Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004.
Directed by Michel Gondry.
Starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkinson, and David Cross.
SYNOPSIS:
Kino Lorber has issued Michel Gondry and Charlie Kauffman’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on a new Blu-ray based on an HDR master color graded by cinematographer Ellen Kuras. (They’ve put it out on 4K Ultra HD too.) In addition, they commissioned a new interview with Kuras and ported over the bonus features from previous editions.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of those movies that hit me right between the eyes when I first saw it at the ripe old age of 34. I was married and had kids by then, but it reminded me of my younger days, when I could fall for someone so hard that when the break-up happened, I was left devastated.
I might have availed myself of Lacuna’s services if they had existed back in the 90s, but, of course, this is a cautionary tale, not a celebration of such actions. In case you haven’t seen it yet, I won’t spoil the film, but I’ll give you a basic rundown of the plot.
Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) is a meek and mild guy whose girlfriend of two years, Clementine (Kate Winslet), has broken up with him and seems to not even know who he is. When he learns that she underwent a procedure to have her remembrance of him erased from her mind, he decides to do the same but starts having regrets as she begins vanishing from his memories.
There’s at least one convenient contrivance that keeps the plot moving, but overall, this is a well-crafted story about romance and regret. Carrey and Winslet going against type at the time was a bit of a novelty, and Kirsten Dunst and Elijah Wood had a chance to show they could do an indy after appearing in a few major box office hits. Meanwhile, Mark Ruffalo’s career was beginning to blossom, with his inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe several years away.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has been issued on Blu-ray before, but this time, Kino Lorber has commissioned a new HDR master that was color graded by cinematographer Ellen Kuras. You can also find the film on 4K UltraHD disc, but this Blu-ray has perfectly acceptable picture quality if you don’t have a high-end setup.
I don’t have the prior release of this film on Blu-ray (I only had the DVD), but as far as I can tell, Kino Lorber also commissioned a new bonus feature, an 18.5-minute interview with Kuras. Among other things, she talks about how her background in documentary filmmaking informed her approach to Eternal Sunshine, which she says included extensive use of handheld cameras.
The company also ported over the legacy extras, which include:
• A commentary track with director Michel Gondry and writer Charlie Kaufman: This was Gondry’s second film, but I didn’t keep close track of his career after Eternal Sunshine. On the other hand, Charlie Kaufman is a writer whose work I’ve loved since I first saw Being John Malkovich. Unfortunately, this commentary is a mixed bag, with many lapses into silence and several intriguing tidbits that aren’t followed up on.
• Extended and deleted scenes (25.75 minutes): This excised footage is a tantalizing glimpse into what the film could have been, particularly Joel’s relationship with his prior girlfriend Naomi, who ended up mentioned but never seen in the final film. In the end, I’m sure Eternal Sunshine is better off without those scenes, but I wish there had been an introduction to them or an optional commentary so we could understand where the footage would have appeared in the story.
• A Look Inside Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (11.5 minutes): This is pretty standard EPK fare with the cast talking about their characters.
• A Conversation with Jim Carrey and Director Michel Gondry (15.5 minutes): Carrey and Gondry chat about the making of the film, with plenty of behind-the-scenes footage included. Of particular interest is the discussion of Gondry’s unique approach to filmmaking.
• A Conversation with Kate Winslet and Director Michel Gondry (14.5 minutes): This is very similar to the previous item. If you find Gondry’s thick French accent hard to understand, you’re not alone: so does Winslet, and she doesn’t mind having some fun with him about it.
• Inside the Mind of Director Michel Gondry (SD, 19:46): That aforementioned unique approach to filmmaking gets the focus here. While CGI capabilities were pretty advanced when he made this film, Gondry still did a lot of effects the old-fashioned way, as explained here.
• Anatomy of a Scene – Saratoga Avenue (17.25 minutes): That said, Gondry didn’t completely eschew computer-generated effects, and this bonus feature digs into one particular scene that actually had more CGI than you might have realized.
A fake commercial for Lacuna and a music video for The Polyphonic Spree’s “Light & Day,” which was featured on the film’s soundtrack, round out the disc.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
