The Good

Strong performances from Nicholson and Streep.

The Bad

No extras.Ironweed gives us the story of Francis Phelan (Jack Nicholson). He likes his drink and the simplicity of his traveling lifestyle. Set in the 1930s, we see what happen to this character when he comes back to New York after 22 years. While he might seem aimless he does have a goal and that is to reconnect with his old family. What he hopes to accomplish by doing this nobody can really say, but the fact that he is atleast making this attempt speaks volumes about his character. Francis is aided along the way by Helen (Meryl Streep). These two people share whiskey, stories and most of all secrets about who they are and how they got in their present situations.

Features

Photo Gallery

I am sorry but I don't really consider this feature to be anything that noteworthy. Pictures from the movie? Some of which just seem like the creators took screenshots of this DVD off their computer and then made them available here? Garbage. One would hope that with a cast this strong Lionsgate could have done better by this film.

Video

Full Screen 1.33:1 Presentation. Don't even ask me why they have put out this film in full screen. It was released in the 1980s so there is no reason that will make sense. The only one I can think of might be that this movie is set in the 1930s so the DVD creators wanted it to look like a film from that time. This film looked good and director Hector Babenco has created a very detailed world, however, that is still no excuse for putting out this release in an aspect ratio that is almost obsolete in today's home viewing world.

Audio

English 2.0 Stereo Audio. English and Spanish subtitles. The audio on this movie was very good. I loved the music and the way the layers of sound seemed to add to each and every scene. There is a deliberateness about this production that really helps it across all of its 143 minutes.

Package

Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep are both presented on this copper colored front cover. The back features 3 shots from the film, a description of what Ironweed bout, a DVD features listing and a cast list.

Final Word

Ironweed is one of those movies that I remember coming out in 1987 but I was too young to really care. I was watching a lot of movies then (and not just big ticket fare), but the sort of deep films that came my way were Barfly, Three O'Clock High, Raising Arizona, The Killing Time, etc. Anyway, I may not have known what this movie was but I did know that it was probably deep, layered, and would most likely stay with me if I watched it.

Well, 22 years after Ironweed was released I have finally gotten around to seeing it. I can honestly say that I was pretty dead on about what this movie was. While it may not be a keeper in your DVD collection, it is certainly worth watching.