Pulp is a fun 1970s mystery-comedy that works mainly for Michael Caine and Mickey Rooney, with help by the beautiful Nadia Cassini. Don’t know how high this ranks on Caine’s resume but I did chuckle at some of the dry humor.
Pulp
(1972)
Genre(s): Comedy, Mystery
Arrow Video | PG – 108 min. – $34.95 | December 12, 2017
Date Published: 12/24/2017 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.75/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Mickey King (MICHAEL CAINE) is a successful pulp novelist responsible for such titles as “My Gun Is Long” and “The Organ Grinder,” who is invited to ghost-write the autobiography of a mystery celebrity. His client turns out to be a former actor (MICKEY ROONEY) well known for his gangster roles and real-life gangster connections – but death is around the corner, and King finds his commission to be a lot more complicated than he first imagined. Quick Hit Review: Writer/Director Mike Hodges, Producer Michael Klinger and Actor Michael Caine re-team from Get Carter to make something almost a 180 degree turn in Pulp. And of course if you go in expecting something as dark, gritty and serious as Get Carter, you’ll go into this disappointed and perhaps a bit bored. Personally, I enjoyed the hell out of Pulp even when the plot does get muddled, instead I did laugh at some of the dry British humor, with some strong satire, and whenever you have Michael Caine, along with Mickey Rooney who was hilarious in his own right, it’s hard not to be entertained. No, it’s not perfect, but go in with an open mind and it’s a perfectly fun little 1970s flick that has been overlooked, understandably given Caine’s impressive career. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
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This release comes with a 32-page booklet. In terms of Arrow Video, the features are on the lighter side but does comprise of new interviews with Writer/Director Mike Hodges (17:36; HD), Director of Photography Ousama Rawi (9:15; HD), Assistant Director John Glen (4:59; HD) and Tony Klinger (6:07; HD), the son of producer Michael Klinger. As you might imagine each of them offer their personal insights into the production and story style of the film. Also included is the Theatrical Trailer (2:04; HD) and Galleries featuring poster artwork, behind-the-scenes stills, etc. |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| This newly restored transfer was supervised and approved by DOP Rawi. The original 35mm Interpositive was scanned in 2K resolution and thousands of instances of debris, scratches, dirt, etc was repaired or removed. Presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio, this 1080p transfer does indeed look quite good with fine detail, skin tones were decent but apparently in keeping with how Hodges and Rawi wanted it and there are heavy doses of natural film noise. |
AUDIO – 3.75/5 |
| The included PCM Mono track is serviceable but hardly noteworthy. The dialogue levels do come across the center channel with nice clarity and aided by George Martin’s score. There’s some modest depth though nothing all that impressive, but considering the film is 45 years old, still alright. At the very least, there were no noticeable instances of pops, hisses or other flaws. |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
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Overall, Pulp is a fun 1970s mystery-comedy that works mainly for Michael Caine and Mickey Rooney, with help by the beautiful Nadia Cassini. Don’t know how high this ranks on Caine’s resume but I did chuckle at some of the dry humor. This Blu-ray released by Arrow Video offers good video/audio transfers while the new interviews are worth watching. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.