Mikey & Nicky

In his distinguished filmmaking career, John Cassavetes only made about nine films he was happy with. However, fans looking for more should look no further than Mikey & Nicky, arguably the closest any filmmaker ever came to duplicating Cassavetes' peculiar style. Featuring Cassavetes and regular collaborator Peter Falk, Mikey & Nicky lacks the poetic quality of Cassavetes' best work but it's a powerful and unique crime film, nonetheless. In fact, this may well have inspired Cassavetes' own stabs at crime filmmaking: The Killing of a Chinese Bookie and Gloria.

With little fanfare, Home Vision recently released a surprisingly feature-heavy DVD of this impressive 70s obscurity. While director Elaine May refuses to publicly discuss her work (which also includes The Heartbreak Kid, A New Leaf, and Ishtar), two of her key collaborators -- producer Michael Hausman and cinematographer Victor J. Kemper -- are on hand for video interviews, in which they discuss this unorthodox production and the working methods of May. These interviews are presented in 3 parts: an interview with Hausman (15 minutes), an interview with Kemper (9 minutes), and a discussion of key scenes with comments from both (12 minutes).

Hausman describes the mysterious May as a difficult, slow, eccentric, and ultimately loveable filmmaker. He explains that, with Mikey & Nicky, she was the first director ever to shoot more than a million feet of film on one production. Not surprisingly, the editing process lasted more than two years. Hausman also recalls that, while filming in an apartment building, Cassavetes threw a glass bottle out the window and hit a pedestrian on the street below. Fortunately, there were no major injuries.

Unlike Hausman, Kemper's memories are tinged with bitterness. He recalls quitting the production several times as a result of disagreements with May. The first time he quit, Cassavetes took over as cinematographer but, when two nights of filming resulted in no visible exposure, Kemper was forced to return.

Noted film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum contributes the disc's worthwhile liner notes but most of this material is covered in the interviews. He does, however, make the point that at least two versions of Mikey & Nicky exist, one of which is significantly more polished than the theatrical version. Since the DVD version is 14 minutes shorter than the other version, I assume this is the more polished cut. But I can't prove it.

The disc also includes an impressively detailed, 15 minute restoration documentary. In addition to interviews with the key transfer technicians, this includes phone conversations between Kemper and the DVD's color timer as they discuss key moments in the film. At one point, Kemper realizes that he didn't shoot the scene in question. Presumably, they shot this after one of his resignations. For technophiles, this is a surprising and enjoyable feature. And the (appropriately gritty) transfer looks impeccable.

Overall, this is a first-rate disc for a first-rate film and a treat for anyone who appreciates realistic, character-driven filmmaking. -- Jonathan Doyle