CQ
($27) is a highly intriguing film debut from Roman Coppola, son of Francis Ford,
which makes me think that filmmaking may now be a genetic trait.
Personally, I very much enjoyed CQ even if the film isn't entirely
perfect. There are some predictable aspects to the story, but there is
also a lot of ingenuity contained in this freshman effort. I particularly
love the film's sense of visual style, which perfectly captures the flavor
of European cinema of the late 1960s. CQ tells the story of a film
editor Paul Ballard (Jeremy Davies), who comes to Paris in 1969 to work on
a futuristic spy thriller called Codename: Dragonfly, which
is set in the year 2001.
After
the departure of two directors, the film's producer Enzo di Martini
(Giancarlo Giannini) entrusts the completion of Codename: Dragonfly
to Paul because he is the only person that understands the project well
enough to fashion a workable ending for the movie. However, as this
terrific opportunity falls into Paul's lap, his relationship with his
girlfriend hits a rough patch due to his obsession with creating his own
personal film that documents the intimate details of his own existence.
Further complicating matters is Valentine (Angela Lindvall), the beautiful
star of Codename: Dragonfly who quickly becomes the central
figure in Paul's very active fantasy life. The cast of CQ also
features Élodie Bouchez, Gérard Depardieu, Massimo Ghini, John Phillip
Law, Jason Schwartzman, Dean Stockwell and Billy Zane.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made CQ available on DVD in a 1.85:1 wide
screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. A full screen presentation is also offered on a separate layer
for those who don't care about maintaining the film's artistic integrity.
In general, this is a very attractive looking transfer, which displays a
sharp and nicely defined image. There are some inconsistencies in the
image when the movie switches to its black and white "film within a
film" documentary passages. Also, there are a few blemishes on the
print, as well as sometimes-noticeable grain structure. Color reproduction
is quite wonderful, with the film's warm appealing hues appearing clean
and stable. Additionally, flesh tones always look quite good- in a better
that real life fashion. Blacks are pure, contrast is generally smooth and
the picture produces good shadow detail. Digital compression artifacts are
usually undetectable.
CQ
features a nice sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. While the
sound mix isn't particularly showy, it does create a nice sense of
atmosphere with occasional sound effects deployment. The strongest element
of the sound mix is the film's music, which is rendered with a very good
level of fidelity and is effectively spread through the soundstage.
English dialogue is crisply rendered and is always intelligible. The bass
channel isn't particularly potent, but is solid enough for the material.
Subtitles are provided on the DVD in English, French and Spanish.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as the film's
supplemental materials, much of which are relegated to the second side of
the DVD. Director Roman Coppola and cinematographer Robert D. Yeoman are
on hand for a running commentary that discusses various aspects of the
film's production.
On
side two one will find two alternate versions of the Codename:
Dragonfly movie, along with an optional commentary track by
actress Angela Lindvall, as well as a making of featurette. There are five
CQ related featurettes included on the DVD that focus on various
aspects of the production including the actors, director Roman Coppola's
personal behind the scenes insights, the film's cinematography, production
design and settings, as well as the music and sound. There is a
"Personal Documentaries" section that includes four short films
on the making of CQ by Eleanor Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Mathieu
Tonetti and Xavier Martin & Sebastien Alouf. Also included amongst the
supplements is a live performance from Japan by the group Mellow,
featuring some of the music from CQ. A still gallery and theatrical
trailer close out the supplemental features.
As
I stated above, CQ is an intriguing and enjoyable first effort from
Roman Coppola. I know I'll be interested in seeing what the young director
can come up with in the future. MGM Home Entertainment has produced a
great little DVD edition of CQ that provides both a pleasant
presentation and solid supplemental section. If you are interested in
seeing something different that the typical Hollywood release, then you
should definitely check out CQ.
CQ
($27) is a highly intriguing film debut from Roman Coppola, son of Francis Ford,
which makes me think that filmmaking may now be a genetic trait.
Personally, I very much enjoyed CQ even if the film isn't entirely
perfect. There are some predictable aspects to the story, but there is
also a lot of ingenuity contained in this freshman effort. I particularly
love the film's sense of visual style, which perfectly captures the flavor
of European cinema of the late 1960s. CQ tells the story of a film
editor Paul Ballard (Jeremy Davies), who comes to Paris in 1969 to work on
a futuristic spy thriller called Codename: Dragonfly, which
is set in the year 2001.
After
the departure of two directors, the film's producer Enzo di Martini
(Giancarlo Giannini) entrusts the completion of Codename: Dragonfly
to Paul because he is the only person that understands the project well
enough to fashion a workable ending for the movie. However, as this
terrific opportunity falls into Paul's lap, his relationship with his
girlfriend hits a rough patch due to his obsession with creating his own
personal film that documents the intimate details of his own existence.
Further complicating matters is Valentine (Angela Lindvall), the beautiful
star of Codename: Dragonfly who quickly becomes the central
figure in Paul's very active fantasy life. The cast of CQ also
features Élodie Bouchez, Gérard Depardieu, Massimo Ghini, John Phillip
Law, Jason Schwartzman, Dean Stockwell and Billy Zane.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made CQ available on DVD in a 1.85:1 wide
screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. A full screen presentation is also offered on a separate layer
for those who don't care about maintaining the film's artistic integrity.
In general, this is a very attractive looking transfer, which displays a
sharp and nicely defined image. There are some inconsistencies in the
image when the movie switches to its black and white "film within a
film" documentary passages. Also, there are a few blemishes on the
print, as well as sometimes-noticeable grain structure. Color reproduction
is quite wonderful, with the film's warm appealing hues appearing clean
and stable. Additionally, flesh tones always look quite good- in a better
that real life fashion. Blacks are pure, contrast is generally smooth and
the picture produces good shadow detail. Digital compression artifacts are
usually undetectable.
CQ
features a nice sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. While the
sound mix isn't particularly showy, it does create a nice sense of
atmosphere with occasional sound effects deployment. The strongest element
of the sound mix is the film's music, which is rendered with a very good
level of fidelity and is effectively spread through the soundstage.
English dialogue is crisply rendered and is always intelligible. The bass
channel isn't particularly potent, but is solid enough for the material.
Subtitles are provided on the DVD in English, French and Spanish.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which provide access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as the film's
supplemental materials, much of which are relegated to the second side of
the DVD. Director Roman Coppola and cinematographer Robert D. Yeoman are
on hand for a running commentary that discusses various aspects of the
film's production.
On
side two one will find two alternate versions of the Codename:
Dragonfly movie, along with an optional commentary track by
actress Angela Lindvall, as well as a making of featurette. There are five
CQ related featurettes included on the DVD that focus on various
aspects of the production including the actors, director Roman Coppola's
personal behind the scenes insights, the film's cinematography, production
design and settings, as well as the music and sound. There is a
"Personal Documentaries" section that includes four short films
on the making of CQ by Eleanor Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Mathieu
Tonetti and Xavier Martin & Sebastien Alouf. Also included amongst the
supplements is a live performance from Japan by the group Mellow,
featuring some of the music from CQ. A still gallery and theatrical
trailer close out the supplemental features.
As
I stated above, CQ is an intriguing and enjoyable first effort from
Roman Coppola. I know I'll be interested in seeing what the young director
can come up with in the future. MGM Home Entertainment has produced a
great little DVD edition of CQ that provides both a pleasant
presentation and solid supplemental section. If you are interested in
seeing something different that the typical Hollywood release, then you
should definitely check out CQ.
