Romance and Cigarettes Blu Ray Review (MGM)

Romance and Cigarettes is a 2005 dark comedy musical written/produced/directed by John Turturro (Mac, Illuminata, Passione, The Jesus Rolls, and Fading Gigolo). It was produced by Joel and Ethan Coen (Blood Simple, Miller’s Crossing, Fargo, Barton Fink, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Big Lebowski, Burn After Reading, No Country for Old Men, Inside Llewyn Davis, True Grit, and Raising Arizona). The project was delayed for two years due to James Gandolfini’s commitment to The Sopranos. It grossed $2,935,242 worldwide at the box office. Nick (played by: James Gandolfini from The Sopranos, True Romance, The Mexican, The Juror, Perdita Durango, Get Shorty, Fallen, and 8MM) and Kitty Murder (played by: Susan Sarandon from Thelma and Louise, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dead Man Walking, The Witches of Eastwick, The Hunger, Bull Durham, Elizabethtown, and The Client) are a struggling married New York couple going through some serious issues with their current relationship. Kitty accidentally finds a love poem that Nick wrote to his mistress Tula (played by: Kate Winslet from Titanic, Contagion, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Heavenly Creatures, All the King’s Men, Hamlet, Revolutionary Road, and Finding Neverland) and it sets off a chain of wild events for The Murders. Kitty gets some much needed help from her daughters Baby (played by: Mandy Moore from A Walk to Remember, Saved!, and 47 Meters Down), Constance (played by: Mary-Louise Parker from Weeds, The West Wing, and Red Dragon), Rosebud (played by: Aida Turturro from The Sopranos, Deep Blue Sea, and Bringing Out the Dead), and her cousin Bo (played by: Christopher Walken from Pulp Fiction, Suicide Kings, King of New York, and The Dead Zone) as she does her own investigation into her husband’s infidelity. Nick goes to his co-worker Angelo (played by: Steve Buscemi from The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, Con Air, and Reservoir Dogs) for advice during this chaotic situation. He doesn’t know which woman to choose for this battle of love versus lust. Who will win this war???? Romance and Cigarettes mixes up a few different sub-genres. It’s a dark romantic comedy and musical hybrid from the creative mind of director John Turturro. Turturro is one of the greatest character actors of all time but he’s proven to be an highly underrated film maker over the years behind the camera. Romance and Cigarettes feels like an odd cousin of a Woody Allen production, it definitely captures New York in a very unique way. The script is much better than expected, I’m so glad there’s a great balance between the acting and singing. I personally don’t really enjoy musicals that much but this is one of the better ones. The legendary James Gandolfini goes out of his comfort zone here as Nick Murder. He’s not your typical lead actor in something like this but he really holds his own when it comes to the singing scenes. He was always very under appreciated in his non Sopranos material but he’s honestly one of the most talented performers for cinema. His presence can’t be denied and he just makes an instant impact in every role. Susan Sarandon is top notch as Kitty Murder. She’s the unfortunate wife that catches her long time partner cheating. She’s not willing to give up and she looks into the awkward scenario. Kate Winslet is smoking hot in this as Tula. She knows that she’s doing something wrong but it doesn’t seem to bother her at all. All three of the leads have excellent chemistry together during all this madness. Christopher Walken steals the show as cousin Bo. He elevates everything that he’s in. The rest of the supporting cast includes Steve Buscemi, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, Aida Turturro, Bobby Cannavale (Ant-Man franchise), Barbara Sukowa (12 Monkeys), Elaine Stritch (30 Rock), Eddie Izzard (Ocean’s Thirteen), Amy Sedaris (Elf), Adam LeFevre (Rounders), John Turturro (Severance), and Tony Goldwyn (Ghost). I will say that it had some weird casting when it came to two of Gandolfini’s daughters, both Mary-Louise Parker and Aida Turturro are basically the same age as him. Regardless, both actresses were very impressive in Romance and Cigarettes. It has quality visuals, production design, locations, and the overall atmosphere is perfect for this. Despite it’s very talented all star cast, it flew under the radar for most. It’s really entertaining and so much fun. I’m hoping it gets more attention and respect after this MGM re-release, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from MGM!!!! This 1080p (2.35:1) transfer is a very solid upgrade compared to the original DVD release that I had. It definitely pops on everything a little more when it comes to the visuals here. It’s the same 2015 restoration that was used on the original Olive Films blu ray release from awhile back. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The audio is much better than expected. All of the musical scenes really stand out here. All of the dialogue is very crystal clear, the comedy is elevated, and the music has a great boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles which wasn’t available on the older Olive Films blu ray. Unfortunately, there’s no special features on this home video release that were carried over from any previous version. Despite it’s artwork that’s listed almost everywhere for this blu ray, it’s actually not a BD-R, it might still be considered M.O.D. because it’s limited amount produced but it’s actually pro pressed just like most of MGM’s current recent catalog title releases. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!