Sideways Blu-ray delivers great video and solid audio in this must-own Blu-ray release
A wine tasting road trip to salute Jack's final days as a bachelor careens woefully
sideways as he and Miles hit the gas en route to mid-life crises. The comically
mismatched pair, who share little more than their history and a heady blend of
failed potential and fading youth, soon find themselves drowning in wine and
women. Emerging from a haze of pinot noir, wistful yearnings and trepidation about
the future, the two inevitably collide with reality.
In a day and age where absurd comedy seems to be preferred by many audiences, it can
become difficult to find those special little films that manage to marry intelligence and wit
with genuinely heartfelt and inspired storytelling. Amongst contemporary filmmakers, one
man in particular stands out from the pack of the most reliably astute producers of such films.
Having written and directed the strangely endearing comedic classics Election,
About
Schmidt and Citizen Ruth, Alexander Payne continually delivers films that
balance subversive and understated humor with a subtle understanding of fear, longing and
sadness. Mr. Payne's most recent feature, Sideways, further solidifies his talents for
creating monumentally funny and unconventional films that never shy away from genuine
emotion.
Jack's passionate plea for female companionship
Divorced, broke, struggling to find a publisher for his novel and frustrated with his life as an
English teacher, Miles (Paul Giamatti) finds his only true solace in the form of the countless
bottles of wine that he spends his days drinking and obsessing over. On the eve of his best
friend Jack's (Thomas Haden Church) wedding, the two life-long buddies head out to
California's Santa Barbara County for a few days of golf, vineyard tours, wine and, hopefully,
women. Jack has his own set of issues to contend with; he's a past-his-prime television
actor whose career has slowly faded. He's convinced that one last fling will satisfy him
enough to commit to his looming marriage. As their trip progresses, Miles finds himself taken by a beautiful waitress
named Maya (Virginia Madsen); she shares his passion for wine while appealing to his
intellect. Jack, on the other hand, attracts a vineyard worker, Stephanie (Sandra Oh), who
might not know exactly what Jack's intentions are. Fueled by the drunken haze of limitless
wine, Jack and Miles stumble their way through a series of encounters in Santa Barbara and into an endless stream
of embarrassing situations. Will this supposed last hurrah fizzle out?
Sideways is a tricky, sneaky movie. The film performs an effortless balancing act by
presenting scene after scene of comic brilliance while continually weaving an undercurrent of
pain, loss, depression and anxiety into the proceedings. That might sound pretty
unpleasant, but Mr. Payne does a phenomenal job of never pushing his screenplay or actors
into over-the-top moments that might take away from the natural unfolding of the plot. He
keeps the film light enough, when necessary, to ensure that the movie's laugh-out-loud
moments help to relieve instances of dramatic heft. It's breathtaking to take in and
subsequent viewings help to uncover the film's many intricate layers.
Both Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church deliver career-defining performances in
Sideways. Mr. Church is, perhaps, the biggest surprise of the bunch; prior to this
role, he'd only been known as a television actor whose most prominent role was in
the long-defunct series "Wings." As Jack, he completely embodies the character's likeable
outward demeanor while never underselling his deeply childish tendencies. Mr. Church's
performance clearly made an impression; he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the
2005 Oscars, won a large number of critic's association awards and an Independent Spirit
Award while sharing Screen Actor's Guild honors with the entire ensemble from the film.
One of the great joys of experiencing Sideways lies in observing Miles' cleverly elitist behavior.
Miles is a character filled with self-loathing and a complete lack of self-esteem. He
compensates for these shortcomings by lashing out at others in sarcastic and snobbish ways, though he always
adds humor in order to protect himself from angry rebuttals. Being a behavior that many of us have have
witnessed in real-life, this essential detail has the dual benefit of adding a tangible touch of realism to
Miles' tortured existence while serving as the source of many of Sideways' most
hilarious scenes.
I'm thrilled to have added Sideways to my Blu-ray collection. It's among the
funniest films of the last decade; never sacrificing character or plot for cheap laughs or
contrived scenarios. If
you've never seen Sideways, do yourself a favor and watch the movie as soon as
humanly
possible, preferably with a nice glass of Pinot Noir. You won't regret it.
Intentionally shot in moderately soft focus while featuring a somewhat bland color
palette, Sideways has never been a particularly lush-looking film. Given the film's
extremely low budget (by Hollywood standards) it should come as no surprise that
Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael shot the film as simply and naturally as possible.
There's no CGI, camera trickery or telecine tweaking in Sideways and the entire
films looks natural and unadulterated.
Colors are generally muted with the occasional splash of bright primaries. Skin-tones are a
bit washed out and black levels can, at times, appear slightly crushed. Much of the film takes
place indoors and at night; the film's use of natural light renders these scenes particularly
dark and black levels excel in these instances. Digital compression issues are, thankfully,
absent from this Blu-ray. I didn't detect any edge enhancement, macroblocking, ringing or
noise; fortunately the film's fine grain structure is apparent throughout. In comparing this
Blu-ray release to the previous DVD releases of Sideways, it is clear that colors,
detail and overall clarity are greatly improved. The best thing about this Blu-ray edition is
that Sideways finally looks like it was shot on film. The DVD version is far too
smooth and its limited resolution eliminates most of the grain that adds essential texture to the look
of the film. For those that appreciate the appearance of actual film, Sideways is
sure to please. Recommended!
As the catalog of available Blu-ray films continues to increase, films featuring fewer
explosions and less surround action will become more commonplace. Fans of explosive
soundtracks have been spoiled up to this point as studios have concentrated on demo
material as a priority in their Blu-ray release schedules. While there will always be plenty of
action films to satisfy that market, there are far more films like Sideways; films that
focus on dialogue over machine guns and quiet moments over momentary quiet.
Sideways is all about dialogue. It's a comedy / drama and no one has to fire a gun
or ride in a helicopter during the duration of the film. As such, what this Blu-ray will provide
is a perfectly realized 5.1 DTS HD-Master Audio soundtrack that never wavers in its
attention to making sure that every line is clearly heard. Those expecting anything else will
be disappointed as Sideways sounds like it is supposed to.
- Feature-length Audio Commentary with Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church
- Deleted Scenes
- Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
I wish that I could report that Sideways arrived on Blu-ray with a wealth of
supplements. Unfortunately, that's just not the case. On the bright side, however, the
limited features that did make it into the final product are better than average. The
highlight of the set is the feature-length audio commentary featuring stars Thomas Haden
Church and Paul Giamatti. It's a tremendously entertaining track; both men recount various
escapades on the set of the film while managing to sound like real friends in the process.
Seven deleted scenes are also included; most are lengthened scenes from the
film and none carry much weight, but it is always informative to see the impact that editing
can
make on a completed film. Finally, a short behind-the-scenes featurette is included. I didn't
find it to be particularly enlightening, but some viewers might find it interesting.
Sideways is a remarkable film. It explores some pretty dark territory while
accenting Miles' downward spiral of self-doubt and loneliness with a genuinely subtle and
intelligent sense of humor. Regardless of whether or not you happen to be a wine drinker,
the film offers highly original storytelling and remarkable performances that continue to
resonate to this day. Fox brings Sideways to Blu-ray replete with a video transfer
that is a little underwhelming yet completely accurate to the film's theatrical exhibition.
The audio presentation is subtle and front-loaded, yet remains consistent with the soundtrack's original
intentions. Supplements, on the whole, are lacking in volume but excel in the quality
department. Sideways is a film that I've cherished for quite some time. I sincerely
hope that cinema aficionados who have yet to see this wonderful movie will give it a
chance; it's a truly great film that
deserves to be seen. Sideways easily earns my highest recommendation.
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