THE LINGUINI INCIDENT (1991) (MVD Marquee Collection Blu-ray Review)

THE LINGUINI INCIDENT (1991) 

Director's Cut 

Label: MVD Marquee Collection 

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: R

Duration: 92 Minutes 49 Seconds 

Audio: English PCM 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 

Director: Richard Shepard 

Cast: David Bowie, Rosanna Arquette, Buck Henry, Marlee Matlin, Viveca Lindfors, James Avery, Maura Tierney

The early 90's were a fertile time of quirky, independent cinema and The Linguini Incident (1991) is certainly an oddball gem full of whimsy and weirdness. It's a bit of a romantic-comedy, but also a bit of a heist-caper, but then again, it's not real focused on that either, regardless, it's an entertaining watch, and I loved seeing David Bowie and Rosanna Arquette teamed-up as the leads of this way-out bit of weirdness. 

In it Lucy (Rosanna Arquette, Pulp Fiction) is a waitress at "Dali", a very hip underground eatery in New York City. There she meets a new bartender, the charming and mysteriously compulsive liar Monte (David Bowie, The Hunger), a Brit who is desperate to marry so that he can become a citizen, before he gets deported back to England, where apparently some sort of life-ending comeuppance it waiting for him. He sets his sights on Lucy but she's not too keen on him and the marriage-idea, but later when she alone is at her apartment practicing her Houdini-esque nightclub escape act she nearly hangs herself and is stuck in a pair of handcuffs with a noose around her neck. A random phone call from Monte seems the only way to get out of her predicament and the end result is that Monte ends up coming to her apartment to save the day, and also offers him yet another opportunity to propose another proposal for marriage.

Still into convinced by his charms she is more intrigued when she overhears him on the phone talking about knocking over the eatery, so she inserts herself into his heist plans,. Now officially in cahoots they recruit her neighbor gal pal Viv (singer/actor Eszter Balint, Stranger Than Paradise), a designer of self-defense brasiers, to rob the place and solve their mutual financial woes, but the trio are not quite the criminals masterminds that they think they are, and things expectedly do not quite go as planned. Sparks between them eventually do eventually start to fly, turning this into a quirky romantic-caper chock full of chemistry between out three leads, and some terrific turns from Andre Gregory (My Dinner with Andre) and Buck Henry (The Player) as the eateries fussy and malicious owners, and Marlee Matlin (TV's Picket Fences) as a deaf hostess at the eatery with a stunning pretzel hairdo. .

The colors of the film are wonderfully lush and vibrant, the world it creates both inside the restaurant and around this off kilter NYC neighborhood look terrific. Additionally the one-liners are pretty snazzy, I could see this becoming a bit of cult-classic now that we have a fabulous Blu-ray available. Before MVD announced this I will admit that I had never even heard of this one, and what a gem it is, this is an exciting release, it'd apparently been quite hard to come by till now. Just having Bowie and Arquette teamed-up front and center here is worth the price of admission alone, I don't think I've ever seen Bowie in such a humorous role, there's bit of low-key sinister to him as well, but he's so dang charming and funny here. Arquette is a known quantity and she brings a lot to it, I always felt she should have had more lead roles, and she really shines here as the offbeat waitress. 

Audio/Video: The Linguini Incident (1991) makes it;s worldwide Blu-ray debut from the MVD Marquee Collection, also marking the first-time-ever that the director's cut has been available on home video, presented here in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1) which is advertised as being "struck from a brand new 4K transfer from film interpositive". The image looks terrific, depth and clarity are modest, it's authentically grainy, and colors are well-saturated, especially the inside of the restaurant has a ubique green color palette to it that looks terrific in HD. Textures and fine detail is also pleasing, the oddball assortment of fashion styles have nice textures to them, and close-up reveals plenty of stubble, skin pores and wrinkling in the facial features. Audio comes by way of English PCM 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles, dialogue and atmospherics are well prioritized, and the score from Thomas Newman (The Shawshank Redemption) sounds terrific, as does the stray Meat Puppets tracks on the soundtrack!

This release is packed with extras, we start of with a 2-min Introduction by Director Richard Shepard, then onto a brand new Audio Commentary with Director Richard Shepard, actors Rosanna Arquette and Eszter Balint, co-producer Sarah Jackson and co-screenwriter Tamar Brott, moderated by “Cereal at Midnight’s” Heath Holland, plus a second Audio Commentary by Director Richard Shepard.

On top of that we get the 104-min The Making of The Linguini Incident - a feature-length documentary with interviews from co-writer/director Richard Shepard, co-writer Tamar Brott, actors Rosanna Arquette, Eszter Balint Marlee Matlin, Richard von Ernst, producer Sarah Jackson, production designer Marcia Hinds. This is an in-depth and fun exploration of the quirky film, production woes, and working with Bowie. Disc extras are buttoned-up with a 6-min Photo Gallery with Commentary by Richard Shepard; the 98-min Original Theatrical Version of The Linguini Incident in SD; a 2-min 2024 Theatrical Trailer, and the 2-min Original Theatrical Trailer.

The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a Reversible Wrap, plus a Limited Edition Slipcover and 16-Page Illustrated Booklet with essays from film historian Graham Rinaldi and director Richard Shepard, both the slipcover and wrap of are only available with the first-pressing. 

Special Features: 
- High Definition (1080p) presentation of the director’s cut of the main feature in 1.78:1 (struck from a brand new 4K transfer from film interpositive)
- Introduction by Director Richard Shepard (2:26) 
- Audio Commentary with Director Richard Shepard, actors Rosanna Arquette and Eszter Balint, co-producer Sarah Jackson and co-screenwriter Tamar Brott, moderated by “Cereal at Midnight’s” Heath Holland
- Audio Commentary by Director Richard Shepard
- “The Making of The Linguini Incident” - Full length documentary feat. interviews with Richard Shepard, Tamar Brott, Rosanna Arquette, Eszter Balint Marlee Matlin, Sarah Jackson, Marcia Hinds & Richard von Ernst (1:44:26, HD, w/ optional English subtitles)
- Photo Gallery with Commentary by Richard Shepard (5:55)
- The Linguini Incident – Original Theatrical Version (98:22) SD
- 2024 Theatrical Trailer (1:42) HD
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2:18) HD
- MVD Trailers: Mr. Jealousy, A Guide to Reorganizing Your Saints, Highball, Zariville, Art School Confidential 

- Reversible Sleeve of Artwork
- Limited Edition Slipcover (First Pressing Only)

- 16-Page Illustrated Booklet with essays from film historian Graham Rinaldi and director Richard Shepard (First Pressing Only)

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