Milk, Blu-ray (2009)
Starring: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna
Director: Gus Van Sant
Writer: Dustin Lance Black
Studio: Focus Features/Universal 62105869 [Release date: Mar. 10, 09]
Video: 1.85.1 for 16:9 color, 1080p HD
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DD 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Extras: “Remembering Harvey,” “Hollywood Comes to San Francisco,” “Marching for Equality”
Length: 2 hrs. 9 mins.
Rating: *****
Sean Penn shines in inhabiting the role of the first openly gay man elected to public office, and fully deserved the Oscar he received for his portrayal. The emotional story follows his moving from New York City and a job as an insurance salesman to San Francisco to open a small camera store in the soon-burgeoning gay neighborhood of the Castro-Market area. He runs several times for public office – unsuccessfully at first – attempting to galvanize the gays to come out of the closet, declare themselves, and fight for their civil rights against a tide around the country that strove to make them second-class citizens or worse.
The mood and attitudes as well as the images of the 1970s protest years in San Francisco are amazingly well captured. Some of the actual people who were involved at the time were either consultants or on screen in the film. The closing credits include photos of the real people portrayed, and the “Remembering Harvey” featurette reveals details of the life of the actual Milk. There is no soft-pedaling of the details of some of the gay relationships in the turbulent life of Milk, but the man’s courage in fighting for a more tolerant attitude from society is emphasized. There are frequent cuts to Harvey recording a cassette to be played only upon his assassination, so he realized that he was up against a possibly insurmountable challenge. It is so strange and disturbing that the killer was not some misguided loser in the crowd, but one of his own fellow city supervisors after he finally got himself elected to public office.
Clips from TV news of the 70s and shots of the Castro-Market district are beautifully integrated into the new film footage, and scenes of the various campaign meetings and parties are shot realistically, as though one were attending oneself. The transfer to Blu-ray is excellent and the surround often used to enhance the you-are-there feeling. The three bonus features are definitely worth viewing.
– John Sunier
