Paper Moon - Ryan & Tatum O'Neal [DVD]

Peter Bogdanovich's 1973 movie "Paper Moon" was based on Joe David Brown's Depression Era novel "Addie Pray". Bogdanovich disliked the book title and on seeing sheet music to "It's Only A Paper Moon" by Harold Arlen from 1933 - decided to retitle the film and even add a scene where a Paper Moon is including (the carnival set).Set in 1935 – it's essentially a Depression Era road movie where Tatum O'Neal (then only 10 years old) plays "Addie" Loggins/Pray - while her very famous dad Ryan (hot from "Love Story" and "What's Up Doc?") plays the bible-selling hustler Moses "Pray" who takes on this mouthy but winning orphan after her hooker mum has passed away.Relocating the story from the South to the Mid West (the flat treeless landscape of Kansas was used for filming) and featuring a wonderfully evocative Soundtrack of Dust Bowl Ballads and Chorus Songs - the movie's father/daughter relationship and old-timey nostalgia appeal tapped into "The Sting" audience and rewarded the irrepressible Tatum O’Neal with an Oscar nomination for best Supporting Role (the youngest actress to ever receive such an accolade - which she won). It also received three other nominations - Madeline Khan as best Supporting Actress, Best adapted screenplay by Alvin Sargent and Best Sound. The soundtrack even troubled the lower regions of the American charts in August 1973 and has become a celebrated piece ever since (see my review for the 2009 Cherry Red/El Records Expanded CD which adds on 11 Bonus Tracks). Which brings us to the BLU RAY reissue...This "Masters Of Cinema" title on Eureka Entertainment boasts a lovely and faithfully restored print - all of it topped off with genuinely informative extras (overseen by the film's maker). Filmed using red filters (a tip to the cinematographer by Orson Wells) – the picture as I said is in Black and White – but don’t expect perfection from the clean up and restoration. There is much new clarity in so many sequences - but there is also a lot of natural grain and some shimmering. But as you watch this time around – the cinematography of Laszlo Kovacs and the stunning costumes of Polly Platt (Ryan O’Neal wears George Raft’s suits) start to jump out at you as never before. The BLU RAY also allows you to play the Movie in Standard Mode or with SDH subtitles for the Hard of Hearing.The EXTRAS are:1. Play The Movie with SDH2. 2003 Commentary by Director and Producer Peter Bogdanovich3. The Next Picture Show – a featurette on the movie with Peter Bogdanovich discussing its beginnings, it’s casting, making and the actors and crew involved. It includes outtakes and contributions from his wife of the time and Costume Designer Polly Platt4. Asking For The Moon – a featurette discussing the actors Tatum and Ryan O’Neal, Madeline Khan as the big-chested love interest Trixie Delight, John Hillerman as both Deputy Hardin and his brother Jess, Randy Quaid as the hillbilly Leroy and PJ Johnson as the Black Maid Imogene.5. Getting The Moon – a featurette on how they arrived at the make-shift ending and includes outtakesThe Extras are superb and come with a surprising number of outtakes and clapperboard beginnings – and even though there are no present day interviews with either of the O’Neals – it’s a detailed and well thought out set of featurettes.A great movie, a quality print and half decent extras - if you’ve any love for "Paper Moon" the Movie – then the Eureka Entertainment BLU RAY is the one to get...

Paper Moon folds its wholesome bribery into an exquisitely simplistic origami comedy. The severe worldwide economic decline of the 30s, most popularly known as “The Great Depression”, resulted in thousands of individuals bargaining and bribing their way to earning a living. Money was a rarity. Businesses collapsed. Streets were deserted. For sophisticated con man Moses Pray, whom ironically preyed on vulnerable widows into purchasing a personalised bible, lack of funds was the least of his newfound problems. When visiting a funeral procession to pay his respects to nine-year-old Addie’s mother, whom is now suspected as her father based on facial similarities (although persistently denies that supposed fantasy), he agrees to deliver the orphan to her aunt’s house cross state in Missouri. The foreboding road trip ahead however, would challenge both individuals in monetary mentality and superfluous guardianship.Bogdanovich’s adaptation of Brown’s character-titled ‘Addie Pray’, may not illicit a multitude of profound themes, but confidently illustrates the camaraderie between juxtaposing generations through engaging humour. First and foremost, it’s a comedic road-trip feature. Bogdanovich rarely veers from the intended destination. Addie, with her astonishingly mature sensibilities, consistently gaining the upper hand in her “business relationship” with Moses, by initially demanding two-hundred dollars and possessing improved sleight-of-hand trickery to capitalise on stealing money. Her acute attention to people, environments and situations allows her to strongly adapt to each scenario and reap in the biggest reward possible without raising awareness to policing forces. Her natural talent heavily implies Moses’ potentiality as her father, given he is also well-equipped with deception and subterfuge. Yet Sargent’s stupendously heartwarming screenplay avoids this arc as the central plot point, instead opting for an exploration in the differing maturities of Addie and “Moze”. Addie smoking cigarettes whilst tucked up in bed, although regrettably an action that has not aged well in the slightest, and Moze hypnotised by the “exotic dancer” Miss Trixie Delight. Intelligently, this rampart contrast produced a fast-moving pace that even a Model 68 convertible could not overtake.Paper Moon, at its core, is superfluous. Yet it’s with this one-dimensionality that Sargent’s humorous dialogue decorates its characters with nutritious strength, marking it as a superlative screenplay that sits among the best ever written. The introductory café exchange cements this notion by outlining the plot’s calculative business repetition whilst embedding characterised dominance between both individuals that conjures the required hilarity. It never lets go. Bogdanovich’s honest approach creating an affecting portrait of poverty-stricken America simultaneously.Undoubtedly, the real-life pairing of Ryan and Tatum O’Neal perpetuated the onscreen chemistry to incalculable heights, particularly with their interactions. A connection that may not have been possible from two differing actors. Tatum’s extraordinary young performance, which garnered her the youngest recipient of the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award, was nothing short of exceptional. From the smart quips to the expressionistic facial movements. She unequivocally matched her father’s performance, whom was equally as flawless with his stern yet friendly characteristics. Kovács’ monochromatic cinematography, accentuating the bleak outlook of “The Great Depression”, paid tribute to features of the 30s and 40s. Extensive uninterrupted dialogue exchanges and unwrinkled tracking shots of automobiles driving across the barren countryside.These empty environments may identify with the plot’s overall simplicity, however that should not detract from Paper Moon’s effectiveness as an entertaining mismatched road-trip comedy. For what it lacks in profoundness, Sargent’s delightful screenplay makes up for in joyous enjoyability. Watching a real father and daughter connect through a cinematic experience, transforming this apparent thinly constructed moon into a bright sunny day.

It's taken me ages to track down a Region 2 DVD copy of this 1970s classic film but am I glad I persevered! Despite the passage of years it didn't disappoint in any way. I originally saw it on first release in the cinema, but only once more since, years ago on television. It's a simple enough tale at its core, but with so many well acted strands and great direction and camera work. Set in Depression-era America it's essentially a tale about a small-time conman who befriends a young orphaned girl who may or may not be his daughter. From unpromising beginnings they forge a strong partnership travelling the highways and byways of rural America looking for opportunities to make a fast buck. Some they win, some they lose and in the context of contemporary sensitivities it's not always the most moral of tales. However it never crosses the line into serious unpleasantness and it has to be remembered that while fiction it draws heavily on the experiences of many poor people at that time, often simply desperate to survive. I'll say no more about the plot lines for fear of spoiling the story for others. It's a bit of a romp, contains humour and pathos in equal measures, and is quite touching in the way a father/daughter relationship develops.