Review of Mask (Special Edition)

Introduction

Rocky Dennis had a condition that gave him a facial deformity and threatened his life. This is the mask of the title because Rocky (Eric Stoltz) can show very little emotion and his features cause others to be frightened. Despite this, Rocky considers himself lucky because he has a loving, if unstable, mother, Rusty, and an extended family, the biker group his mother hangs out with. Rusty is a druggie and a drinker; she also has a desperate desire to be loved that results in unsuitable relationships. There is Gar of course the love of her life who comes back even after she has driven him away. This is not a nuclear family but it works; even if Rusty`s life is a disappointment to her father she is everything to Rocky.

The story condensed into a year covers Rocky`s new school and his graduation and also being told by a new doctor that his prognosis is very dim.

It is really a story of how one life affects another and how each contact makes a new experience for all.

Despite what you might think this is not a star vehicle for Cher but an emsemble piece that succeeds or fails with the performance of a man in a mask.

Video

This film is presented in anamorphic widescreen. There are points in it where the actors are on the yellow side it looks like a problem with reduced light in one or two scenes but other than that it looks clean with little dirt or grain.

Audio

Much is made of the Springsteen music but this is not a soundtrack but only 4 songs that are used quite sparingly in the course of the film. Yes it is great to hear the Boss wherever especially because the chosen tracks are Badlands, Thunder Road, Promised Land and Born in the USA and they are very much in context. It appears Peter and Bruce are buddies and that`s why the tracks were allowed orinally and why a compromise on royalties was reached.

There is the additional bonus of Cher singing a 60s hit The Little Egyptian which she duets with Rocky in a very sweet and un-Cher like way.

It is also a Dolby 5.1 and DTS option sound presentation but other than the music which is used sparingly there is nothing much to get the speakers going and I wasn`t expecting it.

Features

Mask Revealed: A conversation with Peter Bogdanovich

In a twenty minute documentary Bogdanovich explains why after 20 years he has finally been able to get the film that he made out for distribution. In a quite frank chat to camera in which he acknowledges that it was his partner, the murdered beauty Dorothy Stratten, who had sparked his interest in the subject by her fascination with the real elephant man. He discusses the importance of the right voice for a character that is covered in a mask that is the equivalent of eleven ski masks, and the sort of trials of working with Cher.Its about 25 minutes long.

Audio Commentary
The commentary by Bogdanovich is a very personal account of his experiences making the film, the choices he made and reasons behind changes such as why the Springsteen songs have only now been added back to the soundtrack.
It`s just him and its his film and obviously very close to his heart.

Conclusion

This film is based on a true story and like its predecessor `The Elephant Man` getting the audience onside is a delicate art. The beauty of the reissue of this particular film is that Bogdanovich has had the opportunity to replace the omitted scenes and music and produce what he originally intended. Not having seen the original I still feel convinced that it would work pretty well without these additions but there`s nothing better than some Springsteen to add some atmosphere and also place it within a certain time frame historically.

The film worked for me on lots of levels and although sad it was also uplifting in that it gave a picture of a life that meant something and affected lots of other people in a positive way.

All of the actors offer very intensive performances that probably stems from method of filmmaking that involves a lot of improvisation and build up of the characters. Cher is powerful in an understated and very chic way; she offers her characters flaws up in all their rawness and is always very watchable. The thrust of the film does fall onto Stoltz and it was interesting to hear that the part very nearly went to Rob Lowe. For Eric Stoltz often best known as the actor who never went `back to the future` this must have been a huge challenge. The makeup is daunting enough to being able to carry it off just with a quality of voice is a great achievement. Laura Dern, very young in this does a very creditable performance as Rocky`s blind girl friend, and all of the cast fit just right.

Some of the plot is glossed over for instance how Rocky wins over his class mates but placed within the whole film I still felt I got a reasonably complex picture of his life. It is very focussed on his relationship with his mother and the extended group and this is presented well.

I enjoyed this far more than I would have assumed and the subject matter is something that due to personal experience I would normally avoid but I would recommend this as a twenty-year old project that is now complete to the Director`s intention and you may be pleased to know nobody has been CGI`d in this film!