Blu-ray Review Licorice Pizza Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Todd Erwin]

Best Picture nominee Licorice Pizza comes to Blu-ray courtesy of Universal, distributing for MGM.



Licorice Pizza (2021)



Released: 25 Dec 2021
Rated: R
Runtime: 133 min




Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance



Cast: Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn
Writer(s): Paul Thomas Anderson



Plot: The story of Alana Kane and Gary Valentine growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.



IMDB rating: 7.3
MetaScore: 90





Disc Information



Studio: MGM
Distributed By: Universal
Video Resolution: 1080P/AVC



Aspect Ratio: 2.39.1
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA, English DVS 2.0, French 5.1...

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[Noel Aguirre]

One of my favorites from 2021 and an excellent transfer. Great cast of basically unknown leads with familiar faces interspersed throughout.

 

[mskaye]

One of my favorites from 2021 and an excellent transfer. Great cast of basically unknown leads with familiar faces interspersed throughout.

Seriously enjoyed this unique movie. It really reminded me of Hal Ashby's SHAMPOO in form and style and in its loose observational style. Wonderful performances and as a SoCal person it really captured the feel of that era. Really gorgeous to view and always happy to see something new shot on 35mm.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

Seriously enjoyed this unique movie. It really reminded me of Hal Ashby's SHAMPOO in form and style and in its loose observational style. Wonderful performances and as a SoCal person it really captured the feel of that era. Really gorgeous to view and always happy to see something new shot on 35mm.

Even as an Eastcoaster and a teenager of that time it totally covered the feel of that era. So many films made over the years recapturing that time may do a decent job w production design and clothes but this one totally nailed it in the mindset as realized in the script and by the acting. Loved it!

 

[Ryan Barrett]

@Todd Erwin - you're not the only one that failed to connect with Licorice Pizza. My anticipation was very high, but it left me cold (very similar to how I felt about Last Night in Soho). I described the film to others as "wandering" and "unfocused." I thought The Phantom Thread was an absolute masterpiece, and was left pretty disappointed by this.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

@Todd Erwin - you're not the only one that failed to connect with Licorice Pizza. My anticipation was very high, but it left me cold (very similar to how I felt about Last Night in Soho). I described the film to others as "wandering" and "unfocused." I thought The Phantom Thread was an absolute masterpiece, and was left pretty disappointed by this.

It is not so much a narrative as a series of events in the characters lives. It is a bunch of stories that Anderson wove together into a film. So, agree it is a different kind of picture than Phantom Thread. It's fun more than anything else. It could have used more Bradley Cooper or more Sean Penn and Tom Waits but I had a real good time with it.

 

[Bryan^H]

I'm still waiting patiently for a 4K release. It is only one of the best films I've seen.

 

[JohnRice]

There doesn’t seem to be much middle ground with this one. I like a couple PTA movies, but he probably has more that just don’t really resonate for me. The two I like are Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love.

 

[Bryan^H]

There doesn’t seem to be much middle ground with this one. I like a couple PTA movies, but he probably has more that just don’t really resonate for me. The two I like are Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love.

I really liked Magnolia too. Punch Drunk Love was my favorite film from him. 'Licorice Pizza' leaves those two in the dust. I love this movie. It is probably as deep as the viewer perceives it to be. But I got a pretty profound meaning buried in this story about a goofy, rambunctious (but business savvy) 15 year old, and the girl of his dreams trying to convince herself she doesn't love him.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Finally got around to watching this. Really enjoyed it. Anderson really deserves to win Oscars.

 

[JohnRice]

I didn’t realize it’s included with Prime.

 

[Todd Erwin]

I didn’t realize it’s included with Prime.

It is technically an MGM title.

 

[Bryan^H]

Finally got around to watching this. Really enjoyed it. Anderson really deserves to win Oscars.

My friend who usually shares my likes/dislikes of movies didn't care for this at all (although he did say it was refreshing to see a nonconventional female lead who he thought was fine). He asked me if it hadn't taken place in the 70's, would I have liked it? Probably not as much, but to me it was the icing on the cake.

 

[JohnRice]

I watched it yesterday. I have to admit, I probably didn't give it the level of attention I should have, but I've just been dealing with too much lately and am having trouble getting fully immersed. It was fine, but like a lot of other PTA movies, didn't exactly rock my world. I didn't find the character dynamics all that intriguing or creative. I also don't need a movie to be personally nostalgic to be interesting, or maybe it's more accurate to say that having that feature in itself doesn't interest me. I think movies like this (and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, for example) tend to rely on that too much. I do appreciate the skill to recreate another time, which was especially well done in Hollywood. In the end, it just didn't reach the same level of cathartic interpersonal dynamics of my favorite PTA movies, Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love.

 

[The Drifter]

Big PTA fan here, so was really looking forward to seeing Licorice Pizza. I first saw it on Blu roughly 2 years ago. And, honestly - ATT it did not interest me that much. I found it tough to get through & somewhat bland.

However, I decided to give it another chance & recently re-watched this. And, I liked/appreciated this much more than during my first viewing. Excellent film, which really resonated with me the second time around!!! Some comments:

-Interesting that Fred Gwynne/Herman Munster (at the fair where GV & his brother/friends were displaying/selling the water beds) was portrayed by John C. Reilly - a '90's PTA staple (Hard Eight; Boogie Nights; Magnolia). I only noticed this re: his voice, and for some reason had overlooked this on my first viewing. This was definitely a "blink & you'll miss it" cameo

-The tall hippie kid who was suspiciously checking out the campaign office from across the street (and eventually told to leave by Alana and Brian) was also later seen sitting in the background @ at the restaurant where Alana met Joel Wachs (Benny Safdie) & Matthew. Alana also mentioned that this kid was there as well, but you had to pay attention to notice him. And, the supposition here seemed to be that the hippie kid was trying to find "dirt" on Wachs.

-The film truly captured the 1970's CA culture/era. The '70's-era rock/pop soundtrack was also fantastic. Though I've seen a lot of period pieces over the years, this is definitely one of the best.

-One of my favorite scenes was when Jack Holden (Penn) was showing off & performing his motorcycle "stunt" outside the restaurant, and in the process Alana fell off the back of his motorcycle. And, while no one else cared/paid attention to this (even though Alana could have been seriously hurt/injured) & were engrossed in watching Holden, GV - concerned for her welfare - ran over to see if she was OK.

-Bradley Cooper was great playing a wealthy, entitled a$$%#%#. And, I know his character was based on an actual person

 

[The Drifter]

To add to my last post, here's an interesting article about the film:

Licorice Pizza True Story: Every Character Based On A Real Person

Licorice Pizza has real memories and real people.

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