This Blu-ray is currently available from Arrow Academy (www.arrowvideo.com – www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo/).
As a young kid scouring video store shelves way back in the day, my eyes likely scanned thousands of VHS tapes. One of the tapes I distinctly remember sighting but never catching up with was Black Rainbow, a thriller that had received little in the way of press or a theatrical release. That factor may have influenced my viewing choices even as a child, as I always passed it by and selected more familiar entertainment options. It was quite a shock to see this lost film appear on Blu-ray from Arrow Video after disappearing from shops as well as my memories.
Well, after finally seeing the movie for the first time, this reviewer is happy to report that it is a big surprise. This write-up may have come 30 years late, but this film is an eccentric yet eerie and atmospheric chiller with strong performances and plenty of interesting subtext hiding below the surface. It’s a fascinating little feature that drew this reviewer in and kept him guessing throughout.
The story follows Walter Travis (Jason Robards) and his daughter Martha (Rosanna Arquette), She is a medium and the pair travel in the southern US performing to packed crowds. She selects members of the audience, delivering messages to them from deceased relatives. It’s all a sham, but things change on stage when Martha begins receiving potentially real messages from the other side. Her disturbing comments turn out to accurately predict a violent assassination. Skeptical news reporter Gary Wallace (Tom Hulce) investigates the killing and soon finds himself in the company of these eccentric performers. In the meantime, the parties responsible for the killing become concerned about what Martha knows and decide to wipe out the medium.
This is an intriguing effort more interested in its characters and general atmosphere than action sequences… or even specifically defining the reasons or authenticity behind the supernatural occurrences. The approach may frustrate some, but this technique actually worked exceptionally well for this viewer, keeping the brain active as it attempted to process all of the story’s strange events.
The movie also benefits from its exceptional performances. Hulce is a likable everyman taking the viewer into this strange world and trying to make some sense of it. Roberds appears to be having a ball as the rather nasty dad, a disbelieving huckster using his daughter to cash in on marks wanting some confirmation that their dead relatives are still around, even spiritually. And Arquette’s character may have the most layers, working tireless hours without a personal life, dealing with the bizarre and frightening messages and also questioning her pop’s motivations and controlling nature.
The father/daughter dynamic is deep and complex and there is plenty of deeper subtext as the villains and their motivations come to light. Nothing is explicitly stated, but sections of the movie take a swipe at charlatans, big business and the church. Even followers who accept the words of hustlers and their lot in life are taken to task. When strange and supernatural elements are featured, they aren’t explained or dissected, instead remaining unexplainable and open to interpretation. There’s nothing predictable about what happens from scene to scene and the movie constantly undermines expectations.
It also has a very dark and amusing sense of humor, particularly during scenes involving a hitman. The sets and buildings shown in the southern locations are worn and decaying, but the icy professional killer behaves like a typical businessman and lives in an upper middle-class suburban home with his wife and kids. His trip to murder Martha and her father at the next venue doesn’t go according to plan, with the figure continually delayed as he attempts to reach his destination. Despite the fact that this character if rarely around the protagonists, he’s always entertaining to watch. It’s one of the many unexpected surprises featured as the tale reaches its open-ended and eerie conclusion. You’ll know doubt have questions about what you just witnessed and what really happened onscreen, but it all works as a whole and leaves its themes and ideas lingering in the brain long after the credits.
For a relatively small budgeted movie, it is impressively shot by Gerry Fisher (Wolfen, Highlander, The Exorcist III). While there aren’t any exaggerated moves, the lighting and camera work is excellent and there are impressive shots throughout. The initial murder is beautifully lensed and the characters and locales are always framed in a striking manner.
Overall, this is a strong movie and one that should have received a wider release during its original run. The Blu-ray contains a new widescreen restoration of the feature taken from the original camera negative and approved by director Mike Hodges (Get Carter, The Terminal Man, Flash Gordon, A Prayer for the Dying, Croupier). And the disc comes with plenty of extras. This includes a trailer, a relatively brief but reasonably insightful making-of alongside archived actor interviews from the film’s original and very limited release. Most of the clips involve a line or two about the flick from the cast members, but they do inform viewers what attracted them all to the role.
Truthfully, the commentaries are strongest bonuses. The first is a recently recorded audio track with a pair of film historians discussing the feature’s meanings, quirks and idiosyncrasies, sometimes using quotes and notes from the director used in interviews with the press. It’s enjoyable to hear the two try to make sense of the various elements and pick up on little motifs hidden throughout the film.
While this is a fine bonus, but the archived audio commentary by Hodges himself is phenomenal. The previous track involves the personalities reading into the movie and giving their own take on what it all means, but here the filmmaker is direct and clearly states his inspiration for the movie and intention behind what he wanted to address. He’s an excellent speaker and very engaging to listen to.
Brit Hodges states that while working in the US, he was taken aback by the conservative, extremist nature of Americans and the abuses of capitalism. Seeing so much poverty and witnessing corporate crime going unpunished, he admits to being baffled by the apathy of followers and acceptance of what was being done to them, noting that they often rationalized their treatment and believed that going to Heaven would be reward for enduring various abuses (all of these elements are subtly present in the film itself). It’s a very interesting talk that still feels relevant today. The discussion is also packed with shooting tidbits in which he talks about finding the right tone and discusses the personalities of the performers (apparently, Jason Robards was a real cynic about mediums and loved the way his jaded character was written). Even though it was recorded some time ago, this is one of the better commentaries from recent Arrow releases.
While it’s certainly a strange movie and won’t speak to everyone, Black Rainbow is a fascinating and spellbinding flick that has plenty to say about the world in general. Thanks to an enthusiastic and entertaining discussion with the director himself, the release also clarifies some of the movie’s less straightforward and more interpretive aspects of the picture. This disc comes recommended to those looking for an odd and unique 80s Southern Gothic thriller.