The Virgin Suicides is a movie that didn’t have a huge impact on me then and now I can appreciate it for its direction and the performances, but nothing else otherwise in terms of any emotional impact.
The Virgin Suicides
— The Criterion Collection —
(1999)
Genre(s): Drama
Criterion Collection | R – 97 min. – $49.95 | July 5, 2018
Date Published: 07/11/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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The Criterion Collection provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
Note: The screen captures were taken from the Blu-ray disc and do not represent the 4K quality.
THE MOVIE — 3½/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: In an ordinary suburban house, on a lovely tree-lined street, in the middle of 1970s America, lived the five beautiful, dreamy Lisbon sisters (KIRSTEN DUNST, A.J. COOK, HANNA HALL, LESLIE HAYMAN, CHELSE SWAIN), whose doomed fates indelibly marked the neighborhood boys who to this day continue to obsess over them. A story of love and repression, fantasy and terror, sex and death, memory and longing. It is at its core a mystery story: a heart-rending investigation into the impenetrable, life-altering secrets of American adolescence. Quick Hit Review: It’s been many years since I last watched The Virgin Suicides, Sofia Coppola’s feature film debut. The film never really made a big impact on me either way, in spite of some nuanced and quiet performances from the likes of Kirsten Dunst, Kathleen Turner and Josh Hartnett, and this second viewing… I pretty much felt the same way: pretty good but a hair under being great, mainly since I didn’t feel very much, more cold than sorrowful, whereas Coppola’s follow-up, Lost in Translation, certainly felt the latter. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3¾/5 |
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This release comes in your standard clear Criterion Blu-ray keep case and inside is an essay booklet. Revisiting The Virgin Suicides (26:12) is a retrospective featurette with new interviews by Writer/Director Sofia Coppola, Actors Kirsten Dunst and Josh Hartnett and Cinematographer Ed Lachman. Interview (15:31) with Author Jeffrey Eugenides, talking about the inspiration for the book and recollects his time on set as the film was being made. Strange Magic (13:13) – Writer and Rookie Editor-in-Chief Tavi Gevinson explores the film through the lens of an adolescent, suicide and memory. It features her own writing and imagery she made from a fanzine she made about Coppola’s movie in 2012. Making of The Virgin Suicides (23:04) is an older featurette going behind-the-scenes and features interviews with Coppola, Dunst, Hartnett, Scott Glenn, Kathleen Turner and James Woods as well as Author Eugenides and Executive Producer Francis Ford Coppola. Lick the Star (13:58) is a short film by Sofia Coppola made in 1998. Playground Love (3:39) is a music video for one of the songs featured in the movie and was directed by Sofia Coppola and her brother, Roman Coppola. Lastly we get some Trailers (3:38). |
VIDEO – 4¾/5 |
| The Virgin Suicides received a new transfer with 4K restoration, culled from the original 35mm camera negative, and supervised by cinematographer Ed Lachman and approved by Sofia Coppola. The Blu-ray release from 2018 was I believe already taken from a new 4K scan and this one just takes it presents the picture into true 4K resolution. The 2160p high-definition transfer looks excellent as I expected. Detail is sharp and the natural film grain and noise is ever present still and there didn’t appear to be any DNR or auto sharpening was utilizing making this a fantastic looking video, maybe even slightly better than the already good looking Blu-ray. |
AUDIO – 4/5 |
| The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track also received some attention, remastered from the 35mm Dolby SR magnetic track and clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed. For the most part, this does sound really good with crisp and clear dialogue levels while the music from “Air” making use of the front and rear channels. |
OVERALL – 3¾/5 |
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Overall, The Virgin Suicides is a movie that didn’t have a huge impact on me then and now I can appreciate it for its direction and the performances, but nothing else otherwise in terms of any emotional impact. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.