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There are those who cry foul when Roman Polanski receives cinematic accolades simply because of his questionable boudoir antics, and to those who denounce this filmmaker for the personal mistakes he's made, I suppose there's nothing to say but: your loss.
Now don't get me started - being a Polanski fan doesn't make me or any of the man's thousands of cineaste fans a misogynist or a turn-the-other-way defendant of statutory rape; my adoration for this man's cinematic work begins and ends with his films. I couldn't give a rip what the guy does with his spare time. But the fact remains that even if he were a serial killer, it would be hard to ignore the prowess that accompanies the vast majority of his work.
And now those brave enough to defend Polanski in this overly politically-correct age get a chance to see where it all started with Criterion's excellent new two-disc edition of Knife in the Water, the Polish wunderkind's first foray into feature-length filmmaking. There are Polanski fans who claim Repulsion was the man's first real knockout of a picture and that Knife in the Water is a cute but thin, almost a painfully simplistic romp through sunny lakes and busty swimmer-types, but this writer stands by it as a staggering work of art.
With its gentrified sense of lackadaisical giddiness and crystal-clear ideal of visual photographic style, Knife in the Water is like a filmic pleasure cruise, a trip through both the emotional territory of an author about ready to take the world by storm and a gloriously picturesque landscape of nubile half-naked bodies and lush lakeside horizons. And, like most of Polanski's greatest works - along with, say, Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby - it works as both a turn-off-the-brain-and-relax emotional release and as an analysis-heavy double entendre of the pursuit of self-knowledge in a world cluttered with sins of the flesh.
It's this "everybody wins" mentality that keeps Polanski's work so eerily relevant today. With Knife in the Water he proves that it is entirely possible - wondrously possible, at that - to concoct a world that works as a visual postcard if that's all you want, but it also exists as a symbolic, endlessly reflexive Rubik's Cube of a story, with non sequiturs and red herrings lining the riverside of his crisp and devilishly involving plot line.
Knife in the Water is a classic, this writer would argue, but is it better than some of his later stuff? Probably not. The worst insult that can be hurled at this majestic picture is that it comes early in a career rife with highlights. It's a showcase for a young, self-assured artist who set out to make both a crowd-pleasing and an introspective picture in a fashion that is still being copied in art houses today.
Take a peek at how it all began. You won't be sorry . . .
The Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Knife in the Water is a pretty amazing visual experience, and its original 1.33:1 presentation here is nicely restored and wonderfully cleaned-up. Line quality is impressive, black levels are thick and crisply delineated, and the film's monochromatic contrast balance is indelibly maintained. The telecine print has more than a few glaring flaws, but this is the best the film has looked in decades nonetheless.
The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
Typical Criterion: the one-channel monaural track is predictable and warty. Dialogue, music, effects - everything is scratchy and a bit grating. But this is how the film sounded when it first appeared on the scene, so while more could have been done with it, to say the least, it sounds the way it is supposed to sound. 'Nuff said.
Also included are English subtitles.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
First, a quote from Polanski with regard to one of his shorts on this collection, "I tried my best to keep myself within a certain form that I believe proper to the short film. Strict, without dialogue. For I believe that dialogue does not really fit the short film."
And it's true; there is very little talking in Polanski's shorts here, but their overall cinematic impressions are hearty and viable nonetheless.
But although the addition of Polanski's short films on this collection are its calling card, probably the single greatest element on this 2-disc Criterion release is the half-hour video introduction to the film with Polanski and co-writer Jerry Skolimowski. Just to have this opportunity with Polanski is a treat for cineastes everywhere - his sexual idiosyncrasies aside - and his candid and informational look back on his first feature is astonishingly involving and revealing. Also on this set's first disc is a cute stills gallery.
And on disc two are the shorts. All eight of these works are palpable reference points to plot the almost unparalleled artistic development Polanski demonstrated during his time at the Polish Film School and afterward. Murder, Teeth Smile, and Break Up the Dance (all from 1957) are perhaps a bit uneven, but within them are the obviously impressive seeds of Polanski's eventual filmmaking prowess.
1958's Two Men and a Wardrobe, shows the first manifestation of Polanski's filmmaking artistry that really took the world by storm. We then hit the better stuff. By the time we get through The Lamp and When Angels Fall (both 1959), we're seeing a fledgling artist ready to go for the gold. When Angels Fall especially dictates a certain bravura that partially might be due to the fact that it was Polanski's thesis film, and partly due to its loopy, almost unnerving narrative sensibility.
And with The Fat and the Lean from 1961 and Mammals from 1962, we understand what this guy is capable of. None of these short works rival Knife in the Water or some of the master's later works in terms of piquant, decisive genius, but they provide a marvelous look back at a career that is still going strong 40-odd years later.
Note that Murder and Teeth Pace have no audio tracks, and the rest of the short films are presented in one-channel mono.
My only complaint is that my DVD player wasn't allowed to fast-forward or review any of these shorts. Perhaps this is a one-off distribution error that only affected my review disc, but I had trouble navigating these shorts (as well as the film itself on this collection's first disc). But no matter; this is a warm, exciting collection.
And don't forget the booklet essay by Peter Cowie, a wonderful footnote to the film.
Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?
There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD.
Final Thoughts
Knife in the Water may not have the end-all Criterion edition that it deserves, but this 2-disc set sure goes down easy. Transfers are okay here, but they don't hold a candle to the wonderful set of extras that accompany the film. Navigation of the disc is difficult - again, perhaps mine is the lone example of this - but it doesn't lessen my adoration of this picture in the least. I feel that this is one of the last great, lost masterworks to get an impressive treatment. For fans, the Criterion-high list price shouldn't deter you at all. Highly recommended.
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