25th HOUR and HE GOT GAME – The Blu Review: The Spike Lee Joint Collection Volume 1

With his 2002 film 25^th HOUR, Spike Lee proved, as he did in SUMMER OF SAM three years earlier, that he wasn’t limited to making films about the black experience. Lee could do provocative very well and he could do “issues” very well, but with 25^th HOUR, he had a hard time making a film that sustained  its 2 hours and 10 minutes. That was a real shame since I started out liking this film when I saw it when it was new, but it ran out of steam about the halfway point. I have a lot of respect for Edward Norton who played Monty Brogan, a convicted New York drug dealer who spends the film reevaluating his life in the before facing a seven-year jail term on drug charges, but felt the actor was miscast. Norton comes off too bookish and safe to play a convincing dealer. I thought the “F— You” monologue, where Monty snarls into a washroom mirror, ranting against every ethnic and social group in New York was fascinating, if a little politically correct. I didn’t really detect enough sustained racial angst from any of the characters to warrant the scene, though it’s the moment that’s most like one you’d find in a typical Spike Lee film, and the scene from 25th HOUR that everyone most remembers.

I watched 25^th HOUR again on the new Blu-ray release and did not like it any better than I did 12 years ago. It is slowly paced for no apparent reason other than self-indulgence and is confusingly shot and edited. For example, fractions of a second of “action” are sometimes repeated immediately after they happen – don’t ask me why – it’s not clever or cool – it just calls attention to itself. And there are some glaring (intentional) continuity errors involving quickly-changing camera angle. It also has a sometimes distracting soundtrack, like in the club where the scratching keeps swapping from left side to right but has little bearing to the rest of the music. There are also too many scenes of Irish bonding with Monty’s dad (Brian Cox), who remains loyal and true, despite his lad’s line of work. Seymour-Hoffman is excellent as always in a supporting role and Anna Paquin dialed up her substantial sexuality for the first time here.

25^th HOUR makes its Blu-ray debut on a double feature package called The Spike Lee Joint Collection Volume 1, where it is paired with his 1998 drama HE GOT GAME (Volume 2 contains SUMMER OF SAM and THE MIRACLE OF ST. ANNA and was reviewed recently HERE).

25^th HOUR is presented on Blu-ray with an 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer. Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto’s 35mm lensing really shines in in this release that abounds with exceptional detail. Considering how dark (as in dimly lit) a lot of this film is (it mostly takes place at night), shadow detail is well above average even when contrast fluctuates from sequence to sequence. Some of Prieto’s naturalistic lighting creates incredible plays of shadow and light, and those help to make 25^th HOUR incredibly moody and ominous a lot of the time.25^th HOUR features a rich and cinematic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack where Terence Blanchard’s lush score enjoys a smooth, natural presence. Extras include a new audio commentary with Spike Lee and Edward Norton, a commentary with writer David Benioff, deleted scenes, a featurette on Lee called “The Evolution of an American Filmmaker”, and a “Ground Zero” tribute (the film takes place just after September 11^th)

The film’s co-feature is 1998’s HE GOT GAME, a more conventional – and much better, film from Spike Lee – the one time he’s tackled the subject of sports. When Lee decided to score his basketball drama with the music of 20^th century American composer Aaron Copland (1900-1990), it was an unusually bold move, even for an unusually bold director like Lee. But it paid off big – it’s a great mix. The opening basketball montage is amazing, showing the diversity of those who play and love the game. Rather than using an all-rap soundtrack like most other basketball films, Copland’s symphonic sounds make the film a lot less aggressive and a lot more heartwarming (Not to take anything away from rap group Public Enemy’s He Got Game which is used well at the end of the film). If Spike Lee has the vision to make this film what it is, then Denzel Washington must be credited for making it believable. His performance as Jake Shuttlesworth is superb – an imperfect man who has a chance to redeem himself from prison by convincing his alienated son to play for a certain college basketball team. The story of redemption between the father and son is at times lacking, but still holds true. Ray Allen as his son Jesus isn’t an actor; he is a real NBA basketball player and must be credited for his performance. Rosario Dawson must also be praised for a great performance as Lala, Jesus’ girlfriend. She steals all of her scenes, even those with Washington, as the girlfriend who realizes that once Jesus leaves, she will be left with nothing (Dawson is also great in 25^th HOUR).

HE GOT GAME is presented on Blu-ray with an 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer. It’s a beautiful high definition transfer that looks great. Images hold exquisite detail and at times a great sense of depth. Skin tones are vibrant, rich and chock full of texture. Grain is present and maintains a filmic textural essence that presides over the presentation without intrusion. I found this to be an impressive and pristine quality presentation. The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack yields crisp, well textured dialogue that renders vocal inflections clearly, and the aforementioned Aaron Copeland score is heavenly. The only extra on the HE GOT GAME Blu is a new commentary by Spike Lee and Ray Allen.

The Spike Lee Joint Collection Volume 1 is worth a purchase. Like Volume 2, it well-illustrates the diversity and range of Spike Lee as a director and a writer.