Review of Wedding, A

Introduction

There was a time in cinema, believe it or not, when the idea of a marriage ceremony wasn`t enough to make you ignore a film`s existence completely. Way before the `American Pie` franchise hijacked the concept of nuptials in order to make the third part of their trilogy, Weddings could be used as a way to scrutinise both human relationships and behaviour in an extremely close fashion. After all, tempers are running high at such events and there is usually at least one minor revelation or upset before the day is through.

Robert Altman certainly knew this. `A Wedding` was made in 1978, during his most prolific decade - and drew upon many of his trademarks up to that point; unconventional shots, overlapping dialogue and a big healthy dose of realism. What is also did, however, was show a director and screen writer poking fun, albeit gently, at middle America`s desire to cling on to the Traditional wedding, in (spite of) a world which was rapidly changing around them.

The film brings together the families of Dino Corelli and his Bride `Muffin`, and follows the marriage ceremony in all its overblown pomposity. Needless to say that some friends become enemies, and some enemies become friends, with the differing ethnic backgrounds and social standings providing a nice springboard for the ensuing bedlam.

The cast consists of actors who would be unknown to anyone other than the obsessive, but Mia Farrow, who has only one line in the whole film, stars as the bride`s primiscous sister, and `Mork and Mindy`s Pam Dawber makes a brief appearance in her first film role.

Video

As with any film from the Altman cannon, the boundaries of what looks good on screen are pushed to their limits. Shots starring nobody are frequent, as are those which seem to seemingly linger for an eternity.

The 16x9 anamorphic widescreen presentation is adequate throughout, although the picture quality is a little murky at times - especially for some of the darker shots in the movie. You get the feeling that Altman never really listened to the cinematographer and just ploughed ahead with getting whatever he wanted on film!

Audio

The soundtrack, with it`s recurring fanfare written by composer John Hochkis, works perfectly with the picture, and bares more than a passing resemblance to the theme from `Yes Minister` - so eighties political satire fans listen out.

On the whole, however, the sound quality could be better. The problem with many transfers of films from this era is that, in the same way as with the picture quality, the sound does seem to be noticeably dodgy when presented in the digital format of the DVD.

Features

The extra features consist of a 14-minute interview with director Robert Altman, and a photo gallery containing cast stills from the movie.

The interview itself is fairly incisive. Rather than using the feature to try and justify his work (as so many directors do), Altman simply explains his motivation for the film and explains why it remains one of his favourites.

Most interestingly of all is the revelation that the idea came to Altman as the result of a joke! When an interviewer asked what his next project was going to be, he simply replied "We`re going to do a Wedding". When questioned further, he explained that him and his crew were going to film people`s weddings for them, considering that they had all the tools ready and waiting and it would be a good use of resources. Some time after, he realised that the idea wasn`t as ridiculous as he had intended, and set about planning the film.

Conclusion

Often humorous and almost consistently dark and unnerving, `A Wedding` manages to run the course without ever becoming dull or tedious - something which its real life counterpart often fails to achieve. It may not be in the league of it`s director`s great movies such as `MASH` and `Gosford Park`, but is effective in highlighting the stupidity and hysteria which infiltrate overblown ceremonies.

Indeed, for such a simple idea, there is a great deal of emotional depth involved. This is mainly down to the vast cast that propel the story forwards, cleverly showing the divisions within the two families, as well as between them. Sometimes, the most obvious settings are the ones which hit the spot with audiences.

Although there could be more extras on the DVD (when will they learn that photo galleries don`t count!?), the film itself is a dark comedy gem - a must for all who like their laughs to be stifled and knowing. If you are wondering if you do take thee DVD to be your lawful wedded Disc, then you`re advised to go for it, and not leave it standing at the alter.

Sorry, I couldn`t resist.