The Ballad of Little Jo is an amazing revisionist western by writer/director Maggie Greenwald starring Suzy Amis that balances harsh realities and the romanticism of the frontier west. New to Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
The Ballad of Little Jo is the kind of revisionist Western that should be discussed in the same breath as films like The Wild Bunch, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, and Brokeback Mountain. The film is an adorit view of Western frontier life and a woman’s refusal to accept the confines of her position.
Joanne (Suzy Amis) after an affair that produced a child out of wedlock has gone west for better fortunes than in the “civilized East”. Joanne finds nothing but the real threat of violence (both physical and sexual) and untrustworthiness from both men and women. After one such incident, Joanne decides to conceal her gender. Jo no longer Joanne makes her way to Ruby Montana an upstart Gold Mining Town. There she will tread the dangers as any other soul but at any moment she could be revealed.
The film that Greenwald has created is at once a traditional Western and nothing of the sort. A surprising epic that’s told over decades finds our main character etching out a life for herself and finding enemies with friends, friends with enemies, and relationships in the unexpected. The writer/director is in complete control of the medium and finds the always complex and sometimes frightening aspects in the mundanity of frontier life.
Amis is phenomenal as Jo a true Western hero fortified by challenges and the hard environment of the Western frontier. Both a physical and emotional performance that is as adroitly performed as it was written by Greenwald. The work is so eloquently beautiful one wonders why Amis and Greenwald never worked again as the work is as soon as either ever did. In fact, the entire cast is wonderful with surprising turns by Bo Hopkins, Ian McKellen, and David Chung. Each is given as much latitude as Amis and the results are wonderfully challenging work that rubs against the conventions of the archetypes of the genre.
The Ballad of Little Jo is the convention-defying type of Western that one wishes more filmmakers attempted or were allowed to attempt. Greenwald films is a neo-classic waiting to be discovered by an audience.
The Transfer
The all-new HD Master From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative, Supervised and Approved by Director Maggie Greenwald and Cinematographer Declan Quinn is a marvel of what’s possible on Blu-ray. The film looks positively luminous in the format with the low-light photography looking almost painterly in the way the image has transferred to home video. The contrast and black levels are reference quality and near perfect. The transfer has nary a scratch, blemish, or fleck of dirt. Quinn and Greenwald have supervised a truly wonderful transfer that looks like it was filmed and released last week. Bravo to Kino Lorber for the truly wonderful release.
The Extras
They include the following;
NEW Audio Commentary by Director Maggie Greenwald and Cinematographer Declan Quinn
NEW Interview with Actress Suzy Amis
Trailers
The all-new Audio Commentary by Director Maggie Greenwald and Cinematographer Declan Quinn is an informative albeit sparse affair. Some of the details including the reason why they cast Rene Auberjonois; the casting of Suzy Amis – and an anecdote from the audition process; working in 35mm film and the differences from digital from both Greenwald and Quinn’s perspective; the shooting schedule – a discussion of the lengthy time they had and Greenwald never having a schedule like that again; the cutting of Suzy Amis’ hair on screen for the moment in the film; working with Bo Hopkins – and anecdotes on how great he was with understanding film acting; how most of the props were made by locals for the production; the work of Ian McKellen and how they were able to cast him; some of the challenges Quinn faced lighting faces – specifically Amis – with the hats; the way they used the weather as an advantage rather than a challenge; the challenges and joys of working with the animals – including the horses, sheep, and dogs; working with David Mansfield – who also Greenwald eventually married; the visual style they created and the films they looked at for inspiration; a larger discussion of the various cast members and their work in the film; and much more. Again, the commentary track is sparse with silences being fairly lengthy between Greenwald and Quinn commenting on screen. Those willing to trek through the commentary will be rewarded with a thought track on the making of the film.
Interview with Actress Suzy Amis (14:22) – the all-new interview with the actress opens with how this was based on a true life. Some of the details include the audition process; the research she did to bring the role to life – including an interesting note about her walking; the cutting of her actual hair during the scene where Jo cuts her hair; her familiarity with firearms and including the training she got in Montana; working with the cattle dog and other sheep herding actions like shearing; the experience of acting ‘dead’; filming in the actual snow – and the troubles it brought including period clothing; working with Maggie Greenwald and the set that Greenwald had; working with Ian McKellen, David Chung, and Bo Hopkins; and much more.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for The Ballad of Little Jo (1:49); The Long Riders (2:28); Cattle Annie and Little Britches (2:15); The Grey Fox (1:39); Last of the Dogmen (2:52);
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber brings The Ballad of Little Jo, another gem of an underseen film to Blu-ray. Highest Possible Recommendations!!!
The Ballad of Little Jo is an amazing revisionist western by writer/director Maggie Greenwald starring Suzy Amis that balances harsh realities and the romanticism of the frontier west. New to Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
The Ballad of Little Jo is the kind of revisionist Western that should be discussed in the same breath as films like The Wild Bunch, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, and Brokeback Mountain. The film is an adorit view of Western frontier life and a woman’s refusal to accept the confines of her position.
Joanne (Suzy Amis) after an affair that produced a child out of wedlock has gone west for better fortunes than in the “civilized East”. Joanne finds nothing but the real threat of violence (both physical and sexual) and untrustworthiness from both men and women. After one such incident, Joanne decides to conceal her gender. Jo no longer Joanne makes her way to Ruby Montana an upstart Gold Mining Town. There she will tread the dangers as any other soul but at any moment she could be revealed.
The film that Greenwald has created is at once a traditional Western and nothing of the sort. A surprising epic that’s told over decades finds our main character etching out a life for herself and finding enemies with friends, friends with enemies, and relationships in the unexpected. The writer/director is in complete control of the medium and finds the always complex and sometimes frightening aspects in the mundanity of frontier life.
Amis is phenomenal as Jo a true Western hero fortified by challenges and the hard environment of the Western frontier. Both a physical and emotional performance that is as adroitly performed as it was written by Greenwald. The work is so eloquently beautiful one wonders why Amis and Greenwald never worked again as the work is as soon as either ever did. In fact, the entire cast is wonderful with surprising turns by Bo Hopkins, Ian McKellen, and David Chung. Each is given as much latitude as Amis and the results are wonderfully challenging work that rubs against the conventions of the archetypes of the genre.
The Ballad of Little Jo is the convention-defying type of Western that one wishes more filmmakers attempted or were allowed to attempt. Greenwald films is a neo-classic waiting to be discovered by an audience.
The Transfer
The all-new HD Master From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative, Supervised and Approved by Director Maggie Greenwald and Cinematographer Declan Quinn is a marvel of what’s possible on Blu-ray. The film looks positively luminous in the format with the low-light photography looking almost painterly in the way the image has transferred to home video. The contrast and black levels are reference quality and near perfect. The transfer has nary a scratch, blemish, or fleck of dirt. Quinn and Greenwald have supervised a truly wonderful transfer that looks like it was filmed and released last week. Bravo to Kino Lorber for the truly wonderful release.
The Extras
They include the following;
The all-new Audio Commentary by Director Maggie Greenwald and Cinematographer Declan Quinn is an informative albeit sparse affair. Some of the details including the reason why they cast Rene Auberjonois; the casting of Suzy Amis – and an anecdote from the audition process; working in 35mm film and the differences from digital from both Greenwald and Quinn’s perspective; the shooting schedule – a discussion of the lengthy time they had and Greenwald never having a schedule like that again; the cutting of Suzy Amis’ hair on screen for the moment in the film; working with Bo Hopkins – and anecdotes on how great he was with understanding film acting; how most of the props were made by locals for the production; the work of Ian McKellen and how they were able to cast him; some of the challenges Quinn faced lighting faces – specifically Amis – with the hats; the way they used the weather as an advantage rather than a challenge; the challenges and joys of working with the animals – including the horses, sheep, and dogs; working with David Mansfield – who also Greenwald eventually married; the visual style they created and the films they looked at for inspiration; a larger discussion of the various cast members and their work in the film; and much more. Again, the commentary track is sparse with silences being fairly lengthy between Greenwald and Quinn commenting on screen. Those willing to trek through the commentary will be rewarded with a thought track on the making of the film.
Interview with Actress Suzy Amis (14:22) – the all-new interview with the actress opens with how this was based on a true life. Some of the details include the audition process; the research she did to bring the role to life – including an interesting note about her walking; the cutting of her actual hair during the scene where Jo cuts her hair; her familiarity with firearms and including the training she got in Montana; working with the cattle dog and other sheep herding actions like shearing; the experience of acting ‘dead’; filming in the actual snow – and the troubles it brought including period clothing; working with Maggie Greenwald and the set that Greenwald had; working with Ian McKellen, David Chung, and Bo Hopkins; and much more.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for The Ballad of Little Jo (1:49); The Long Riders (2:28); Cattle Annie and Little Britches (2:15); The Grey Fox (1:39); Last of the Dogmen (2:52);
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber brings The Ballad of Little Jo, another gem of an underseen film to Blu-ray. Highest Possible Recommendations!!!
Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray edition of The Ballad of Little Jo is out now.
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