Stormy Monday is a decent little, and probably little-known, 1980s British crime-drama marking writer/director Mike Figgis’ debut. It features a quad of fine performances headlined by Sting, Sean Bean and Melanie Griffith and a well paced plot.
Stormy Monday
(1988)
Genre(s): Drama, Crime
Arrow Video | NR – 93 min. – $29.95 | July 18, 2017
Date Published: 07/18/2017 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.25/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Brendan (SEAN BEAN) is a young loafer taking a low level job for jazz club owner Finney (STING), who is under pressure from American corrupt businessman Cosmo (TOMMY LEE JONES) to sell the club as part of a land deal that would line Cosmo’s pockets. If things aren’t complicated enough, Brendan falls for local waitress, and Cosmo’s ex-lover, Kate (MELANIE GRIFFITH), dragging him into the middle of an impending showdown. Quick Hit Review: Although I’m somewhat familiar with Mike Figgis’ works, particularly Timecode which was an interesting experimental flick, but I don’t recall ever hearing about his debut, Stormy Monday. It’s actually a well made crime-drama featuring some solid performances, most notably Sean Bean, Melanie Griffith and, surprisingly enough, Sting who returns to his hometown where the film was shot. It’s also worth noting that the film looks fantastic, under the lens of famed cinematographer Roger Deakins. A bit on the slow side at times, and not the best written crime-drama I’ve seen, Stormy Monday is still a worthy little film from 1988. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
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This release comes with a 14-page booklet and reversible cover artwork, revealing the film’s original poster artwork. No slip cover, unfortunately. Audio Commentary – Writer/Director Mike Figgis recorded this presumably many years ago. It’s a rather low key, straight to the point, track as he recollects how the film got made and talks about filming locations. Just the Same? Stormy Monday 30 Years On… (33:15; HD) has film critic Neil Young chatting about the impact of the movie and taking viewers on a tour through Newcastle and some memorable locations. Also included is the Theatrical Trailer (1:29; HD) and an Image Gallery. |
VIDEO – 3.5/5 |
| Stormy Monday comes to Blu-ray through Arrow Video, presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio. No information on what kind of restoration work was done other than the HD master was provided by Pretty Pictures, but in any case, this might not be the best looking picture as detail isn’t exactly sharp and there’s some loose grain showing, as well as skin tones going from drab to, nicely, natural looking. On the plus side, there are pops of colors with neon signs and some other street level objects. |
AUDIO – 3.0/5 |
| The disc comes accompanied with a DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo track which most of the time was okay, especially with the clear dialogue levels, but I did notice an almost echoey vibration, especially while actors are walking. I assume this was a drawback with the sound design rather than any remaster work done, yet it can be a bit distracting at times. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5 |
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Overall, Stormy Monday is a decent little, and probably little-known, 1980s British crime-drama marking writer/director Mike Figgis’ debut. It features a quad of fine performances headlined by Sting, Sean Bean and Melanie Griffith and a well paced plot. This Arrow Video release isn’t in depth but does include some so-so features and the video/audio transfers are adequate enough. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.