Black Rainbow

Summary

“It’s not your daddy talking to me, Mary.”

The career of British filmmaker Mike Hodges has been diverse. The same man who directed the classic British crime film Get Carter, is also responsible for the films Flash Gordon and Black Rainbow. Arrow Video has been a great advocate for Mike Hodges’s films through their releases of his films: Pulp, Flash Gordon, and Black Rainbow. I have seen several of his films and always enjoyed the confidence which Hodges displays as a director and writer throughout his varied output. Black Rainbow is a strong film by the director that failed to gain an audience upon its initial release, but is certainly deserving of a reappraisal.

As the film begins, journalist Gary Wallace (Tom Hulce) makes his way through the kudzu covered American South to locate Martha Travis. He approaches her ramshackle shed she is living in and the film cuts back to a decade earlier. Martha Travis (Rosanna Arquette) is a medium who travels by train from city to city with her hard-drinking and disillusioned father Walter (Jason Robards.) Her father is also her overbearing business partner and is not a believer that she has any real capabilities. Martha has a knack for her job but under Walter’s guidance it basically amounts to a parlor act where she draws out audience members and gives them messages from the other side by cold reading  them. One night while performing her routine, a woman comes forward named Mary. Martha begins to talk to someone from the other side named Tom and Mary believes it is her father. As Martha continues, Mary realizes that Martha is describing her husband, but her husband is still alive. Martha envisions Tom dead by gunshots and describes the scene and the killer to Mary. Everyone believes that Martha has gone too far and that Martha could not possibly be correct, especially Walter who is completely cynical about the other side in general. A hitman sent from Chicago arrives at the house of Mary and kills her husband Tom just as predicted. The hitman has been hired by a local conglomerate that needed to keep Tom from whistle blowing about their practices. Journalist Gary decides to investigate Martha and her ability, but as she continues to predict deaths accurately, the local conglomerate grows nervous and send the hitman to silence her.

Black Rainbow is a really interesting piece of Southern Gothic filmmaking. Writer and director Mike Hodges aimed to make a film that was about the South, religion, corporate overreach, and the environment. The resulting film is definitely perplexing and I can absolutely understand why some audiences found the film disagreeable, but I also found the film really engaging. The film probably is guilty of trying too hard to join so many disparate elements together to really make a coherent statement, but that doesn’t stop the film from reeling in the viewer and keeping the audience guessing at every turn. Portions of the film reminded me of the short story “A Rose For a Emily” by William Faulkner, and other portions reminded me of writings by Flannery O’Connor. I mean this to say that Hodges’ British view of the South is painted through those Gothic lens and makes the film feel as if it is a spiritual heir to that canon. While the film is very hard to decipher in its finale, I have never been someone who needs everything completely buttoned up or explained. I think that the finale is the litmus test that decided those who enjoyed the film and those who don’t, and I found myself pleased with the overall experience of watching the film. In fact, the film probably only achieves its desired effect because the ending is left up to interpretation.

Black Rainbow was not given a strong release in theaters, and that is a shame. I think the distributors had a little trouble making heads or tails out of the film and therefore failed to release it properly. The film features so,e excellent lead performances. Jason Robards is magnetic as the unsentimental Walter. He is perfectly cast and I can not imagine the role being portrayed by anyone else. His scene where he dresses down a preacher on a train is perfection and would be hard to recreate without an actor with Robards’ quality. Rosanna Arquette in my eyes has never been better than in this role. She took this role on advice from Martin Scorsese and I am of the opinion that if this film had done well she would have been a more dominant presence in lead roles in the Nineties. She absolutely nails it. Tom Hulce is a good complement to the film and is convincing as a journalist. He is easily overshadowed by the other two performances, but that is more to do with the script than his performance.

Overall – Black Rainbow is a really intriguing piece of Southern Gothic filmmaking. It does not give any easy answers and is all the better for it.

Video

Presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio with an MPEG-4 AVC Encoded image, the presentation is sourced from a new 4K scan done by Arrow Video and it looks as good as I believe is possible.  Here is what the booklet states:

“Black Rainbow has been restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with 5.1 and stereo sound. 

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution at Goldcrest Films. Colour grading and restoration was completed in 2K resolution at Silver Salt Restoration, London. The audio mixes were supplied by Goldcrest Films. 

This restoration has been approved by director Mike Hodges. All original materials have been made available by Goldcrest Films.”

The film has some of the softer focus utilized in films from the Eighties but fine detail for the most part is good. The fine grain over the film lends to a good filmic look, but sometimes is a bit heavy. The reason why I am not ranking the score higher is because the film, while visually distinct, is not overly colorful. Everything in the film is draped in browns, whites, and yellows aside from a sequence that involves a room with Christmas decorations. I think that this is probably about as good as the film can look.

Audio

The audio presentation on Black Rainbow is effective. The film features a well balanced DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround track as well as an LPCM 2.0 track. The film is largely a dialogue heavy affair, but the sound field opens up occasionally during some of the more thrilling moments. No issues to report hear.

Supplements:

• Audio Commentary by Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan – I have enjoyed how often commentator Kat Ellinger has been featured recently in Arrow’s discs. Joined by Samm Deighan, they deliver an enthusiastic appraisal of the film.
• Audio Commentary by Mike Hodges – Director Mike Hodges explains some of his thoughts and intentions while still leaving much up to the viewer. An enjoyable track.
• Message in a Bottle: The Making of Black Rainbow – this piece that was originally featured on the Anchor Bay DVD has some solid interviews with cast and crew about the film.
• Archival Interviews – these are all only a couple minutes long
• Jason Robards 
• Rosanna Arquette
• Tom Hulce 
• Archival Featurettes – these are four archival EPK style features on the film
  • • 8 Minutes 
    • Disasters 
    • Seeing the Future
    • Behind the Rainbow
• Trailer 

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.25/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 4/5

Overall – 4.25/5

Black Rainbow is a solidly conceived Southern Gothic film by British filmmaker Mike Hodges. The film has no interest in spelling out every aspect of the plot for the audience and was penalized by critics for not tying up everything in a bow. I think that it is safe to say that they missed the boat on this one. If they don’t ask Godard to spell out every little thing, why can’t Mike Hodges leave a little mystery in his film? The double standard is irritating. The film features two great lead performances from Jason Robards and a never-better Rosanna Arquette. I found the movie consistently engaging and the ideas in it compelling. Arrow Video’s release has a very healthy looking 2K presentation from a new 4K scan and some good supplemental features. Fans of the film will be pleased to have Black Rainbow in a definitive edition and newcomers to the film that are not thrown off by open ended writing should consider a purchase.