talk radio bedazzled

Oliver Stone has never been much for subtlety. Perhaps that's what makes him a perfect match for Talk Radio (1988), based on Eric Bogosian's in-your-face play about Barry Champlain, a celebrity shock jock whose on-air crisis of conscience threatens to sabotage the show just before it goes into national syndication. Stone's film takes as much pleasure in crucifying its egotistical protagonist as it does condemning the American public that deified him in the first place.

Barry (Bogosian) hosts a successful late-night program, relishing his role as the man everyone loves to hate and prodding callers to extremes of social, political and racial bigotry. And his personal life is equally messy, with life-in girlfriend and sympathetic ex-wife (Ellen Greene) who acts as a life preserver amidst the on-air chaos. Meanwhile, his boss (Alec Baldwin) sweats over each provocative phone call and phony bomb threat in hopes that they'll survive to climb the corporate ladder.

With a performance that's equal parts Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh, it's somewhat mystifying how Eric Bogosian never achieved more Hollywood success (playing the bad guy in Under Siege 2 probably wasn't a good choice). But he's on fire here, delivering meth-fueled monologues with the verve of a true provocateur. And the script doesn't pull punches; Barry is an egotistical anti-hero of the highest order who's past the point of sympathy.

It may be Bogosian's play but this is definitely Stone's film, bubbling up with exclamations of inspired camera work (check out the De Palma-esque 360 in the final act!) and ingenious editing touches that would point towards the all-out psychedelic experience to come with The Doors a few years later. But far from interrupting the emotionally existential monologues, Stone's camera adds cinematic flourish to what could have been a stage-bound mess.

Twilight Time's 3000-copy limited edition Blu-ray looks very good, handling the high-key Robert Richardson lighting and shadowy sets with ease. Extras include an isolated music track, featurette, original theatrical trailer and liner notes.

Sketch comedy translates pretty well to the big screen, even though the successful joke ratio effectively triples the difficulty level. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore were already a known commodity in England but Bedazzaled (1967) gave them a more international launching pad courtesy of director Stanley Donen (Singing in the Rain) who had a knack for packaging a hit. Here he shepherds the material into something accessible for the masses without losing that particularly British way of looking at the world.

Stanley Moon (Moore) is a simple fry cook who sells who soul to the devil (Cooke) in exchange for seven wishes, all of which revolve around earning the affection of Margaret, the head waitress at their greasy spoon restaurant. But each wish turns out worse than the last, with the Devil taking advantage of loopholes that cheat Stanley out of his romantic ambitions. Whether he's rich, smart or famous, Stanley winds up a loser every time.

While Bedazzled is probably best remembered for its wish fulfillment interludes (including a spot-on Top of the Pops sequence and some Mel Brooks-level nonsense at a nunnery), the most amusing bits comes when Cook and Moore simply play off each other. Cook's turn as the Devil is endearingly blue-collar - his day job is scratching vinyl records and tearing out the last page of mystery novels - while Moore's sexual frustration makes for some agonizingly good comedy. The fun is in the details, not the least of which is Raquel Welch's cameo as one of the seven deadly sins (guess which one?) employed by the Devil to earn his way back into heaven. She might not have a big part in the film, but, taking a cue from One Million Years B.C., she simply owns the poster!

Twilight Time's 3000-copy limited edition is caught in some controversy over the hi-def transfer, which seems to have a slight vertical squeeze. Since the company only works with material provided by the studio, who can say whose to blame. But the end result is perfectly acceptable for the casual viewer and, in fact, looks incredibly detailed and colorful. No complaints on my end. Extras include an isolated music and effects track, talk show excerpt, an interview with Harold Ramis (who directed the 2000 remake), trailer and liner notes.