Press Release BVHE Press Release: The Banshees of Inisherin (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Josh Steinberg]

sorry, I couldn't blindly buy this on Blu-ray

I don’t think any apology is necessary. My personal opinion is that blind buys are unnecessary for new release titles that are easily and inexpensively assessable via digital rental and/or subscription streaming. I only recommend blind buys when that is the only method of viewing a film.

I suppose, looking back on it, we were taking the film way too seriously, and as a result, we were often horrified and depressed by what we saw.

I don’t think that’s an incorrect response - what we see in the film is both horrifying and depressing.

I think there is a lot of black comedy in it as well, but it’s undoubtedly a dark film about two people descending into misery and madness.

I liked it a lot, in part because it covered a subject that isn’t addressed in film very often - the loss of friendship. In my life, I’ve had two instances where what had been very close friendships vanished without warning, almost like unexpected breakups in romantic relationships, as seen in the film. One of them was where I was “dumped,” and the other where I was the “dumper” - in both cases, for reasons I both do and don’t understand, the thing had just run it’s course.

But it’s not something that people really talk about and so there isn’t really a framework to deal with the lingering feelings that may result. What do you do when a lifelong friend decides he’s had enough of you? What do you do when you realize you’ve had enough of someone else?

I really appreciated that the film took on this subject matter as it’s something I don’t think we really talk much about.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I don’t think any apology is necessary. My personal opinion is that blind buys are unnecessary for new release titles that are easily and inexpensively assessable via digital rental and/or subscription streaming. I only recommend blind buys when that is the only method of viewing a film.

I'll do a blind purchase under the right circumstances, but these are increasingly rare. The movie would have to be something I'm so sure that I will want in my collection that renting it would just feel like wasting money. For example, I know I liked The Croods, but the sequel came out theatrically before the COVID vaccines were widely available, so I was unwilling to go to a theater for it. Given that it was part of a series I already knew I liked, I felt comfortable making a blind purchase rather than renting it first.

Otherwise, I agree with you that renting first is almost always the right way to go. I loved Banshees, but as with McDonagh's other work, it is very much an acquired taste. Because Banshees was on HBO Max before its physical disc release, I don't see any reason why someone who has access to that service wouldn't use it to try the film out first. I would say the same about any other film debuting on a subscription service prior to its release for individual purchase.

 

[titch]

There's a great profile of composer Carter Burwell in the New Yorker, including his work for The Banshees of Inisherin.

The Polymath Film Composer Known as “the Third Coen Brother”

Carter Burwell’s spare, haunting scores make audiences uncomfortable.

www.newyorker.com

 

[Garysb]

Price has just dropped to $6.99 at Amazon.

See on Amazon

 

[Jeffrey D]

Price has just dropped to $6.99 at Amazon.

See on Amazon

Definitely worth that price. I recommend this film.

 

[dpippel]

You can also purchase the 4K digital for $9.99 from the usual suspects.