Review(s): DVD Knife in the Water - Criterion Collection
Roman Polanski's first film
Knife in the Water features some great camerawork and manages to evoke an astonishing amount of tension in certain scenes. I can level no real complaints against it aesthetically, save that less is translated than I would've liked. But the ending is not particularly satisfying and the conflict is not played out as dramatically as you're led to believe. The DVD package is decent, though you'll no doubt be able to find better prices for it than here. You get an interview with Roman Polanski and his cinematographer, then a second disc of short films. Some of these are bit taxing on one's patience (i.e. When Angels Fall and The Fat and the Lean), but others are quite brilliant (The Lamp and Mammals). I'd say this is a positive treasure trove if you're a big fan of the director.
5 stars but with 1 major complaint
Polanski's classic is one of my all time favorite films and Criterion has done a fine job transferring it to DVD, hence the 5-star rating. Viewers should know, however, that at the request of the director, Criterion has disabled the step frame function as well as the ability to scan forward or backward. Only the chapter up and down feature is still functional as well as the ability to place the program in still frame without single frame advance or reverse. A liner note on the inside of the package alerts viewers only to the missing step frame feature but not to the fact that these other features have ALSO been disabled. And there is no mention made of ANY of these missing features anywhere on the outside of the packaging. Needless to say, not being able to scan forward or backward is a major inconvenience since it's impossible to review a scene without returning all the way to the beginning of the chapter. This is especially unfortunate with a subtitled film. If a line of dialogue flies by while you're busy admiring the visuals, you're out of luck since there's no easy way to back up quickly. All of this might have been less objectionable if the DVD had been more heavily chaptered, but alas, that is not the case, either. Let's hope that this is one very peculiar concession to a director that is not repeated any time soon.
Great early Polanski, who usurps control of your DVD player
A fascinating, suspensful film debut for Roman Polanski, who already shows great promise with his amazingly original camera angles and creative shots. However, Criterion allowed Polanski to dictate the terms of the disc in which the step back/forward function is disabled. This is maddening, especially if one misses a subtitle or two when pondering some of his amazing shots.
Another complaint I have is about the subtitles. I don't speak Polish, but it seems to me there is a lot of spoken dialogue that is not translated into English. I can recall several instances when the characters speak, but no subtitles appear. A harmless error, or a glaring mistake? I don't have an answer.
This doesn't detract from the movie itself, which is excellent. Five stars would have been given if not for these flaws. However, I do hope Criterion does not repeat the very rude mistake of disabling disc functions in any other future editions of their releases. Another reviewer got it right: "Polanski controls his set, not my DVD player."
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