NOTE: This 4K release is currently only available as part of Sony’s Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4. Since each film comes packaged in its own 4K keepcase, we will first review each film separately, followed by an overall review of the collection and its deluxe packaging.
Barry Egan (Adam Sandler) is a socially-awkward, lonely man, who hates himself, and often cries for no reason. He doesn’t really know how other people act or what’s considered normal. He grew up with seven sisters, all of whom tend to pick on him and harass him about coming out of his shell. Barry tends to get fixated and distracted by things. The latest of which are a mysterious harmonium that was left on the street outside his business, and a loophole in a Healthy Choice free airmiles promotion that has him amassing loads of pudding, even though he has never even flown on an airplane before. He has also just purchased a blue suit out of the blue—none of the other characters know why since he has never shown up to work in a suit before—and he ends up wearing this every day, for the entirety of the film.
Barry doesn’t really have anyone to talk to about his problems, so one evening he decides to call a phone-sex line to vent his frustrations. However, when the operator hears that he owns his own business, she smells a whale, and starts calling him at home and at work, threatening him and demanding that he send her more money. Meanwhile, Barry’s sister tries to set him up with her coworker/friend, Lena Leonard (Emily Watson). At first Barry is very much against the idea, until he meets Lena, and the two almost immediately fall in love. However, this new romance is threatened and Lena is put in danger as the people behind the phone sex continue to increase the pressure and threats, with unscrupulous owner, mattress salesmen Dean Trumbell (Philip Seymour Hoffman), even sending a team of grunts to forcefully collect. Can Barry find a way to regain control of his life before everything completely spirals out of control?
I will start off by saying that I’ve never really been a fan of Paul Thomas Anderson’s work, and so I had never checked out Punch-Drunk Love until now. I’m not really sure about my feelings on this film. In some ways I found the story to be creative and fun, but in other ways it had that signature PTA way of being over-indulgent, artsy, and weird just for the sake of being weird. Adam Sandler throws himself 100% into this role, but it’s not clear as to how we should feel about Barry. He’s an intelligent guy who runs his own business, found this potentially lucrative loophole in a promotion, and is being unfairly harassed by the people who work at this phone sex line. At the same time, he has major anger management issues, kicking down glass doors, tearing apart a restaurant bathroom, and screaming at (and threatening) his sister when she won’t give him Lena’s number—this last one may have been meant to be humorous, but it didn’t really feel that way. At the same time, it’s also clear that Barry likes Lena and wants to be with her. While there is this definite chemistry that forms between Lena and Barry, it’s unclear what exactly she sees in him. Whenever they talk, it is extremely awkward, with Barry barely even able to get out a comprehensible sentence. He is a very odd guy with several different things going on, all of which he is trying to keep to himself. That said, I did find the film to have this interesting blend of humor, drama, romance and action/thriller, even if it is a bit too overly-quirky at times.
In addition to the main plot, we also have these sub-stories of the harmonium and the promotion loophole (which is based on a true story), but these never really come to fruition. The harmonium just seems to be there to be quirky and because PTA found the instrument to be interesting. While the promotion is mentioned many times, but we never actually find out what happens, there is just an allusion towards the end of the film.
Punch-Drunk Love‘s new 4K release features a pretty solid picture and sound. The film has a very unique and specific visual style, which I found really creative at times, but also frustrating at other times. Scenes are often lit just using natural light. There is a chase scene that makes use of shadows, and feels like a throwback to early cinema, but there are other times when characters are in darkness and you can’t really see much. The director often uses wide shots to help tell the story, and slowly pans the camera to avoid showing other things, such as when Barry is finally about to get it on with the phone sex operator. The new Dolby Vision-enhanced 4K picture generally looks quite clean and clear, with colors that really pop (especially the bright blue of Barry’s suit). Some scenes are overexposed in light, with camera flares, while others are a bit too dark to make out the finer details, but this is a visual choice and not a limitation of the presentation. The blacks are excellent and don’t feel faded or crushed in any way, and close-ups have an excellent level of detail, especially in faces.
The aural presentation is also quite unique. As the opening credits play, it’s a cacophony of sound that bounces around the room. The film’s score ranges from more traditional and orchestral—such as when Lena and Barry are on a date nd falling in love—to odd, unsettling and experimental, to build the tension and set the viewer at unease, such as when Barry finds himself being threatened. I found that the score is often louder than the dialogue, though it never drowns it out.
The 4K and Blu-ray discs come packed on either side of a standard 4K keepcase. An insert provides instructions for redeeming a 4K Movies Anywhere digital copy of the film. There is no bonus material on the 4K disc, and no new material has been created for this release. However, a lot of the material from Criterion’s 2018 Blu-ray release have been ported over to the Blu-ray disc. That said, I found much of these features to be a bit disappointing and pointless, and there more for the artsy crowd. Though there are a couple of deleted scenes and an interesting, lengthy discussion with the film’s composer.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:35:07)
-
4K UHD:
- 2160p / Widescreen 2.40:1
- Dolby Vision / HDR10
- English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, German 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Italian 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish (Castilian) 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish (Latin American) 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, Arabic, Chinese Traditional, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin American), Swedish, Thai, Turkish
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
- English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, German 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Italian 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish (Castilian) 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (Latin American) 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, Arabic, Chinese Traditional, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin American), Swedish, Thai, Turkish
Blu-ray:
Extras:
All bonus material can only be found on the Blu-ray disc. There was no new material created for this release, and some of the material from the 2016 Criterion Blu-ray has not been carried over.
- Deleted Scenes (10:36)
Three deleted scenes. The first two are presented in 4:3 letterbox frmat, and the last in full frame format. Play All, or select from:- The Sisters Call (7:21)
Alternate/extended version of the various sisters calling Barry to see if he’s coming to the party. - Are You From California? (2:26)
Barry gets the money from the ATM and asks the brothers what he should do and where they are from. - Mattress Man Commercial (:56)
Dean films a TV ad for the mattress store.
- The Sisters Call (7:21)
- Blossoms and Blood (12:03)
Originally produced in 2002, includes clips from the film and music by Jon Brion. I’m not really sure what the purpose of this is. Presented in 4:3 letterbox format. - Jon Brion Featurette (27:19)
Originally created for the Criterion release in 2016, composer Jon Brion talks about how the music was integrated early on in and throughout the filmmaking process, the harmonium that appears in the movie and how it was an analogy of what’s happening in the story, designing the film’s score, and more. - Recording Session (9:55)
Footage from the scoring sessions at Abbey Road Studios in December 2001. Presented in 4:3 format. - Scopitones (6:26)
Collection of 12 scopitones, short montages of clips, music and colorful animation. Play All, or select from:- First (:21)
- Harp Finger (:15)
- Punchy Doorbell (:23)
- Mysterio (:24)
- Boy Businessman (:18)
- Healthy Choice (:23)
- He Needs Me (:46)
- Lena (:17)
- Come and Get Me (:36)
- Exit Love Story (:27)
- Sissy Lake’s Love (1:27)
- Waimanalo Walk (1:17)
- Additional Artwork (2:41)
Montage of artwork set to “I’ve Gone Native Now” by Annie Kerr. - Trailers (3:28)
Play All, or select from:- Theatrical Trailer (2:26)
- International Trailer (1:02)
Final Thoughts:
Punch-Drunk Love is not your typical romantic comedy—it’s odd, awkward and uncomfortable at times, but other times quite sweet and romantic. Adam Sandler delivers an excellent performance, and I wanted to root for his character, but there is this uncontrolled anger to Barry that I found a bit off-putting. The film has a unique visual and aural style, which is captured nicely in this new 4K/Dolby Atmos presentation. Unfortunately, the release doesn’t include any new bonus material, and not all of the features from the previous Criterion Blu-ray release have been ported over. It’s certainly worth a look for fans and those curious about the film.
Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4 (His Girl Friday/Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner/Kramer vs. Kramer/Starman/Sleepless in Seattle/Punch-Drunk Love) (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital) [4K UHD]
33% Off $215.99 $139.95 (as of April 26, 2024 07:27 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Punch-Drunk Love
$14.09 (as of April 26, 2024 07:27 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
