Criterion has done it again with their treatment of German director
Volker Schlondorff’s adaptation of Gunter Grass’ novel Die Blechtrommel
(or The Tin Drum, as it’s referred to in America). Originally
released in 1979 and co-winner of Cannes’ top prize, the Palme d’Or
(fittingly enough, with Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now),
as well as the 1979 Oscar for Best Foreign Film, The Tin Drum
is a surreal exploration into the war-stricken Europe of the 1930s and 1940s.
The film’s chief character is Oscar Matzareth whom, on the day of his
third birthday, reaches the decision that he does not wish to grow larger in
this world filled with so much idiocy. He stages a vicious tumble down the stairs
at his party which results in a nasty bump on the head, so trapping Oscar’s
ever-growing mind within the body of a three-year-old. From then on, the majority
of Oscar’s communication with the world is carried on through the tin
drum he receives for his birthday and through a piercing scream which is capable
of shattering glass.
Oscar’s unique view of Europe is an equally important character within
the film. Over the course of the film he bears witness to the shortcomings of
the human race in all of its forms. Oscar is raised in an environment in which
his mother has no love for her husband, Alfred Matzareth (who may or may not
be Oscar’s true father), and instead carries on a not-so-hidden love affair
with her Polish-descended cousin, Jan Bronski. Over time, Oscar begins to witness
the changes going on within the larger picture of Europe. His refusal to grow
seems to stem from a desire to see the disturbing world around him march to
the beat of his own drum. This idea is personified by a brilliant scene in which
Oscar hides himself beneath the grandstand at a Nazi rally and coaxes the band
into playing a waltz for the crowd (which spurs them all into dance) instead
of a welcoming fanfare for the key speaker at the rally, a high-ranking Nazi
officer.
The character of Oscar Matzareth is superbly brought to life by the 12-year-old
David Bennent (later seen in the Tom Cruise fantasy, Legend).
Over the course of the film David’s character must grow from an innocent
three-year-old who is fed up with the ridiculous world around him into a young
man in his early 20’s, with all of the maturity, mannerisms, and wit of
a human carrying 20+ years of life experience with him. Bennent brings this
character to life fabulously well, with no small amount of credit belonging
to director Volker Schlondorff as well.
The cinematography in The Tin Drum is nothing short of stunning.
Director of photography Igor Luther captures many different symbolic ideas presented
over the course the film with little more than deft framing. One standout moment
during the film finds Oscar hiding in a closet with a mirrored inside door.
The majority of the screen is occupied by Oscar’s view of his distraught
mother being comforted and then sexually pleasured by her cousin and lover,
Jan Bronski. All this occurs while her ignorant husband can be seen in the mirror,
standing in the adjoining room. Oscar is nowhere within the picture until he
can no longer take the disturbing sight before him and pulls the closet door
shut, thus leaving the audience with a view of two Oscars staring at each other.
The DVD set is a typically excellent Criterion release. The discs are
packaged with a small book containing the usual crew and chaper information,
as well as two essays. The first has Gunter Grass himself (author of Die Blechtrommel,
from which the film is adapted) discussing his initial decision to grant Volker
Schlondorff the rights to his work and the second is from Eric Rentschler, a
film and literary historian and Harvard professor, which discusses Herr Schlondorff’s
role in adapting Grass’ novel.
The first of the two discs within the set contains a new digital transfer of
the film (which looks phenomenal, by the way) which is enhanced for widescreen
televisions, as well as improved translations for the English subtitles of the
film. With regards to the audio portion of the film, Dolby Digital 5.1 and 1.0
mixes are available as well as Maurice Jarre’s haunting isolated score
(a feature which is far too often overlooked, in this reviewer’s opinion).
Rounding out the disc is a commentary from director Volker Schlondorff, which
should be particularly interesting to fans of the novel as Herr Schlondorff
worked very closely with Herr Grass during the adaptation process.
The second disc contains the following additional features:
-Rare deleted scenes, featuring commentary by Schlondorff: The deleted sequences
are displayed as a montage, which features no recorded audio to go along with
Herr Schlondorff’s commentary. These cut sections were apparently found
attached to the feature negative during the telecine transfer (according to
information provided on the disc itself). It is interesting to see these removed
portions and moreso to hear Schlondorff’s explanations for their removal.
This section is essential for giving the viewer a deeper glimpse into the process
this story had to go through during its transformation from novel to film.
-Volker Schlondorff Remembers The Tin Drum: This montage of
on-set photos, storyboards, and footage both from the film edited out of the
film is accompanied by a newly recorded English audio track by Volker Schlondorff.
Similar in presentation to the deleted scenes, this section features Herr Schlondorff
further discussing his impressions of the actors (particularly David Bennent),
his work in bringing the film to life, and the various controversies that followed
in the wake of its release. As with the deleted scenes, this section is a fascinating
look behind-the-scenes and is easily worth several viewings in order to digest
all of what Herr Schlondorff has to say.
-News From The Front: This section collects a number of interviews with key
players in the creative process. The first is with director Volker Schlondorff
on location and with comments from author Gunter Grass, in which key themes
of both the book and the film are discussed. The second is with with co-scriptwriter
Jean Claude Carriere and actor Mario Adorf (Alfred Matzareth) and provides the
viewer with the revelation that the film actually ends a mere two-thirds of
the way through the book. This interview also illustrates the close involvement
Carriere had with Schlondorff; it was he who swayed the director from his vision
of Oscar Matzareth as a dwarf and convinced him that a child would be more true
to the vision of the story. The third is with actor David Bennent (Oscar Matzareth)
and director Volker Schlondorff at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. This interview,
as well as the last which captures Schlondorff’s post-Palme d’Or
comments, is largely unnecessary. As captivating as David Bennent is as an actor,
he’s still just a normal kid when all is said and done. As for Schlondorff’s
words, there’s really not much new information to be gleaned here. It’s
interesting to see the pre- and post-win thoughts from the director, but nowhere
near as illuminating as the rest of the included interviews.
-The Platform: A 1987 reading by Gunter Grass of a segment of the book presented
with the corresponding scene from the movie played behind it (as well as an
accompaniment by percussionist Gunter “Baby” Sommer”). This
is a fantastic addition to the disc, capturing what is already an incredible
part of the movie and placing the words upon which the scene was based on top
of it.
-A reprinted excerpt from the original screenplay’s unfilmed ending (which
carried on the story as told in the book), along with an introduction by Schlondorff.
Herr Schlondorff runs through his and Gunter Grass’ reasons for never
filming the ending (or returning to the rest of the story in a subsequent film).
An interesting feature, though for those out there who intend to read the book,
it gives a fairly complete synopsis of how things actually end and also includes
the actual unfilmed portion of the script reprinted in its entirety.
-Banned In Oklahoma: A documentary by Gary D. Rhodes following the child pornography
lawsuit involving The Tin Drum. This feature provides an interesting
sidebar to the rest of what’s issued on this disc. There are several sexually
explicit moments during the film as Oscar discovers his own sexuality. While
these scenes are hardly obscene to all but the most conservative viewer, there
were legal issues surrounding the banning of the film in Oklahoma. This documentary
gives a look at the backlash that this film attracted upon its VHS release in
America and the growth of this controversy from a local issue to an internationally
debated topic.
Rounding out this second disc are the obligatory Stills Gallery (containing
production sketches, conceptual art, and promotional art) as well as the theatrical
trailer for the film. All in all, Criterion has once again taken a
cinematic masterpiece and shown it the proper respect with regards to both the
visual/audio reproduction of the film and the copious amounts of added features
that flesh out the importance of the piece within film history. Ignore the price
tag and pick this set up; this one is definitely worth adding to that ever-growing
collection.
Film Score: A
Special Features Score: A
Overall Score: A
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