As harrowing as The Day After and Threads as well as other films about nuclear annihilation are, they were at times explicit and sensationalized, meaning that their often graphic content could sometimes overshadow the stories they told. And seeing clips and trailers from Lynne Littman’s Testament (1983), that one looks to be the refreshing exception. It sounds like it takes a highly intimate approach to telling a story of life during nuclear hell.
Buy Testament (Criterion Collection)The great Jane Alexander (in an Oscar-nominated performance) stars as Carol Weatherly, a woman trying to keep it together for her three kids after bomb warheads have fallen in California. After her husband seemly disappears after the attacks, she is left to take care of their family. As people in their neighborhood succumb to radiation poison, the Weatherly’s help each other try and survive, even after they take in other survivors.
After doing the research I mentioned earlier, I don’t know if this is a film I really want to see, Not that it sounds like a bad film by any means, but that it might be way too depressing (especially after a certain orange tyrant has now declared war on Iran, and Iran has threatened to retaliate), and it could be triggering. However, I need to see it because not only is Alexander one of my favorite actresses, but the film itself could be an important history lesson for how troubling it was back in the ’80s when the Cold War was on the rise and anything could have happened. And being a film made by a female filmmaker, I want to see it even more, because women can tell bleak but humanistic stories too.
Making its long-awaited return (originally available from Australian’s Imprint Films and on Paramount’s DVD), the Criterion release (only on Blu-ray) sounds like a winner. It has a new 4K digital restoration, supervised by Littman and her cinematographer Steven Poster, and some interesting supplements, which include a new conversation between Littman and author Sam Wasson; two documentaries by Littman, made in collaboration with anthropologist Barbara Myerhoff: Number Our Days (1976) and In Her Own Time (1985); “Testament” at 20 and Nuclear Thoughts, archival programs featuring interviews with cast and crew members and nuclear-science experts; audio recording of Alexander reading the short story “The Last Testament,” on which the film is based; and trailer. There’s also a new essay by author and film curator Michael Koresky.
If you’re in the mood for grim cinema, then Criterion has you covered with this release. The film could be a real eye opener for many film collectors looking for something challenging and a look back to a time of nostalgic panic.
Other intriguing releases:
Classe tous risques 4K UHD (Criterion): A 1960 French crime classic starring Lino Ventura as a gangster who decides to come home even though he knows he will be killed if discovered. During his return, he discovers that not everyone wants him back.
Mimic 4K UHD + Blu-ray (Kino): Guillermo del Toro’s 1997 hidden sci-fi horror gem about genetically engineered insects designed to kill disease-carrying roaches, evolve to imitate humans and hunt them down in the subways of New York City.
Port of Shadows 4K UHD + Blu-ray (Kino): Marcel Carne’s 1938 classic starring Jean Gabin as a military deserter who finds love and danger in smoky French port city. Read Mat Brewster’s review.
Jurassic Park 4K UHD + Blu-ray (Universal): Spielberg’s iconic 1993 action-adventure thriller about prehistoric predators on the loose in a theme park on a remote island, where a group of trapped people fight against them.
Good Boy (Shudder): A loyal dog moves to a rural family home with his owner, only to discover supernatural forces lurking outside. As the owner is threatened, the pup fights to protect to him.
Is This Thing On? 4K UHD + Blu-ray (Searchlight/Disney): Will Arnett plays a budding New York comic whose marriage to his wife (Laura Dern) unravels as she confronts the scarifies she made to keep their family together.
