QUACKSER FORTUNE HAS A COUSIN IN THE BRONX (1970)
Label: VCI Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG
Duration: 86 Minutes 32 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1,66:1)
Director: Waris Hussein
Cast: Gene Wilder, Margot Kidder, Eileen Colgan, May Ollis, Seamus Forde, David Kelly
The quirky Irish comedy Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx (1970) is directed by Waris Hussein (The Possession of Joel Delaney), and stars Gene Wilder (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) plays the titular Quackser Fortune, an uneducated young man in Dublin who earns his living by following the horse-drawn delivery wagons on the streets of Dublin in his hand-drawn wooden cart and scooping up the horse manure with a shovel, and then turning around selling it as fertilizer. Slinging manure being a better career choice for him than the alternative, working in the foundry alongside his father, which he loathes. He's an eccentric individualist who marches to his own beat, well-liked but also somewhat ridiculed by the other locals. One day while pushing his cart on the street he is nearly run down by a car, the driver yells "Sorry" but the damage has been done, the wheel of his cart falls off.
The next day a young woman on horseback riding through the park and introduces herself as the driver who almost ran him over, her name Zazel (Margo Kiddo, Black Christmas), a sophisticated American college student attending nearby Trinity College. She's quite interested in his peculiar career choice, a manure-peddler, and spends time with him, and what blossoms is an unlikely romance between the simple and quirky, naive, dung-slinging Irishman and the worldly American student. She doesn't fit into his world and he's a fish out of water among her college friends, but somehow they make it work, for a short while at least.
The stars have plenty of aloof chemistry onscreen, and you want it to work for them, even though you kind of know it won't, and it doesn't. The pair are quite charming, especially Wider as the eccentric Quackser, he and his frizzy hair and expressive eyes, I just love that man's face so much. Aside from his new love interest Quackser is also a victim of the changing times, it seems that motor vehicles are replacing the horses on the streets of Dublin and his days of manure slinging are numbered. With the threat of working a the dreaded foundry he considers moving to America to live with his titular cousin, who is never seen but figures into the scheme of things heavily.
I found this light-hearted romp to be such a treat, the unlikely pairing of Kidder and Wilder as an unlikely romantic coupling is just so sweet, but not annoyingly so. Additionally the Dublin locations are picturesque, both the cobblestone city streets and the hills overlooking the city, and the supporting characters that inhabit the flick are wonderful and charming as well. It's just very low-key and wonderful, and I highly recommend it, particularly if you're a fan of odd-couple romantic pairing like Harold and Maude (1971), Cannery Row (1982) or Benny and Joon (1993). I don;t want to oversell it because that might tarnish your expectations, but this is truly a delightful watch, and I think it must be considered somewhat obscure, in so much that I'd never even heard of it before, and you would think that a quirky and mellow rom-com starring Kidder and Wilder would be a little better known, so here's hoping this new Blu-ray from VCI puts this in front of more people.
Audio/Video: Quacker Fortune Has A Cousin (1970) in the Bronx (1970) makes it's Blu-ray debut from VCI Entertainment in 1080p HD. framed in 1.66:1 widescreen, advertised in the press materials as being " a restored new 4K-UHD scan from the original negative". The source is in terrific shape, or has been restored as such, there's a thin later of film grain, and for the most part texture and details look very pleasing. There is some softness that creeps into the image at times, nothing too egregious, and they could be source related or a product of the original lensing, but at times contrast falters a bit, but this looks more to do with source elements than transfer flaws. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and well balanced, no issues with hiss or distortion, there are a few moments when the dialogue comes across muffled slightly, but generally a fine track, and the soundtrack by Michael Dress (The House That Dripped Blood) fares well.
Extras include an Audio Commentary track by Robert Kelly, a Photo Gallery, and the Restored Original Theatrical Trailer. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by Robert Kelly,
- Photo Gallery
- Restored Original Theatrical Trailer (2:11)
Screenshots from the VCI Blu-ray:
Buy it!
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