmmakers in his screen specific feature length audio commentary track,
which he shares with Cinematographer Tim Orr and Actor Paul Schneider, on this
Criterion Collection DVD. I normally try not to jump into an extra feature
without talking about the basics like what the film is about and how does it
look and sound, but since this is somewhat of an unconventional film, I am
following my gut on what I feel is appropriate in discussing the DVD and as far
as I’m concerned, the comments are just as important as the film itself if we
are to gain any insight beyond our own subjective experience. The filmmakers
will not hold the viewers hand and talk about technical jargon or say this is
good or bad. That is for the viewer to explore on his or her own. “George
Washington” is a without a doubt one of the more unique independent films
I’ve seen in awhile and a very poignant one at that.
“George
Washington” is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of (2.35:1).
This new high-definition transfer was created from a 35mm interpositive. While
the transfer is clean and quite gorgeous to look at, I sometimes noticed some
shimmering at the top corner of certain scenes that was distracting. The
soundtrack was mastered from the original digital stereo mix and as a whole both
the picture and sound transfer was supervised and approved by Director David
Gordon Green and Cinematographer Tim Orr. The soundtrack is full and vibrant,
but on my home theater receiver using an optical digital sound cord from the DVD
player into the receiver, my player read and displayed the sound output a Dolby
Prologic so I will compromise by stating the transfer is Dolby Stereo Surround
Sound. The packaging lists the soundtrack as being simply stereo and then as
Dolby Surround too, but there is just one film soundtrack. English Captions for
the hearing impaired are also encoded on to the DVD as options.
Extra
features include several short films shot on tape by David Gordon Green with
optional commentary and the film “A Day With The Boys,” which was an
inspiration for the Director with optional commentary as well as a deleted scene
with optional commentary too. There is a videotaped reunion interview with the
cast and an interview with David Gordon Green taken from the “Charlie Rose”
show. There is an insert with a statement by the Director as well as an essay by
Film Critic and Author Armond White within the DVD keep case.
Definitely
a film worth viewing at least as a rental, “George Washington: The Criterion
Collection #152” is available on DVD-Video now from Home Vision Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.