Hail, Caesar! [DVD]

HAIL, CAESAR! [2016] [Blu-ray + Digital HD ULTRAVIOLET] A Comedic Tour De Force! Outrageously Funny!Four-time Oscar® winning filmmakers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Brothers [‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘Fargo’] write and direct ‘HAIL, CAESAR!’ and with an all-star comedy set during the latter years of Hollywood's Golden Age. Starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Channing Tatum. ‘HAIL, CAESAR!’ follows a single day in the life of a studio fixer who is presented with plenty of problems to fix. Narrated by Michael Gambon.Cast: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, Frances McDormand, Jonah Hill, Veronica Osorio, Heather Goldenhersh, Alison Pill, Max Baker, Fisher Stevens, Patrick Fischler, Tom Musgrave, David Krumholtz, Greg Baldwin, Patrick Carroll, Fred Melamed, John Bluthal, Alex Karpovsky, Aramazd Stepanian, Allan Havey, Robert Pike Daniel, Robert Picardo, Ian Blackman, Geoffrey Cantor, Christopher Lambert, Robert Trebor, Michael Yama, Ming Zhao, Helen Siff, Basil Hoffman, Luke Spencer Roberts, Ralph P. Martin, James Austin Johnson, Noah Baron, Timm Perry, Noel Conlon, Natasha Bassett, Richard Abraham, Jon Daly, Dennis Cockrum, Clancy Brown, Mather Zickel, Tiffany Lonsdale, Clement von Franckenstein, Wayne Knight, Jeff Lewis, Kyle Bornheimer, Josh Cooke, Peter Jason, Stephen Ellis, Jillian Armenante, Jacob Witkin, Jack Huston, Agyness Deyn, Emily Beecham, Benjamin Beatty, J.R. Horne, Caitlin Muelder, E.E. Bell, Kate Morgan Chadwick, Brian Jones, Peter Banifaz, Clifton Samuels, K.C. Reischerl, Jeremy Davis, Marcos Mateo Ochoa, Colin Bradbury, Ryan Breslin, Tyler Hanes, Casey Garvin, Luke Hawkins, Evan Kasprzak, Patrick Lavallee, Adam Perry, Ryan Vandenboom, Alex Demkin, Dax Hock, Shesha Marvin, Mark Stuart, Forrest Walsh and Michael Gambon (Narrator)Directors: Joel Coen and Ethan CoenProducers: Catherine Farrell, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Eric Fellner and Tim BevanScreenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan CoenComposer: Carter BurwellCinematography: Roger DeakinsVideo Resolution: 1080pAspect Ratio: 1.85:1Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish: 5.1 DTS-HD Surround Sound, French: DTS-HD Surround Sound, German: 5.1 DTS-HD Surround Sound, Italian: 5.1 DTS-HD Surround Sound and English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio DescriptiveSubtitles: English, Arabic, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hindi, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Português and SwedishRunning Time: 106 minutesRegion: Region B/2Number of discs: 1Studio: Universal Pictures / Working TitleAndrew’s Blu-ray Review: With the film HAIL, CAESAR! [2016] the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Brothers conjure up nostalgic joy from this hilarious knockabout homage to the golden age of film and also delivers a gorgeously crafted romp through vintage Hollywood in this droll and ruminative entertainment, that is totally and utterly superbly silly and lovingly goofy latest comes on like a breezy flipside companion-piece to the ‘Barton Fink’ film and it's a pleasure to watch and the film lets the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Brothers and cinematographer Roger Deakins to pastiche every kind of genre from the classical Hollywood studio era. Where we have a jaunt through the underbelly of old Hollywood which finds not the fiery hell of the tortured artist but the upbeat splash of synchronised swimming, ‘On the Town’ type toe-tapping and toga-wearing biblical balderdash. The film pinballs between AWOL movie stars, red-scare nightmares and Bikini Atoll bomb tests, while raising important questions of whether God is still very angry with the world, and how to make a lasso out of spaghetti, and the secret of balancing a bunch of bananas on your head, and they say it is all down to the hips, lips, eyes and thighs, apparently I am informed.It’s 1951, and the motion picture industry is responding to the threat of television with colourful choreography, escapist romances and biblical epics. We open with a choir, a crucifix and a rosary, leading us to Eddie Mannix [Josh Brolin] in the confessional. It’s been 24 hours since his last confession, and Eddie Mannix has racked with the guilt of lying to his wife about smoking. But there’s no rest for the wicked, and 3:00am finds studio fixer Eddie Mannix, an altogether more decent version of his real-life namesake, and saving a starlet from a “possible French postcard situation” before checking into Capitol Pictures where ‘HAIL, CAESAR! A Tale of the Christ,’ where they say tongue in cheek, “Divine presence is to be shot…” is in full swing.The high-powered Hollywood fixer Eddie Mannix has been enjoying an on-screen mini-renaissance, and now the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Brothers lavish throwback to an earlier era of industry damage control, as overseen here by the character of Eddie Mannix, a fictionalised composite of the real-life studio executive Joseph Edgar Allen, John "Eddie" Mannix and his head of publicity, Howard Strickling served as head of publicity for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pictures from the late 1920s into the early 1950s. The various scandals that Joseph Edgar Allen, John "Eddie" Mannix and Howard Strickling covered up during their decades working together at M-G-M could easily furnish several films of their own, but Ethan Coen and Joel Coen Brothers generally steer clear of salaciousness in favour of a jaundiced but affectionate character study, treating Josh Brolin’s eternally put-upon as Eddie Mannix as a beacon of relative sanity and intelligence in a world overrun by irrationality, venality and corruption.Eddie Mannix, a hard-working Catholic family man first seen unburdening his soul to a priest, and not just because he has sneaked a few cigarettes behind his wife’s back. It’s the 1950s, and as the designated fixer for Capitol Pictures, played here in a sly amalgam of the Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures and SONY film lots, plus the courtyard of Los Angeles Union Station, Eddie Mannixis tasked with preserving the illusion of Hollywood glamour and propriety at a time of pervasive moral crackdown and socio-political upheaval, taking not-always-savoury steps to ensure that production runs smoothly and top talents stay out of the headlines.That can mean anything from smacking around an up-and-coming actress caught in an illicit photo shoot, to arranging for prized star DeeAnna Moran [Scarlett Johansson] who terrifically brassy if a bit underused) to secretly adopt her own out-of-wedlock child, a twist inspired directly by the real-life Eddie Mannix’s similar arrangement for the actress Loretta Young. It also means enforcing the studio’s questionable decision to cast the handsome, dumb-as-a-stump cowboy Hobie Doyle [Alden Ehrenreich] who is totally superb, an audience hit in a recent string of Westerns, in an elegant parlour drama called “Merrily We Dance,” to the quiet chagrin of the prestigious director Laurence Laurentz [Ralph Fiennes], whose patient attempts to steer the hopeless Hobie Doyle through a single line of dialogue provide the film with one of its most delicious scenes and ultimately this is one of the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Brothers jolliest and most carefree films and quite a surprise considering its subject matter.Generally, when the inner workings of Hollywood are shown on screen, for example in ‘A Star Is Born’ and ‘The Bad and The Beautiful,’ and the studio system are depicted as a hotbed of viciousness, egotism and backstabbing. In ‘HAIL, CAESAR!’ it is a magical Hollywood like world from which unhappiness seems to have been banished and the sun is always shining. Everyone is cheerful. Even the super-bitchy gossip columnists Thora and Thessaly Thacker (both played by Tilda Swinton) aren’t that vicious really. And one of the delights of the film is its collection of comic cameo performances.There is a brilliant Gene Kelly dance like sequence involving a lot of randy sailors in a bar, led by Channing Tatum. We see scenes from Hobie Doyle’s western ‘Lazy Ol’ Moon,’ as well as lots of slaves and the Romans beneath the crucifix in ‘HAIL, CAESAR!’ itself. We’re taken into the cutting room where a chain-smoking editor Frances McDormand lets her scarf get too close to her equipment and nearly chocked to death.‘HAIL, CAESAR!’ is basically a day in the life of this studio boss, whose job is his religion and Josh Brolin, in a heart-and-soul performance, takes this crazy world of the film industry in showing us that he is a man surrounded by nut jobs and plays it for real and is just totally tremendous in how he solves many problems that arise. "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned" are the first words we hear from Eddie Mannix, a married Catholic who exasperates his priest in Confession by asking forgiveness on an almost daily basis. On his own, Eddie Mannix is an insecure mess and prowling the studio, and definitely gives everyone that he is a very scary lion.Working for Capitol Pictures makes this ex-bouncer an executive baby-sitter and what babies. Scarlett Johansson is a treat as the studio's swim-star sweetheart and think Esther Williams, but with a mouth like a gun moll. Channing Tatum is a knockout as a song-and-dance man, and think Gene Kelly with a political agenda and definitely Channing Tatum so nails his joyous tap routine with a chorus of sailors that you long to see a musical built around him. And cheers to the terrific Alden Ehrenreich as the studio's cowboy star and think Roy Rogers, a drawling Hicksville who is forced to star as an urban sophisticate, a role for which he is unforgettably unsuited and it is howlingly funny to watch a vexed British director, a priceless Ralph Fiennes trying to guide him through countless takes of the line "Would that it 'twere so simple," and the scene is one for the comedy time capsule.You don't really notice a plot until the studio's star of stars, Baird Whitlock [George Clooney], gets kidnapped during production of a biblical epic ‘HAIL, CAESAR!’ and George Clooney has a blast adding Baird Whitlock to the series of idiots he's played for the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Brothers in ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ and ‘Intolerable Cruelty.’ It's blasphemous fun watching him blow his lines in a cathartic scene with a crucified Christ. Bair Whitlock takes nothing seriously, not even being a hostage. That's why Eddie Mannix roughs him up hard. Trying to stay moral in this Hollywood Babylon, Eddie Mannix wrestles with a cosmic question: Should he put his faith in the “God of a Job” or the unseen studio deity who phones in his commandments, where Eddie Mannix tries to sweat it out in style.But their film never loses its exhilarating buoyancy. The Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Brothers love these debauched people and the different genre films they turn out with such hilarious glee. Cinematographer Roger Deakins, production designer Jess Gonchor and costume designer Mary Zophres create visual bliss. ‘HAIL, CAESAR!’ is a valentine to the fly-on-the-wall filmmaking, from two control freaks. And everything that is totally nihilistic despair is included, and works like a charm and it is not easy to whip up a fizzy throwaway, that's also very serious at times, but also very simple at times. Yet the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Brothers pull it off in great style and they are totally and utterly indispensable. It deserves however a great deal of credit for the way it is all put together. The editing, sound, and visuals are all so striking that the film will hopefully pick up a gong or two eventually when the awards season arrives. In this regard, I feel that the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Brothers deserve recognition as directors, editors and screenplay without doubt.HAIL, CAESAR! MUSIC TRACK LISTNO DAMES! [Performed by Channing Tatum]LAZY OLD MOON [Performed by Willie Watson]AUTUMN MOON OVER THE CALM LAKE (ON GUZHENG) [Performed by Carol of the Sound of China Guzheng Music]THE RED FLICKERING LIGHT OF CANDLE [Performed by Wang Guotong]THE MERRY WIDOW WALTZ (BALLSIRENENWALZER) [Performed by Richard Hayman Symphony Orchestra]TALES OF HOOMAN (Act IV: Barcarolle, Belle Nuit) [Written by Jacques Offenbach]GLORY OF LOVE [Performed by Alden Ehrenreich & Veronica Osorio]THE CATTLE CALL [Performed by Eddie Arnold]SLAVERY AND SUFFERING (Traditional) [Performed by The Red Army Choir]SONG OF INDIA [Written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Red Bone & Tommy Dorsey]VARCHAVIANKA [Performed by The Red Army Choir]KALINKA (Traditional) [Performed by The Red Army Choir]ECHELON’S SONG [Performed by The Red Army Choir]OUR FATHER [Performed by Ascension Church Choir (Maloe), Moscow, Fyodor Stroganov (as F. Stroganov) & Svetlana Serafimovich (as S. Serafimovich)]Blu-ray Video Quality – Universal Pictures and Working Title Blu-ray release ‘HAIL, CAESAR!’ have once again brought us a superb and stunning 1080p encoded image release, with an equally wonderful 1.85:1 aspect ratio especially showing us the love and devotion of giving us the impression of the Golden Age of Hollywood and Roger Deakins definitely brings that out in the presentation of this film, and especially the Blu-ray does all that is necessary to let you see all the wonderful detail that went into bringing the world of big Hollywood studio sets to life. Shot on film, you get an incredibly clear picture that maintains the feel this film was attempting to achieve. It only becomes more of an appreciation once you think about the variety of different film styles we see all at once, given the nature of the story. You get a great depth of movement that is wonderful and smooth, as well as a fine clarity between the background and foreground. Black levels are deep and inky, with a good amount of shadow in this film and it all manages to look quite wonderful. Colours are so totally vivid throughout the film, that really pops out of the screen and the film has so much to offer, especially with the brilliant sets and elaborate costumes, which really make for a beautiful coloured filled experience. As to the look of all the actors featured in this film, Roger Deakins made sure there is a great amount of clarity in all their facial textures throughout, especially George Clooney in his Roman costume and how we see his oh so much tanned skin and his well-defined legs throughout the film. It is all there for everyone to see and overall the image quality we get presented is brought out in the best possible taste, as Kenny Everett would all tell us. Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.Blu-ray Audio Quality – Universal Pictures and Working Title Blu-ray release ‘HAIL, CAESAR!’ brings us a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. The film sounds really great and very precise overall. The various film sets certainly allow for a level of variety throughout the film and that is very welcome. The different channels get some moments that really shine and especially given some of the bigger moments in the film, especially when a thunderstorm erupts all around you. The audio department has put in plenty of work to create a terrific atmospheric sound mixes, despite being mainly around the studio film set. The surround work is handled properly to provide good amounts of balance, making really good use of the various channels available. This is very much a dialogue related film and everyone is heard loud and clear.Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:Special Feature: Directing Hollywood [2016] [1080p] [1.85:1] [4:11] In this love letter to the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Brothers, everyone involved in the making of the fil discuss why they all said "yes" to the Coen Brothers when approached for their parts in the film. Essentially, this is a short feature on why everyone loves both Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. We also get to hear and discuss how this picture came to exist, what went into getting it actually made and how much everyone involved in working with the Coen Brothers were keen without any hesitation. Contributors include George Clooney [Baird Whitlock], Channing Tatum [Burt Gurney], Tilda Swinton [Thessally & Thora Thacker], Alden Ehrenreich [Hobie Doyle], Ralph Fiennes [Laurence Laurentz], Josh Brolan [Eddie Mannix], Robert Graf [Executive Producer] and Scarlett Johansson [DeeAnna Moran].Special Feature: The Stars Align [2016] [1080p] [1.85:1] [11:34] Here once again we get some more behind-the-scenes view of the making of the film, along with more intimate interviews and plot overview, especially with some of the cast members who talk in front of the camera to talk about their respective characters and appreciation for the feature film and of course working with the brilliant Cohen Brothers and the way they like to make their films. Again, it's not deep but it is amusing enough to watch once. Contributors include George Clooney [Baird Whitlock], Josh Brolan [Eddie Mannix], Ralph Fiennes [Laurence Laurentz], Robert Graf [Executive Producer], Alden Ehrenreich [Hobie Doyle], Tilda Swinton [Thessally & Thora Thacker], Channing Tatum [Burt Gurney] and Scarlett Johansson [DeeAnna Moran].Special Feature: An Era Of Glamour [2016] [1080p] [1.85:1] [6:22] This is slightly more interesting and looks at the production design and the massive undertaking necessary to recreate the Golden Era of that period in Hollywood. All of the costumes in ‘HAIL, CAESAR!’ are absolutely fantastic, and there should definitely be a special feature dedicated to them, instead we barely gloss over the creation of the costumes. Once again we get to share some insight into the importance of getting the wardrobe and costuming period accurate for the feature. This is sadly slightly shorter than it could have been, but what we view is very interesting. Contributors include Robert Graf [Executive Producer], Jess Gonchor [Production Designer], Mary Zophres [Costume Designer], Scarlett Johansson [DeeAnna Moran], Channing Tatum [Burt Gurney], George Clooney [Baird Whitlock], Josh Brolan [Eddie Mannix], Ralph Fiennes [Laurence Laurentz] and Tilda Swinton [Thessally & Thora Thacker].Special Feature: Magic Of A Bygone Era [2016] [1080p] [1.85:1] [6:01] This extra is specifically focuses on two of the film’s major set pieces, the impressive tap-dancing sequence, the underwater Esther William type number, seeing the Choreography workout for the dance numbers and to explain the intricacies of putting together the more complex dance sequences in the film. It is reasonably interesting, but sadly cut far too short. Contributors include Scarlett Johansson [DeeAnna Moran], Channing Tatum [Burt Gurney], Robert Graf [Executive Producer], Christopher Gattelli [‘No Dames’ Choreographer], George Clooney [Baird Whitlock], Josh Brolan [Eddie Mannix] and Mesha Kussman [Swimming Choreographer].Finally, as far as 2016 stands, ‘HAIL, CAESAR!’ is firm favourite film to add to my list, as well as others all jostling for positioning for even multiple viewings because of so many twists and turns throughout the film and at times it is hilarious to boot. The Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Brothers are just fantastic directors who know how to craft a film and how to shoot it so well. It is a film for moviemaker’s fans and committed audiences of this genre who aren't so much interested in indulgent moviemaking but a slice of escapism, pure nostalgic Hollywood style. This is the cast and crew having fun, and even if the movie isn't a straight-up Comedy, its sense of humour and relaxed approach, even to some serious material thrown in for good measure and makes this one of the more inspiring and enjoyable "Hollywood on Hollywood" film genre out there. Universal Pictures UK Blu-ray release of ‘HAIL, CAESAR!’ is brilliant and is also a sublime tongue in cheek sarcastic comedy classic, with laugh a minute in Hollywood jokes and again boasts a stunning terrific video image, a good solid audio experience, and a few supplements to make this Blu-ray release well worth adding to your Blu-ray Collection. Highly Recommended!Andrew C. Miller – Your No.1 Film Fan AficionadoLe Cinema ParadisoUnited Kingdom

A Hollywood studio fixer (Josh Brolin) has to deal with various problems over the course of one day.This has to be among one of the most pointless movies I’ve ever seen. No matter how I look at it I can’t work out why it exists. I’m truly bewildered how they spent multiple millions (reportedly $22,000,000) and possibly years making this big nothing of a film (it’s their first film in three years). Who was this film for? I’m increasingly of the opinion that the Coen Brothers are much less substantial filmmakers than everyone thinks they are. The number of aimless movies without a strong plot they’ve made must now outnumber their more robust films. Their classy, expertly crafted, immaculate productions mask how hollow and vague their screenplays often are. They are much better directors than they are writers. This movie is just a self-indulgent wallow in old genres with some overtly redundant to the plot moments that are beyond self-indulgent – Scarlett Johansson’s water ballet and Channing Tatum’s sailors in a bar dance number could be cut and no one would notice. This wouldn’t be so bad if it was interesting, but it feels like they forgot about the audience. I feel there’s no attempt at actually connecting to an audience. Why should the audience care about any of this? It’s not funny, apart from about two giggles, and it’s certainly got no dramatic weight to it. The climax was particularly underwhelming (and on purpose with that classy technique of theirs). It’s a collection of indifferent subplots in search of a story, and like, for example, A Serious Man (2009) it fails to find a story. The episodic subplots don’t gel into a coherent whole. It simply doesn’t work and the whole film just sits flat on the screen.This is probably one of the Coen Brothers weakest, most indifferent movies. Having said that, it was not annoying or boring. It entertained me in a very minor way with small pleasures. If you’re not a film buff I doubt the film has anything to offer. It’s a very weak movie with a lazy script saved almost exclusively by the high quality craftsmanship with which it was made.Additional:I read a spirited defence of the Coen Brothers work that suggested I wasn’t paying enough attention; and that there was a lot more going on than my simple surface level reading. They made a persuasive sounding argument that there was a lot of substance to A Simple Man (2009) and Hail, Caesar! So I watched Hail, Caesar! again. I honestly couldn’t see any depths in it. It’s a bunch of small, inconsequential, self-indulgent vague story fragments that in and of themselves go nowhere and when combined add up to nothing. It remained perfectly watchable and oddly engaging but there is no substance. Nor did it become funnier or more dramatic with a repeat viewing. The biggest laugh remains the rabbi saying, ‘Eh, I have no opinion,’ which is a small laugh at best. My opinion of the film has not changed one inch from my previous viewing.The main story thread, the communists kidnapping George Clooney, remains as indifferent and undernourished as before. Most of the climax happens off screen to create a particularly underwhelming ending (even the tiny Scarlett Johansson subplot climaxes off screen). It’s a little film of small ambition swaddled in a luxurious production that gives it an air of class that helps it over its many deficiencies.It’s a weak, vague, underdeveloped movie but it’s fairly enjoyable to watch. Although I can’t imagine a non-film buff getting anything much out of it (the communist plotline is going to baffle more than a few people).It’s a generous 3 out of 5 stars.

One of my favourite Coen brothers movies, for reasons other than the usual suspense, violence, cerebral storytelling and beautifully shot nature of their films, where the humour comes more unexpectedly. This is far more broad, but it's simply fun, it makes you laugh and smile, if you're not looking to be cynical, but it's also a well thought out and executed homage to a bygone era of Hollywood, and a glorious satire all wrapped up in to one.*spoiler section*But I can imagine why some may seem to think Channing Tatum as a tap dancing communist is not worthy of a major movie, but heck, they can't be much fun to watch a film with. To me that is just a small one of the many, many reasons this is cinema gold. From the impecable narration, to the do it all fixer come film noir detective, for whom things just happen to fix themselves for in the end, to the panel debate about the depiction of Christ in the movie within the movie by the men of all major Faith's, to the wonderful set pieces recreating Hollywood's biggest tropes of the era, to a humble western singer/actor thrust in to the limelight as the studio's new major star being taught elocution by an old boy and classically trained actor.And who knew George Clooney could play such a hammy actor and blithering wishy washy idiot?... To Rome!