Strangers Kiss – Fun City Editions (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1983
Director: Matthew Chapman
Writers: Blaine Novak, Matthew Chapman
Cast: Peter Coyote, Victoria Tennant, Blaine Novak, Dan Shor, Richard Romanus, Linda Kerridge, Sloan Roberts, Joe Nipote, Arthur Adams

Release Date: June 25th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 94 Minutes 12 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $39.95

"Hollywood. 1955. Faced with two inexperienced actors, the director (Peter Coyote, E.T.) of Strange and Dangerous (film-within-a-film) encourages the leading lady (Victoria Tennant, L.A. Story) and leading man (Blaine Novak, They All Laughed) to fall in love in "real life" so as to provide the "heat" needed for the inner film's romance. The actress' possessive gangster boyfriend (Richard Romanus, Mean Streets), who happens to be the film's financier, is kept in the dark about this love triangle. When the financier finally realizes what is going on, he flies off in a violently jealous rage. The suspense and tension draws to a tingling close with a strange twist at the ending." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "New 4K Restoration from the film's original 35mm internegative".

Strangers Kiss comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.8 GB

Feature: 27 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity, black levels, contrast, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH subtitles. The audio sounds excellent; the dialog is clear; and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (stills/poster), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 37 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a video essay by Chris O'Neill titled Stanley’s Film (9 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with producer Doug Dilge titled Distributor to Producer (32 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Blaine Novak titled An Enemy Cliche (24 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Victoria Tennant titled It Felt Magical (23 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with director Matthew Chapman titled Comradeship and Love (24 minutes 36 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Walter Chaw, reversible cover art, a slipcover (first pressing only), and a 16-page booklet (first pressing only) with an essay titled Strangers Kiss: A Dangerous Beauty written by Peter Tonguette, archival LA Times about Strangers Kiss written by Sheela Benson, and cast & crew information.

Summary:

Not waiting to lose the chemistry between his two leads, the director conceals from his leading man that the leading lady is the girlfriend of the man financing the film.

Strangers Kiss is a movie within a movie that gives an unflinching look into the world of no-budget filmmaking. Though Strangers Kiss uses Stanley Kubrick's Killer’s Kiss as its launching point, it is not a retelling of that film’s making. Also, despite there being many areas where these two films mirror each other, Strangers Kiss excels most in areas where it differs from Killer’s Kiss. Notably, when it comes to Strangers Kiss, there are directors named Stanley and Stanley Kubrick.

Strangers Kiss, at its core, is a story about a woman who two men are in love with. One man is a nefarious businessman who the woman lives with, and the other is an actor who has fallen head over heels in love with her. Though she is in a relationship of convenience, she never looks elsewhere for affection.

The three leads are excellent in their roles: Victoria Tennant (Flowers in the Attic) in the role of the leading lady, Blaine Novak in the role of the leading man, and Peter Coyote (Bitter Moon) in the role of the director. In the case of Victoria Tennant and Blaine Novak, their on-screen chemistry greatly adds to their characters' authenticity. Peter Coyote is pitch perfect as an authoritarian director determined to get things exactly as he sees them. Dan Shor (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) delivers a superb performance in the role of the producer. His character is often the brunt of the director's frustration.

From a production standpoint, Strangers Kiss is a film where everything falls right into place. The well-executed narrative is filled with tension, and it does an amazing job building towards the finale. For the most part, the visuals let the performances take center stage, with the most stylish moments being the black-and-white film within the film footage. Ultimately, Strangers Kiss does not lose any of its impact, whether you are familiar with Stanley Kubrick’s Killer’s Kiss.

Fun City Editions gives Strangers Kiss an exceptional release that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer