LIAR'S MOON (1982)
Label: MVD Rewind Collection
Region Code: Region-Free
Duration: 106 Minutes
Rating: PG
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Stereo, 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: David Fisher
Cast: Broderick Crawford, Susan Tyrell, Yvonne DeCarlo, Hoyt Axton, Cindy Fisher, Matt Dillon
Set in the small Texas town of Noble we have the hard working lower-class teenager Jack (Matt Dillon, The Outsiders) who falls in love with the well-off Ginny (Cindy Fisher, Beyond Death's Door), the daughter of the town's banker Mr. Peterson (Christopher Connolly, Raiders of Atlantis), who was once Jack's mother Ellen's (Margaret Blye, Hard Times) high school sweetheart. Over her father's strenuous objections to the relationship with Jack the head-over-heels in-love young couple decode to secretly elope, running off to Louisiana where Jack gets a job in the oil fields and the couple start a new life. Her dad is still stringently against the coupling, and hires a private eye (the always menacing Richard Moll, The Dungeonmaster) to find her and bring her home. Things are further complicated by some troubling news the doctor delivers to Ginny following the discovery that she’s pregnant, which reveal why the teens parents were dead-set against the relationship to begin with. It's definitely not your typical boy-meets-girl love story, that’s for sure. The movie features a great performances from teenagers Dillon and Fisher, plus we get an appearance from actor/folk singer Alex Hoyt (Gremlins) as Jack’s father.
Dillon and Fisher have good on-screen chemistry as the star-crossed lovers, you buy there hot-blooded love for each other and they're sweet together. The flick also features appearances from The Munsters' Yvonne DeCarlo (Cellar Dweller), Susan Tyrrell (Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker), and is the last film from Broderick Crawford (Harlequin), you al bring some Southern character color to the film.
Audio/Video: Liar's Moon (1982) makes it's worldwide Blu-ray debut from the MVD Rewind Collection in 1080p HD widescreen (1.78:1). This looks like an older HD master to my eyes, grain is a bit clunky in spots and there's white speckling throughout, and fine detail is serviceable but lacks the minutia, depth and clarity a new scan would brought out. That said its a definite upgrade over by full frame Mill Creek DVD, showcasing strong color saturation and decent black levels. Cinematographer John Hora (Gremlins, Explorers) favored a soft focused lensing as was popular for these set in the past slices of Americana, which also saps fine detail but certainly sets a time and place.
Audio comes by way of English LPCM 2.0 Mono and 2.0 Stereo with optional English subtitles. The mostly era appropriate score by Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel sounds terrific, and dialogue is clean and well-balanced. I would give preference to the fuller sounding stereo track.
Liar's Moon is afforded new extras which were produced by filmmaker Richard Schenkman (Jerome Bixby’s The Man From Earth) by way of the 105-min The Making of Liar’s Moon featuring writer/director David Fisher, co-writer Janice Thompson, actress Tonja Walker, composer/song-writer Ray Benson, Jeanene Hanna (wife of producer Billy Hanna) production manager Susan Vogelflang and set decorator Maria Caso; plus the 14-min The Music of Liar’s Moon featuring composer/song-writer Ray Benson and director David Fisher. The zoom-style extras are pretty deep diving and have some great recollections of the making of the film and it's score.
The disc is buttoned-up with a sadder Alternate Ending and Theatrical Trailers. The single-disc release arrives in a clear Viva keepcase with a reversible sleeve of artwork and first-pressing slipcover, plus a mini fold-out poster.
Special Features:
- NEW! “The Making of Liar’s Moon” featuring writer/director David Fisher, co-writer Janice Thompson, actress Tonja Walker, composer/song-writer Ray Benson, Jeanene Hanna (wife of producer Billy Hanna) production manager Susan Vogelflang and set decorator Maria Caso (105 m8n) HD
- NEW! ”The Music of Liar’s Moon” featuring composer/song-writer Ray Benson and director David Fisher (14 min) HD
- Alternate Ending (2 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
- Video Trailer (1 min)
- MVD Trailers: Dirty Laundry (2 min), Edmond (2 min), Final Justice (2 min), The Last Time I Committed Suicide (2 min), Liar's Moon (2 min)
Liar's Moon tragic tale of young love might be a bit too melodramatic for some, but its well directed by first-time director David Fisher and looks great, and it has a few interesting twist and turns that made my head spin as a kid watching this on TV, but is at least mostly predictable watching it now. MVD Rewind Collection did good work bring it to Blu-ray and loading it up with some cool extras.
Screenshots from the MVD Rewind Collection Blu-ray:
