Dark Blood

I was really excited when in late 2011 George Sluizer announced that he was going to try to finish 'Dark Blood', some years after Sluizer had an aneurysm and learned that his remaining time was limited. I've heard of the difficulties surrounding the film, the legal complications and so on. So when it was announced that Mr Sluizer was going to raise money in order to be able to pay for the finishing of the film (the post-production: sound editing, editing, musical score, etc.) through Crowdfunding, I almost instantly donated some money through the CineCrowd website. In gratitude I received a very rare limited edition DVD, and some positive lit negatives inside the DVD-box. I was a bit surprised by the high quality of the footage, since it has not been used for 19 years or so. I know about the difficulties off set between River Phoenix and Judy Davis, and between Davis and the director. But it definitely doesn't show in the actual film. The acting is quite natural, and in my opinion the performances by River, Judy and Jonathan Pryce are pretty good. As I said before, the images are very clear, and the added sound effects and musical score are also in place here. The music at some points reminded me a bit of Pieter Bourke ans Lisa Gerrard's score for 'The Insider'. I'm not going to spoil anything or tell how it ends, but for me it was a rare chance to finally see this interesting project, and also River Phoenix' last film.

George Sluizer's salvaged 1993 desert thriller Dark Blood is an uneasy but captivating watch. More than anything its a tantalising final glimpse into the talent of star River Phoenix, surly one of the most promising actors the world has ever seen.

Rivers tragic and sudden death in the winter of 93 halted production and left the film missing many of its most crucial and inmate scenes. To overcome this director Sluizer can be heard reading the script amongst a mixture of stills and short clips. This method, whilst effective, is quite jarring and ultimately strange mainly due to Sluizers heavily accented, matter of fact voice which clash with the very intimate words and actions he is trying to get across.

However we do get long periods where the film plays uninterrupted, its in these moments we get a sense of what a great movie this may have been. At times a classic Hollywood thriller and others a disturbing art house flick.

Pryce and Judy Davis are pretty much note perfect as the bickering Hollywood couple. Pryce plays his character so well I would not be surprised if the role was written with him in mind.

Its no secret that Judy Davis was a very difficult actress to work with not only for the director but also the actors. River in particular was targeted with many friends reporting he would call them in tears due to her hostile treatment towards him. Such was his misery that he personally asked Sluizer to delay the most intimate scenes between them till the last days of shooting (they were never completed). It is to both actors immense credit that this difficult working relationship never comes across on screen, the scenes between them burn with desire and feeling.

Its impossible to talk about this film without really talking about River, even as you are watching the film, the tragedy that was to come is always there, playing on your mind. At only 23 River Phoenix was an Oscar nominated actor of incredible talent, grace and beauty. With the character of "Boy" he was able to display a side of him we had never seen before. He is terrifying, disturbing and dangerous but even in the throes of this madness that trademark sensitivity of Rivers shines through. He was a very special and incredibly gifted actor, and this film like all his prior performances have done before it, bear tribute to that.

What a movie I just saw!! Seriously, it's just an amazing and hypnotic experience! This movie was shot in 1993, mind you! All you see on screen was shot in that year. You can notice that Jonathan Pryce's hair is less gray than it really is today. Also, you got in the movie the strong and mesmerizing presence of the late River Phoenix, coming in a time capsule directly to the future to give us his mesmerizing swan song. Wow... freakin' wow!

Great acting, a script that shines and beautiful backgrounds are the main attractions here. The story is told in the form of a road movie and the characters all goes through changes in their lives. The most powerful thing in the movie is its heart and soul. This is the engine that moves the narrative. As for it's body, it's unfortunately broken, for the lack of a better comparison. As the director George Sluizer states before the movie starts, this movie will always be like a three feet chair. It's slightly unbalanced, it misses something but with care, still stands on it's feet.

With River Phoenix's death before the shooting process finishes, the director summarizes the missing fragments of the movie to us in order to complete the narrative. It works fine that way. In spirit, in heart and soul, this movie deserves a straight 10/10. With its broken, unfinished body, it takes a 8/10. If only they could finish it in time... but that from now on, until the end of times will only belong to our imagination, trying to figure out what it could have been.

For what it is, it perfectly stands on it's feet. Must watch! Once again, thanks to the "37º Festival International de Cinema de São Paulo" in my city by the SESC institution of culture and development, I could enjoy another amazing flick!

You get the feeling the best scenes, presumably the interior shots of the boy's hut, were yet to be filmed. The director's intermittent narration that covers the missing scenes, seems to have the best dialogue. What is captured is largely unremarkable.. yet still highly watchable, because it's River Phoenix, right before he died.

The well documented "troubles" on set, with Judy Davis being "difficult" with River, allegedly expressing her distaste with his casting over Johnny Depp is ironic, because she herself seems miscast, along with Jonathan Pryce, an out of work film actor married to a former Playboy Bunny Davis.. Insert Alec Baldwin and Kim Bassinger during their honeymoon phase and we might have had a true screen gem.. if it were finished.. and had a higher budget.

All in all worth a watch, but regrettably River's performance is somewhat pedestrian and perhaps more a telling snapshot of his slide toward oblivion. This is the River with short black hair that sadly met his fate.

... still very compelling. And a showcase of why River Phoenix was considered one the best amongst his peers. I hadn't read or heard too much about the troubled production of the movie. But I did talk to a few people and the magazine of the Berlin International Festival did have a few things to say about it too. But at the beginning of the movie you will get an introduction from the director explaining the situation and telling you, what you are about to see. And the fact, that there will be quite some amount of voice over.

While the voice over (telling us what would happen if the scenes were shot) is good, it never can fully compensate the impact moving pictures would have had. And it still is compelling, which all boils down to the performances of the actors involved. It's great they actually finished the movie and showed it. While not a masterpiece (couldn't be expected), it is there for people to see and enjoy.