BD 145 That Cold Day in the Park

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AnamorphicWidescreen
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BD 145 That Cold Day in the Park

#1 Post by AnamorphicWidescreen » Fri Jun 07, 2013 11:36 pm

I mentioned this in the Robert Atlman thread, but felt it deserved it's own since IMHO it's such a great film. Didn't see a thread for this, so wanted to start one - mods, I hope that's alright.

In any case, I just recently saw That Cold Day in the Park for the very first time, on the regular DVD (just released earlier this year). Superb film & a great print; I was glad to finally see the movie after having heard about this for years.

I thought this would be one of Altman's lesser films since it was an older one, but I actually prefer this to some of his more well known & critically acclaimed material. Well-done story, & acting - the late Sandy Dennis was particularly excellent. When I started watching this, I thought she was much too attractive for her role as a spinster, but as the movie progressed I saw how perfect the casting was; she had a cold beauty that was spot-on for the part. Liked the "Altman touches", i.e. the background/side conversations, the close-ups of inanimate objects, the slow loss of focus as the scene fades, etc.

The ending was a real shocker, and not something I saw coming. I'm guessing this was somewhat controversial on it's first release, but that would obviously depend on how many people were even aware of the film then. Even now, due to the obscurity of & relative non-availability of the film (until this year, of course) I'm sure this has never really reached a wide audience.

Here are some reviews:

http://www.combustiblecelluloid.com/cla ... park.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s4098cold.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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ando
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Re: That Cold Day in the Park (Robert Altman, 1969)

#2 Post by ando » Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:05 pm

This is a beautiful film to watch (good streamer). If you can check out the blu-ray. DP, Laszlo Kovacs, certainly had a deft hand, buffeted by Altman, no doubt. Too bad it falls apart at the end. Ebert was unimpressed. The examination of two acutely damaged psyches provide a fine analogy of contemporary relationships where desire and betrayal are more the norm than most people care to admit. Self-betrayal is the particular bugaboo here. The Sandy Dennis character may appear too intelligent to buy the idiot-savant routine from the kid but she clearly wants to. Otherwise, why would she lock up her newfound delusion from escape or discovery? The kid's worse. He gets off on fooling her! But these are the usual dynamics in dysfunctional personal/romantic relationships. So, for me, the ending was not a shock at all, but an inevitabilty - though Altman ramps up the horror cues as the film concludes. Despite that I found it better the second time around as Altman's brand of storytelling makes getting to the finish far more thrilling than the sorted finale.

Love the slutty sister and the bathtub scene (overworked in the Streisand/Segal film, The Owl & The Pussycat, made within a year or two of this one).

Also, almost no reviewer (that I've read) mentions the humor and/or class relations in this and subsequent films which characterize Alltman's work (except, of course, for obvious examples like Gosford Park, where class relations are part of the narrative). But Altman keeps the film in balance by bringing out the humor in the rather absurd situation.

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domino harvey
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Re: Forthcoming: That Cold Day in the Park

#3 Post by domino harvey » Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:49 am

Coming to MoC in the next quarter

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PfR73
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Re: Forthcoming: That Cold Day in the Park

#4 Post by PfR73 » Wed Mar 30, 2016 9:57 am

I really hope as an extra they include "Excerpts from That Cold Day in the Park (pre-release version)" that was screened at UCLA alongside the film.. It's why I've held off on buying the Olive release.

On a side-note, while I am excited this release will very likely be able to best the Olive release, I am getting frustrated that it seems like instead of getting additional Altman films on Blu-Ray across the world, we often keep ending up with the same handful of films being released multiple times by different distributors: That Cold Day In The Park (Olive & MOC), The Long Goodbye (Kino & Arrow), Nashville (Criterion & MOC), 3 Women (Criterion & Arrow), The Player (Warner & Criterion). I know that there are good reasons the films are getting multiple releases (different distributors servicing different countries, new restorations, etc), but I just wish we could get more Altman films total on Blu. I am anxiously awaiting Criterion's release of McCabe And Mrs Miller, and in addition to more headliners that will probably eventually get released (i.e. Short Cuts), I wish say, Twilight Time, would release the non-MASH films from Fox's Altman box (A Wedding, A Perfect Couple, & Quintet).

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Re: Forthcoming: That Cold Day in the Park

#5 Post by beamish13 » Wed Mar 30, 2016 11:06 am

PfR73 wrote:I really hope as an extra they include "Excerpts from That Cold Day in the Park (pre-release version)" that was screened at UCLA alongside the film.. It's why I've held off on buying the Olive release.

.
Yep. Those were terrific. It was 2 scenes, which were basically extended versions of the opening party preparations and the doctor visit, but they were absolutely hysterical. They're additional evidence that the film was his major artistic breakthrough, and I couldn't believe that Olive didn't use them. UCLA is in the Altman business for the long-term, and I'm hoping that restorations of Images, HEALTH and some of his TV work like Rattlesnake in a Cooler is on the docket

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Forrest Taft
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Re: Forthcoming: That Cold Day in the Park

#6 Post by Forrest Taft » Thu Mar 31, 2016 4:03 pm

beamish13 wrote:
PfR73 wrote:I really hope as an extra they include "Excerpts from That Cold Day in the Park (pre-release version)" that was screened at UCLA alongside the film.. It's why I've held off on buying the Olive release.

.
Yep. Those were terrific. It was 2 scenes, which were basically extended versions of the opening party preparations and the doctor visit, but they were absolutely hysterical. They're additional evidence that the film was his major artistic breakthrough, and I couldn't believe that Olive didn't use them. UCLA is in the Altman business for the long-term, and I'm hoping that restorations of Images, HEALTH and some of his TV work like Rattlesnake in a Cooler is on the docket
Specs are up, and the only listed extra is a new video interview with David Thompson. I'll probably pass on this and stick with the Olive disc.

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rapta
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Re: Forthcoming: That Cold Day in the Park

#7 Post by rapta » Thu Mar 31, 2016 7:50 pm

RobertAltman wrote:
beamish13 wrote:
PfR73 wrote:I really hope as an extra they include "Excerpts from That Cold Day in the Park (pre-release version)" that was screened at UCLA alongside the film.. It's why I've held off on buying the Olive release.

.
Yep. Those were terrific. It was 2 scenes, which were basically extended versions of the opening party preparations and the doctor visit, but they were absolutely hysterical. They're additional evidence that the film was his major artistic breakthrough, and I couldn't believe that Olive didn't use them. UCLA is in the Altman business for the long-term, and I'm hoping that restorations of Images, HEALTH and some of his TV work like Rattlesnake in a Cooler is on the docket
Specs are up, and the only listed extra is a new video interview with David Thompson. I'll probably pass on this and stick with the Olive disc.
Only extra for the time being. It's well known by now that Eureka sometimes don't even confirm the extras 'til a couple of weeks before, and in some cases a disc review has beaten them to it. I hope there will be at least one other extra (either a video essay, interview or commentary).

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otis
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Re: BD 145 That Cold Day in the Park

#8 Post by otis » Thu Jun 02, 2016 2:11 pm


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Re: Forthcoming: That Cold Day in the Park

#9 Post by MichaelB » Thu Jun 02, 2016 3:19 pm

rapta wrote:I hope there will be at least one other extra (either a video essay, interview or commentary).
Based on his contribution to Arrow's Three Women, I don't see why you'd need anything more. When it comes to Altman, Thompson really knows his stuff - I haven't seen his new piece yet, but the earlier one was essentially an interview, video essay and selected-scene commentary all rolled into one.

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rapta
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Re: Forthcoming: That Cold Day in the Park

#10 Post by rapta » Thu Jun 02, 2016 7:02 pm

MichaelB wrote:
rapta wrote:I hope there will be at least one other extra (either a video essay, interview or commentary).
Based on his contribution to Arrow's Three Women, I don't see why you'd need anything more. When it comes to Altman, Thompson really knows his stuff - I haven't seen his new piece yet, but the earlier one was essentially an interview, video essay and selected-scene commentary all rolled into one.
I haven't actually watched the extras on 3 Women yet, and will do next time I sit down to it, but you're right - seeing as Thompson edited the book Altman on Altman and is an esteemed documentary-maker in his own right (e.g. that Nic Roeg doc on the BBC last year), I'm sure he'll cover a lot of ground in that half-hour interview. Sounds like the guy to discuss Altman, especially considering Arrow and Eureka both roped him in for their respective releases!

And besides, it means that we get a maxed-out transfer of the film itself, and presumably a decent booklet too.

I'm looking forward to this one, more so than most of the upcoming MoC slate in fact. I hope more Altman follows - I suppose both labels will be after whatever they can get their hands on. I'm surprised nobody has licensed the 4K-restored A Wedding yet, either side of the pond. With the recent revelation that Criterion are going to start releasing Warner Bros titles in the UK (Arthur Hiller's The In-Laws), I expect we'll get McCabe & Mrs. Miller over here too...

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JamesF
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Re: BD 145 That Cold Day in the Park

#11 Post by JamesF » Fri Apr 13, 2018 12:28 pm

To anyone here who owns this set - can anyone whether the DVD included in the Dual Format package is NTSC or PAL?

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MichaelB
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Re: BD 145 That Cold Day in the Park

#12 Post by MichaelB » Fri Apr 13, 2018 5:43 pm

JamesF wrote:To anyone here who owns this set - can anyone whether the DVD included in the Dual Format package is NTSC or PAL?
I'd lay money on it being NTSC. The only time Eureka puts out PAL DVDs is if the material originated at 25fps, and the last time that happened was Colossal Youth.

UPDATE: Turns out I had a copy. Region 2 NTSC.

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JamesF
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Re: BD 145 That Cold Day in the Park

#13 Post by JamesF » Sat Apr 14, 2018 2:36 am

Thanks very much for confirming that Michael, I thought that might be the case but good to know for sure.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: BD 145 That Cold Day in the Park

#14 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Apr 07, 2020 4:01 pm

This was on track to be a disappointing Altman after the first half failed to establish any momentum of intrigue or mystery, but at a certain point (Sandy Dennis at the birth control clinic) a wave swept over me and I was transfixed into this extra peculiar examination of an antisocial person trying to form a relationship, with all that came before now reinforced as a necessary foundation for the power of this revelation.

These twisty dynamics of menace can be hit or miss, but this carries an almost anti-Pinter strategy of taking an aloof position on detachment instead of an aggressive one. The alarms go off more gradually and without subjective association, and we have to endure the sinking feeling of Dennis’ reactions to people around her as pathetically inaccessible at a slower and foggier venture of processing than the jagged surrealism of a Pinter film. Even just Dennis being at the clinic in the first place is jaw dropping in her sneakiness, not because it’s malicious but because she has a plan and is taking a logical, emotionally withdrawn action without any semblance of social skills or comprehension of how to achieve what she wants in companionship. The scene where she offers herself is framed from a safe distance by a camera that refuses her intimacy as well, for how can we get on her level when she is unknowable even to herself?

I wasn’t as invested in the boy’s motives or storyline, but I didn’t think Altman was either, at least not much more than painting him to be a coasting leech with flexible boundaries conditioned into his upbringing, who focuses less on social consequences than in taking advantage of what he can see in front of him - a streetsmart passive shark. However, how does one who is an expert at manipulating normal people face off against one who is disturbed? Dennis is an absolute revelation here, presenting as a little ‘off’ but that empty vessel reveals an absence of identity and ego so fragile that a lack of awareness forgoes any cognitive dissonance to exist between actions of love or violence. She simply cannot comprehend. The warning signs are easier to misread as simple loneliness, and this actually feels more truthful than the average film following this framework. The progression, while at times presenting as incredibly sedated, is labored with subtleties that pay off in creeping dread all the more horrifying for its mild, sterile treatment of an indecipherable shell of a person who happens to want all the things that we do, but not even the camera will get close enough to touch her with a ten-foot pole.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: BD 145 That Cold Day in the Park

#15 Post by therewillbeblus » Sat May 07, 2022 8:50 pm

This is the amazingly film-specific (Sandy Denis was 32 when the film was released...) 'oops' menu when you forget to change regions on the MoC disc!
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