Directed by the legendary John Huston (The Maltese Falcon, The Misfits) the 1972 boxing picture Fat City isn’t your typical tale of triumph over tragedy, but a grim character study of life’s losers. Based on a novel by Leonard Gardner (who also wrote the screenplay), Fat City stars Stacy Keach plays Billy Tully, a 29-year-old (who looks 40) former boxer considering a comeback after alcohol took over his life when his wife died and he lost the biggest fight of his career.

At the gym, Billy meets and spars with 18-year-old Ernie Munger (Jeff Bridges) who, as it turns out, has some talent. Billy encourages him to hook up with his old manager Ruben Luna (Nicholas Colasanto). If this were a typical sports movie we would track Ernie’s rise from nobody to superstar. Instead, while Ernie embarks on a boxing career, he becomes a run-of-the-mill fighter, as likely to win a match as he is to lose one. He’s also pressured into marriage when his girlfriend Faye (Candy Clark) gets pregnant.

Meanwhile, Billy bounces from job to job, living on skid row and drinking his life away. He gets involved with the sad, alcoholic Oma (Susan Tyrell, in an Oscar nominated role) after her boyfriend is sent to jail. Tyrell is completely believable as a barfly, with a shiny flushed faced and a painfully raspy voice, her next drink is clearly more important than any man ever could be. Though she and Tully try living together, Oma is drawn to anger without provocation. It’s not long before Tully finds his clothes handed to him in a box.

Decidedly dark and depressing, Fat City is nonetheless beautifully shot by Conrad Hall (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) and has some unexpected humor. Yes, some of its morbid, but all of these characters are drawn in a realistic manner; trying to make the most of difficult lives. Susan Tyrell was nominated for an Oscar, but the entire cast deserves credit for appearing as though they’re not performing. Fat City, with its fully developed characters, drips with realism from start to finish.

When Fat City was released in 1972, John Huston was riding a decade long string of box office flops. It’s hard not to draw some parallels between Fat City and Huston’s status in Hollywood at the time. One wonders if some of the difficulties Huston had helped him identify with these characters on a more basic level than he otherwise would have.

Presented in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio, this is a beautiful 1080p transfer. The color palette has a yellowish vibe to it, but skintones appear natural. Colors are well saturated and blacks are inky. Detail is excellent; you can see beads of sweat on Stacy Keach’s face and it’s very clear just how young Jeff Bridges was back then!

We are given two audio options: a DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround remix and a DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo track. Both are quite good in my opinion, but some viewers may prefer one over the other. I will say the surround mix is a bit more atmospheric, while the mono is more ‘as you see it’ and stripped down.

English SDH subtitles are included.

The following extras are available:

  • Audio Commentary with Lem Dobbs and Nick Redman: Dobbs calls Fat City the greatest boxing film ever made. Dobbs and Twilight Time co-founder Redman explore several aspects related to the making of the film, including how it compares to Leonard Gardner’s original novel, Conrad Hall’s shooting style, and Susan Tyrell’s bitterness about working on the film. Well worth a listen.
  • Isolated Score Track: Presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1.
  • Original Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2:33)
  • Six-Page Booklet: Contains a nice selection of color stills, original poster art on the back cover, and film historian Julie Kirgo’s insightful analysis of the movie.

 

There are only 3,000 copies of this Blu-ray available. Those interested should go to www.screenarchives.com to see if product is still in stock. Information about the movie can also be found via their website at www.twilighttimemovies.com or via Facebook at www.facebook.com/twilighttimemovies.