Girlfight is a well done drama featuring a breakout performance from a young, pre-Fast and the Furious, Michelle Rodriguez and despite not seeing it in over two decades, still holds up and is well worth checking out as it likely went under the radar.
Girlfight
(2000)
Genre(s): Drama, Sports
The Criterion Collection| R – 111 min. – $39.95 | May 28, 2024
Date Published: 06/25/2024 | 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.
THE MOVIE — 3¾/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Bullied by her father at home and feeling adrift at school, Diana Guzman (MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ) finds refuge in an unexpected pocket of her native Brooklyn: a timeworn boxing gym, where she learns to channel her strength, discovers a sense of community, and falls for a rival fighter (DOUGLAS SANTIAGO).
Quick Hit Review: Girlfight from 2000 is a interesting take of the coming-of-age genre that features Michelle Rodriguez in her first feature film. She gives a great performance as a girl with let’s just say a hotheaded temper that uses boxing as a way to not only let out the aggression going on both at home and school but find her calling and sense of self, not to mention finding love in the process. This is a film I watched back in 2001 when it was released on DVD but never re-visited but following watching again, it reminded me of how engrossing this was and just the powerful performance that Rodriguez gives to the role. I really hope once the Fast franchise comes to an end, she gets the chance to star again in a character drama. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3/5 |
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This release comes in a clear Blu-ray case and comes with a fold-out booklet. Audio Commentary — Writer-Director Karyn Kusama Interviews:
Both of these are new interview segments as each look back on their work on Girlfight nearly 25 years later. Storyboarding Girlfight (7:13) is a storyboard comparison of a scene. Theatrical Trailer (2:17) |
VIDEO – 4¾/5 |
| Girlfight enters the ring onto Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection and is presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition. The transfer is a new 4K digital master taken from the 35 mm A/B roll original negative and was supervised by director of photography Patrick Cady. In a word this picture does look phenomenal. Detail is incredibly sharp throughout and the natural film grain is intact while black levels are stark without appearing overly crushed. |
AUDIO – 4½/5 |
| The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track was remastered from the original 5.1 theatrical print master. This isn’t a movie that is heavy in terms of the rear channels outside of some ambient noises (such as in the high school setting), however dialogue comes across the center speaker with nice clarity. |
OVERALL – 4/5 |
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Girlfight is a well done drama featuring a breakout performance from a young, pre-Fast and the Furious, Michelle Rodriguez and despite not seeing it in over two decades, still holds up and is well worth checking out as it likely went under the radar. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.