This 4k Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo disc from Blue Underground is now available at most retailers.
Writer/director/producer Larry Cohen will be a familiar name to any genre film fan. During his lengthy career, he raised funds for and made all kinds of genre movies, including It’s Alive, Q: The Winged Serpent and The Stuff (a personal favorite of mine) among many others. While those titles are all well-regarded, one of his biggest cult features is God Told Me To. Blue Underground have decided to restore and release a 2-disc “Special Edition” of the title that contains a 4K Ultra HD disc and a Blu-ray of the film.
For those unfamiliar with this story, it involves a police detective named Peter Nicholas (Tony Lo Bianco) investigating a series of shocking crimes taking place across New York City. Random citizens are committing murder and shocking locals. One figure climbs up a water silo and begins opening fire on pedestrians, another coldly shoots his own wife and children, and a cop (played by Andy Kaufman in his first role) guns down attendees at a St. Patrick’s Day parade.
When each of the individuals involved is asked why they did it, all they will say is, “God told me to.” For Nicholas, the trail ultimately leads to a mysterious figure named Bernard Phillips (Richard Lynch). But when they finally encounter one another, things do not go as expected and Nicholas begins to wonder if he may have some strange connection to the events as a result of his own bizarre personal history.
The idea of God telling individuals to kill a powerful one for a movie and the flick features some really jarring and disturbing material. This is especially true early when people randomly act out without any sort of warning and leave innocents in their wake. Many of the authentic New York City locations add an air of realism to the proceedings and these sequences really make the skin crawl. The cast members are all excellent as well, with the lead slowly becoming more and more unhinged as his investigation proceeds and his backstory is revealed.
The tale takes a completely bonkers turn during the final act, when Nicholas confronts his prime suspect. While one might assume that the protagonist would be dealing with a charismatic and influential cult leader, a kind of mass hysteria or simply an angry, vengeful deity, this tale goes in a completely unexpected and surreal direction. Indeed, it ends up connecting its star to the terrible events, but introduces UFOs and hermaphrodites into the mix, also suggesting that some characters may be the offspring of Biblical figures. In some respects, this reviewer wishes that the film had taken a more realistic approach and had avoided some of the more outrageous elements that are revealed late in the movie. However, while the movie is completely crazy and almost nonsensical at times, that also makes it unpredictable, fascinating to watch and enjoyably subversive.
You can always count on Blue Underground to do an incredible job with transfers and this film is no exception. While the film used to look rather flatly lit and dingy on VHS and Blu-ray, it has been completely upgraded. There is some film grain present, but the image is clean and sharp and the lighting looks far less haphazard. Some of the scenes are well photographed and there are some great camera angles used, including a low-angle shot from the floor of an elevator looking up at the characters. This is a much more visually impressive movie than I remembered and it now appears on disc as originally intended by the filmmaker.
The disc contains two excellent commentary tracks. The first is an archived talk with the late Larry Cohen who goes over how he managed to make this oddity. It seems that Cohen was an irrepressible force who more-or-less willed this picture into life. He notes how often he stole shots and filmed in busy New York locations without permits, which added scale and production value to the picture. Amazingly, he, Tony Lo Bianco and the crew actually went down into the New York subway system and shot a scene on the main platform with people around, completing the bit before anyone arrived to ask if they had permission. Cohen also relays a stunning tale while trying to capture footage for the mass shooting featured at the beginning in the film. After heading to a building roof location and being told by the props manager that the weapon needed for the scene wasn’t available, the filmmaker asked the crowd watching if anyone there had a rifle. Remarkably, a person living in the building did know how to access one and the gun collected was the one used in the final film.
Cohen tells incredible stories throughout and is a joy to listen to. But a newly recorded movie historian commentary is equally engaging. One of the speakers is Steve Mitchell, who was friends with the filmmaker and directed the 2017 documentary King Cohen. He has just as many stories about the writer/director and also shares some of his thoughts about the brash figure, translating some of the moviemaker’s more outlandish statements. Mitchell notes that while Cohen was a maverick independent, he had a soft spot for classic Hollywood features and loved casting aged stars from his favorite flicks. The historian also goes into other aspects of guerilla filmmaking Cohen used on the production. More interesting tidbits include the fact that Robert Forster was originally cast as the protagonist, but parted ways early into shooting. After choosing Tony Lo Bianco to replace the performer, Cohen learned that his new star was also ready to jump ship if another part came his way.
Despite all the drama behind the scenes, it appears that there were no hard feelings between anyone who worked on the project. There are also interviews with star Tony Lo Bianco, who expresses his enjoyment working with Cohen. The special effects artist also discusses his work on the film. And those who want to hear even more from the man behind the camera will enjoy a Q&A with Cohen recorded at the New Beverly cinema in Los Angeles and a second taken at the Lincoln Center in New York. Additionally, there are tons of ads and trailers and other publicity materials included on the disc.
God Told Me To is a surreal experience and one with a story that jumps around haphazardly, but it’s still something to behold. It has authentic character and oozes New York atmosphere throughout. While Blue Underground has cleaned up the picture, it doesn’t take away from the grittiness on display. This is an enjoyable film that could only have been made by one eccentric voice and vision and it’s great to have a high-quality version of it available to the public. Anyone who enjoys Larry Cohen movies should definitely pick this title up!