Plot: What’s it about?
Jack Tanner (Michael Murphy) wants to secure your vote as he runs for the highest office in all of the land, President of the United States. Tanner is a Democrat and he leans quite to the left, even more than his rival, Michael Dukakis. In order to have a shot at the Oval Office, Tanner must knock out Dukakis and claim the party’s nomination for himself. That won’t be a simple task however, as he is a dark horse and unknown to most Americans. But he has been out in the public for a while now, visiting different states and making himself known. A video leaked of a pep talk he delivered to his staff, a speech which inspired not just his volunteers, but countless others who heard his words and were moved. His slogan also sprung from that video, For Real, which becomes his motto as he ventures to the assorted events. As he rubs elbows with his fellow Democrats, he also comes into contact with numerous civilians, news reporters, and other folks, all of whom he wants to meet and make them see why he is such a great candidate. His team of advisors has to keep him on a tight leash though, as he is too naive about perception and how that impacts his campaign. When the Democratic National Convention arrives and Tanner faces his moment of truth, will he garner his party’s nomination?
In case you can’t recall Tanner’s election run, that’s with good reason, as Tanner wasn’t a real candidate for public office. No, he was a creation of director Robert Altman and writer Gary Trudeau, though he did make all the real political rounds. A series was crafted from the premise, which had Tanner on real political junkets and making real moves within them, as if he were a genuine candidate, instead of a performance. The show ran eleven episodes on HBO to much acclaim and now, we can revisit this series whenever, thanks to The Criterion Collection. Michael Murphy (Magnolia, Nashville) plays the title role to near perfection, with just enough depth to make the role work, but enough edge to let us know he is a satire, not a real candidate. Tanner ’88 follows the campaign of Tanner right up until the national convention, with all the nooks and crannies covered. The point here is to poke fun at our political system, which relies more on what we think, instead of the facts. I can understand that, but what Tanner fails to do is offer a solution. But if taken as sheer entertainment, Tanner is quite good and political junkies should love the series. Criterion has given us all eleven episodes in this two disc collection, as well as a couple of supplements. I really enjoyed seeing Tanner ’88 again and even now, it hits the mark with most of its ribs.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in full frame, as intended. As expected, the image is handheld camera footage, so it’s jumpy and not film like in appearance. It basically looks like a crisper home movie, which preserves the documentary texture. Aside from the obvious flaws inherent with the medium, the transfer looks great. Colors are rich, but don’t have the same sharpness of a polished film, but still, the colors look very good. Black level varies greatly, although correct most of the time. Usually the image is very bright, so not many shadow areas occur. A fine transfer for the materials, all things considered.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio is in 2.0 surround, but you shouldn’t expect much, as this isn’t dynamic in terms of audio presentation. Most of the elements come from live situations, such as public appearances, speeches, and conventions. In other words, the audio has a live, at the moment sound, which is good in some ways, but bad in others. The bad is that dialogue is inconsistent at times, but in this case, that helps maintain the documentary feel. I wasn’t let down by the soundtrack on this series, even with some minor softness at times. When you need to hear the speakers you can, you just might have to strain a little at times. This release also includes English subtitles, so if you do have trouble, you’ll be well covered.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This release includes some in character introductions for the episodes, as well as a newly created featurette with Altman and Trudeau.
