Paper Moon

Paramount | minutes | | | Standard DVD reviewed by: Matt Brighton

Director Peter Bogdanovich knows how to make movies that appeal not only to audiences, but to film critics as well. Being a film critic in addition to a filmmaker Bogdanovich can certainly see both sides of the coin as it applies to the film he’s making. This is not to say that everything he has done has been golden, but certain works of his do stand out as being really good. He almost re-invented the slapstick/romantic comedy genre some thirty years ago with his pairing of Ryan O’Neal (who also appears in this movie, too) and Barbara Streisand in What’s Up Doc? a loose remake of Howard Hawks’ Bringing Up Baby. He showed us that even a movie that’s terribly depressing can be really good in The Last Picture Show and he’s still making great films with one of last year’s more “critically acclaimed” film, The Cat’s Meow. Add to this that he’s a critic and biographer of sorts (he recorded a commentary track for Citizen Kane) and you’ve got a pretty talented individual here. So what’s so enthralling about a man and a newly orphaned child selling bibles? Let’s find out…

We meet a nine year old orphan by the name of Addie (Tatum O’Neal) who is picked up by con man Bible salesman, Moses (Mose) Prey (real-life father, Ryan O’Neal), who immediately uses her to blackmail the brother of the man who killed her mother in a car accident. After spending some of their money ($200), Addie demands her share; as this is the first inclination that Addie may not appear to be what she seems. When Mose is arrested, Addie saves him. Little Addie turns out to be a shrewder con artist than Mose and a peculiar bond starts to form. At a carnival, they pick up Trixie Delight (Madeline Kahn), a prostitute who calls herself a “performer.” Meanwhile, Addie and Trixie have a battle of wills over Mose’ attentions. Addie manipulates the situation so that Mose finds Trixie in bed with another man. Bogdanovich seems to have drawn on the images of John Ford (perhaps in The Grapes of Wrath) and the father/daughter combination works here.

I hate to hop on the bandwagon, but Tatum O’Neal really did deserve her Oscar for her role as Addie here. She was and still is the youngest Oscar winner in its history. And call me crazy, but doesn’t she bear a striking resemblance to Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense? Just an observation. While the action is subdued, this is a character/plot driven movie, to be sure. Some say that Bogdanovich has never been able to rekindle the same spirit that he had in this movie, but still, as a great director, he’s gone onto other things (some better and some worse). The cast, by his own admission, is nearly identical to The Last Picture Show (minus Cybil Shepard and Jeff Bridges) and if you look closely, you’ll see Randy Quaid in a role as a hillbilly. While the film may not be for everyone, I found it enjoyable after seeing it (believe it or not, this was my first time). Truly a hard movie not to like and highly recommended.

Paper Moon is shown in it’s original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and has been enhanced for widescreen televisions. To me, and I could be wrong, there is really not a better thing than that of a DVD that is shot in black and white and has been anamorphically encoded. Movies like The Hustler and The Apartment look simply gorgeous on our home theaters and this is right up there with those. With black and white movies, we don’t get any trouble with the fleshtones and usually don’t have a problem with artifacting (we just assume it looks that way) or edge enhancement. While the transfer does have a few faults here and there the film is 30 years old and the breathtaking transfer is a highlight of the disc.

Paramount is renown for taking their catalog titles and giving them brand new 5.1 soundtracks. That isn’t the case here as the original Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track is all that’s supplied. But, then again, this really isn’t a movie for audio and the track more than serves its purpose here. While there are a few scenes in which the dialogue gets a bit “whispy”, for the most part I really had nothing to complain about. Then again, my expectations weren’t that high. Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks are great, but only if used correctly and this movie wouldn’t really benefit from a new soundtrack in the least.

Most of us know that Paramount has never been one of the better studios when it comes to supplements (especially on their catalog titles), but this disc does feature a commentary track by Director Peter Bogdanovich and it’s not that bad, either. Mr. Bogdanovich, in his low mumbling voice, does have a soft spot in his heart for the movie and tells us of different shooting locations, etc. It’s a good track and one that begs to be listened to. Three featurettes are also included, with the meat of the content being on “The Next Picture Show” which is a conversation telling of how he went from What’s Up Doc? and The Last Picture Show to this. Oddly, though, no theatrical trailer is found. Still, Paper Moon is a disc worth picking up, if only for the movie alone.