Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean 4K 1982 Ultra HD 2160p

Five women who grew up together gather in a small Texas town; they idolize James Dean, meet up 20 years later at a local shop, and discuss their lives and love, illusions and reality. The most touching moment comes when Sandy Dennis, who had been deceiving herself for many years, finally admits that Dean was not the father of her out-of-wedlock child. Director Robert Altman points his 16mm Super 8 camera at the actors, just as he had done on Broadway for Ed Grazik’s play, capturing the raw vitality of each actress’s performance. Using a complex, innovative technique, Altman surpasses himself by infusing non-cinematic material with a cinematic sensibility; yet the film still looks like a staged play—and not a great one at that—but, be that as it may, it was all done early on with great subtlety of perception. Karen Black, Cher, and Dennis give particularly strong performances in this psychological film about the past, which was shot in just 19 days.

User Review
This is a set-bound independent film deals with a small assortment of characters who assemble at the small title store in a nowhere, dusty Texas town. Some work at the store, and some have moved out of town, but they are reuniting on the 20th anniversary of James Dean's death. It seems GIANT was filmed nearby 20 years earlier, and one of their own even appeared as an extra in the film. Some have moved on since then, others haven't. And some have changed completely. I won't go further into the developments, as learning who is who and what is what is part of the film's journey.

Robert Altman directed this, both on the stage and then on film, and it's more interesting than I expected. I've never been a fan of Sandy Dennis or Karen Black, and so I've never gone out of my way to see this again after I saw it the first time. I am, however, a fan of Robert Altman. Altman has always been known for his great rapport with his actresses, and that quality serves him and his cast admirably in this. These are interesting, fully-fleshed out women, and the voices are very genuine. Sandy Dennis plays a variation of her usual emotionally fragile screen persona, but Altman manages to rein in her histrionic tendencies. Karen Black is much better than usual, in an unusual, but subtle performance. Cher famously made her first serious foray into dramatic acting here, and she's tough and terrific. A young and fiery Kathy Bates is also memorable. Stage veteran Sudie Bond rounds out the main cast.

I saw this earlier this year on TCM, and for the first time years ago on Showtime. I am always fascinated about the places where movies are filmed on location, and Giant is my favorite of James Dean's movies. It is easy to see when watching the movie that it is based upon a play with one set, but that doesn't detract from it. Even though the introduction warned about flashbacks, I wasn't aware just how quickly the movie would go between the present day of the story and two decades before. That meant I was confused for the first 15 minutes or so, so don't be surprised if you are too. Then I realized what was happening and stopped worrying about what time frame it was at any given moment. Rewatching it, having an idea about what is going on, did make it more enjoyable for me.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (94.5 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Info Audio

#English: FLAC 1.0
#English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Commentary by trans film critics Willow Catelyn Maclay and Caden Mark Gardner)
#English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Commentary by film critic/film historian Lee Gambin)

Info Subtitles