|
By
WAYNE KLEIN
It's about time that "The
Two Jakes" gets a little love. Yes, it's a lesser
film than "Chinatown" but it's still a GOOD film
that was slammed in the press for not being the
first film which, of course, it couldn't be simply
because all the characters have tried to move on
and time has taken its toll on all these people.
The new edition of the film is a marked
improvement with more accurate colors and improved
definition.
We have an excellent interview with Jack Nicholson
that runs about 18 minutes discussing how he ended
up in the director's chair ("it was the only way
to not have it be this ongoing drama") how "The
Two Jakes" was supposed to be the second part of a
trilogy (with "Gittes vs. Gittes" originally about
privacy as the third film). The original plan was
that Towne (who appears in an interview for
"Chinatown" but curiously NOT for "The Two Jakes")
was going to write and direct the two sequels
using the natural passage of time and each
succeeding decade (30's, 40's and 50's) to
document the change of Los Angeles which was a
major character in the film as well.
Nicholson manages to discuss the film without
making a nasty comment about anybody. He discusses
the casting (Madeline Stowe, Meg Tilly, Eli
Wallach, Harvey Keitel), particularly about the
challenges working with the actors who often had
very different training. We see some
behind-the-scenes footage that was drawn from a
vintage featurette. Sadly, we don't get a
commentary track by Nicholson or any of the cast
members. Nevertheless, this is great upgrade over
the barebones original release.
Unfortunately Towne is MIA for the interview
(given the difficulty he had in getting it made,
his dismissal as director and his mixed feelings
about the final result, it's understandable). I
would have liked to hear the thoughts of Stowe,
Tilly and Keitel about the making of the film.
Nicholson is very diplomatic in discussing the
making of the film and its difficult long haul to
the big screen.
A terrific upgrade for fans of "The Two Jakes",
Paramount has cleaned up the picture and the
result is a much sharper looking DVD. A very good
movie "The Two Jakes" may not be "Chinatown" but
it's a solid thriller with strong performances and
terrific cinematography. A pity that the planned
third film in the trilogy won't be coming to the
screen. |
