Blu-ray Sampler, Unforgiven, and the School of Theme

Amazon had a buy-one-get-one-free Blu-ray smorgasbord. I drank deep and ate hearty at this particular High Def feast. 300, The Road Warrior, Christmas Vacation, Big Fish, Unforgiven, and Stranger Than Fiction. Amazon delivered them in their typical quick-as-lightning fashion. I ripped them open and planned to sample each for a few minutes just to be sure they were OK.

First up was 300. The visuals and audio fidelity blow me away. Leonidas is just as bad-ass as I remember him. Obvious homo-erotic imagery aside, this is a man's movie if there ever was one. The packaging itself must be laced with some sort of skin absorbed testosterone because after watching just thirty minutes of this bad-to-the-bone film I was ready to run out into the wilderness and kill a ferocious animal with my bare hands while screaming "I am MAN!" I would then club the nearest woman and drag her off by her hair*. It is that primal.

I tear myself away from 300 and throw in The Road Warrior. This is certainly another "guy" movie. Beautiful scenery with some nice vehicles, Mohawks, and women in shoulder pads. After another 30 minutes I somehow manage to hit the eject button so I can sample Christmas Vacation which is D.O.A. on account that the sound is out of sync for about 30 minutes. Bummer. Oh, well, on to Unforgiven.

I start to watch. This is one of the very few westerns that I like. The cinematography is wonderful. The music is pleasant and soothing. Suddenly the end credits are crawling. Two hours and ten minutes gone in a flash. I'm in complete awe. This happens, oh roughly every time I see it.

Unforgiven is a textbook study in theme. I'm not sure it even has a peer in that department (don't quote me on that). The notion of what it takes to kill another person is explored so thoroughly and from so many angles that you can't help but marvel at it's near perfect story structure. It's a two hour clinic. Screw the books.

This is what movies are about.


*Yeah, I know. That's chauvenistic and I'm a terrible person. Wanna fight about it?