CUTTER'S WAY (1981)
Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Label: Radiance
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 109 Minutes 24 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 1.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Ivan Passer
Cast: Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn, Stephen Elliott
Cutter's Way (1981), aka Cutter and Bone, is a early 80's neo-noir thriller based on the 1976 novel Cutter and Bone by Newton Thornburg. The film adaptation is scripted by Jeffrey Alan Fiskin (Revenge) and directed by Ivan Passer (Haunted Summer). Set in Santa Barbara, California begins when the car of handsome California gigolo Richard Bone (Jeffrey Bridges, The Big Lebowski) breaks down in an alleyway during a rain storm, where he inadvertently witnesses the dumping of a body of a woman in an alleyway trashcan. He's brought in for questioning as a suspect but is reticent to get involved aside from offering a generic description of the man he glimpsed in a passing car. The next day while attending the a parade with his pal Alex Cutter (John Heard, C.H.U.D.), a disabled and alcoholic Vietnam vet, and Cutter's wife Mo (Lisa Eichhorn, The Vanishing) Bone spots local oil tycoon J.J. Cord (Stephen Elliott, Death Wish) whom he says looks a lot like the guy suspected killer he saw in the alleyway. While Bone is firm in his stance that he does not want to get involved Cutter becomes obsessed with pinning the murder of the tycoon, even teaming-up with the murdered girl's sister, Valerie (Ann Dusenberry, White Line Fever) to blackmail the suspected killer, roping Bone into as well, kicking up a hornet's nest of problems along the way.
Bridge's laid-back Californian gigolo Bone is just a guy coasting through life on his good lucks, moving from woman to woman, non-committal about most things, while Cutter is a bitter Vietnam vet who lost limbs while serving his country, and is wallowing in an alcohol soaked bedlam of conspiracy and paranoia, lashing out at the world. Meanwhile his wife, also an alcoholic, hanging onto hopes and memories of better times, who seems to be the glue that keep the disparate Cutter and Bone friendship functioning, despite the mounting tensions.
It's a overwhelmingly dark and cynical bit of storytelling, and it smacks of the post-Vietnam/Watergate distrust of government and death of the American Dream, represented by Cutter, who even though there's no hard proof of Cord is the killer, his status of wealthy makes him culpable, an easy target for Cutter's bitter and paranoid world view, he's consumed with taking him down, even though Bone continually attempts to turn the heat down on the situation. As Bone resists Cutter becomes more and more disgusted by his friend's passive attitude about the whole thing, with a finale that culminates with Cutter and Bone gaining access to a party at the Cord estate after stealing an invite, allowing Cutter to go full-blown Don Quixote, tilting his proverbial lance on literal horseback to startling and nihilistic effect. This might be the finest bit of acting I've seen from John Heard, his turn as the embittered and paranoid Cutter is intense and piercing, quite unlike anything else I've seen from him, while Bridges is the epitome of a Californian sex-god, bronzed and effortlessly charming and impossibly handsome, but also quite unlikable as a person in a lot of ways, especially in regard to Mo and how that aspect of the film plays out.
The film didn't fare well on it's initial release but it has become something of a cult-classic over the years, a cynical California neo-noir that channels the paranoid rage of the post-Vietnam/Nixon era to enthralling effect, and the cast headlines by Bridges and Heard is fantastic, making this a bit of a forgotten masterpiece of 80s cinema ready for re-discovery.
Audio/Video: Cutter's Way (1981) arrives on 4K UHD and Blu-ray from radiance Films, presented in 2160P Ultra HD with HDR10/Dolby Vision. The film was scanned in 4K resolution at Illuminate Hollywood in Studio City, California, having been restored and color graded in 4K HDR (Dolby Vision), at FilmFinity, London, working from a new 4K 16 bit scans of the original 35mm camera negative. The previous Fun City Editions Blu-ray from a 2K scan of the interpositive, and the upgrades are readily apparent. Grain is tighter and better resolved, detail and textures are more refined, and the HDR/Dolby Vision color grade offers much deeper blacks, less crush, superior contrast levels. The cinematography of Jordan Cronenweth (Rolling Thunder, Blade Runner) translates beautifully, colors are brilliantly suffuse and saturated with warm skin tones, verdant greens and the reds have a nice pop to them. The accompanying Blu-ray offers the same 4K restoration without the WCG color-grade, and it's quite an upgrade over the previous Fun City Editions Blu-ray as well, as it also benefits from being sourced from the original camera negative.
The sole audio option is an English DTS-HD MA 1.0 mono with optional English subtitle. I appreciate the faithfulness to the original mono score, the track and clean and well-balanced, dialogue is nicely prioritized and the score by Jack Nitzsche (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) sounds terrific. Fans of the score will appreciate the Isolated Score option, presenting the film in DTS-HD MA 2.0 as a bonus.
The Radiance release is well-stocked with one new and archival bonus features that originally accompanies the film's releases from Twilight Time and Imprint Films respectively, starting off with an Archival audio commentary by novelist Matthew Specktor, a second Archival audio commentary by film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman, and a third Archival audio commentary by assistant director Larry Franco and unit production manager Barrie Osborne.
The one newly produced extras is the 42-min Piety, Patriotism and Violence: The Legacy of Cutter and Bone, a new featurette on the legacy of Cutter’s Way with contributions from writers Megan Abbott, Jordan Harper, and George Pelecanos that delves into the authors body of work and influence, what makes this mystery thriller unique, it's unusual structure, and it's critique of power structures,
There are nearly two hours of Archival Video Interviews with actor Lisa Eichhorn (38:53), UA Classics exec Ira Deutchman (11:17), director Ivan Passer (37:43), Jeffrey Alan Fiskin, and producer Paul Gurian (26:21), plus a 12-min Archival Video Featurette on composer Jack Nitzsche with Music Editor Curt Sobel, a 6-min Archival Audio Introduction by star Jeff Bridges, and a 26-min Archival Video Introduction by director Bertrand Tavernier.
Disc extras are buttoned-up with a 2-min Theatrical Trailer under the title Cutter and Bone, and Gallery (25 images), and the aforementioned Isolated Music Track (DTS-HD MA 2.0) highlighting the terrific score by Jack Nietzsche.
The 2-disc 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray arrives in a clear full-height Scanavo keepcase with a Reversible Wrap featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow. This Limited Edition of 5000 set is housed inside a Rigid Slipbox with Radiance's signature removable OBI strip. Also tucked away inside is an Limited edition 80-page Illustrated Bound Book featuring new writing from Christina Newland ('The Man You hate To Hate: The spoiled Innocence of Jeff Bridges'), Nick Pinkerton ('Great Art Deserves A Great Audience'), and Travis Woods (Everything Is Broken: The Mystery of Meaninglessness In Cutter's Way'), plus an archival interview with Ivan Passer by Jerry Roberts. The booklet also contains cast and crew cedits and transfer notes.
Special Features:
- New 4K restoration from the original camera negative
- Option to view with the original Cutter and Bone title sequence, newly scanned for the first time
- Uncompressed mono audio
- Piety, Patriotism and Violence: The Legacy of Cutter and Bone: new featurette on the legacy of Cutter’s Way with contributions from writers Megan Abbott, Jordan Harper, and George Pelecanos (41:41)
- Archival audio commentary by novelist Matthew Specktor
- Archival audio commentary by film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman
- Archival audio commentary by assistant director Larry Franco and unit production manager Barrie Osborne
- Archival video interviews with actor Lisa Eichhorn (38:53), UA Classics exec Ira Deutchman (11:17), director Ivan Passer (37:43), Jeffrey Alan Fiskin, and producer Paul Gurian (26:21)
- Archival video featurette on composer Jack Nitzsche with Music Editor Curt Sobel (11:55)
- Archival audio introduction by star Jeff Bridges (5:42)
- Archival video introduction by director Bertrand Tavernier (26:27)
- Theatrical Trailer (1:53)
- Gallery (25 Images)
- Isolated music track (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
- Optional English SDH subtitle track
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition 80 page bound book featuring new writing from Christina Newland, Nick Pinkerton, and Travis Woods, plus an archival interview with Ivan Passer
- Limited edition of 5000 copies, presented in rigid box and full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
The Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray of Cutter's Way (1981) from Radiance Films is simply a must-own, offering the definitive A/V presentation of a modern noir classic with a wealth of new and archival extras and collectible packaging that makes this premium edition the one to own, highly recommended.
Screenshots from the Radiance Blu-ray:
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