{"id":24291,"date":"2022-02-17T01:29:10","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T09:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=24291"},"modified":"2022-02-17T01:29:10","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T09:29:10","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-liars-moon-1982","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=24291","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: LIAR\u2019S MOON (1982)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Blu-ray disc from the MVD Rewind Collection is currently\navailable at all retailers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As many readers will already know, the 80s were a remarkable\ndecade for movie lovers. A lot of this had to do with the proliferation of the\nVCR, or Videocassette Recorder. In decades past, if you wanted to catch up with\na movie, you had to see it during its run at theaters, hope it aired on TV (and\nwatch it live) years later or wait for a screening at a repertory cinema. The introduction\nof VCRs into homes changed all that. You could find and rent older titles with\nmuch more ease and even catch up with new flicks you missed (even though you\nwould have to wait a year or so after its release before it appeared on VHS or\nBetamax). This technology became so popular that there was an unexpected demand\nfor product. As a result, smaller movies were being picked up and rushed out on\nVHS, reaching wider audiences outside the cinema circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liar\u2019s Moon<\/em> was an independently produced feature from\nTexas that premiered at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in\n1981. It landed a small distributor and earned a minor theatrical release in\n1982, but ended up making a much bigger impact on videocassette. Fans still\nadore the movie, so much so that the MVD Rewind Collection has decided to give\nit the Blu-ray treatment. This Collector\u2019s Edition presents the movie in widescreen\nhigh definition and looking better than it ever has before (certainly putting the\nold full-frame VHS to shame).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The movie was devised to appeal to young ladies and the\nstory throws in a liberal dose of old-fashioned romantic melodrama. Set in the\n1940s, the story follows Jack Duncan (Matt Dillon), a genial, friendly kid from\nthe wrong side of the tracks. When a local banker\u2019s daughter Ginny Peterson (Cindy\nFisher) takes a break from her boarding school to return home, she and Jack cross\npaths. Initially, the young lad can\u2019t seem to do anything right around local aristocrat\nGinny, but as time passes the two become close. While Jack\u2019s dad Cecil (Hoyt\nAxton) is happy that the pair are having fun together, his mother (Margaret\nBlye) is upset by the burgeoning relationship. So are Ginny\u2019s parents\u2026\nparticularly her father (Christopher Connelly), who seems determined to keep\nthem apart. Frustrated, the teens rebel, eloping across state lines to get married.\nThey try to start a new life together, but find themselves being hunted by Det.\nRoy Logan (Richard Moll).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, this is definitely a teen romance, but one that\nfeatures some interesting details about its characters that you wouldn\u2019t see in\nmany other genre titles. In particular, there\u2019s an amusing greased pig-catching\ncontest at a fair that ultimately brings the protagonists together. Dillon and\nFisher really stand out as the stars of the show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

None of this would work without onscreen chemistry between\nthe teens and the two youths really impress. Their relationship develops in a sweet\nand low-key manner, with both stars keeping things authentic and believable.  They manage to draw viewers in as the story progresses\nand introduces more unusual story twists. And I do mean very unusual\u2026 the final\nact adds heavier themes into the mix, including teen pregnancy and even incest.\nThe film thankfully doesn\u2019t go over-the-top with these bits and handles them in\na straightforward manner, but they certainly add heightened emotional turmoil\ninto the proceedings. Naturally, it does result in some histrionics, as well as\nJack telling a couple of the adults off for their awful biases and horrendous\nbehavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems pretty clear that the makers of this film were\ntrying to generate interest and excitement by casting up-and-comers Matt Dillon\nand Cindy Fisher. Co-star Dillon had only popped up in a few tittles at this point\nin his career, including the villain in My Bodyguard<\/em> and one lead in Tex<\/em>.\nHe hadn\u2019t even appeared in The Outsiders<\/em> or Rumble Fish<\/em> yet. Clearly,\nthe strategy worked in the long run (while it didn\u2019t make waves initially, not\nlong after the flick was released on VHS, it drew in viewers eager to see more\nworks featuring the actor).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The feature benefits from some great production design,\nwhich manages to keep almost every background element looking of the era. There\u2019s\nonly one strange aspect which doesn\u2019t get referred to in movie (or any of the extras).\nJack has a pair of friends who serve as comic relief, getting the lead into trouble,\nbut also bringing him together with Ginny. One of them sports an unusual mohawk-like\nhairstyle that seems incongruous with everything else in the picture. He\u2019s an\nentertaining character, but one wonders exactly who devised his appearance and the\nreason they chose that particular look. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also handsomely photographed by John Hora. He captures some impressive images nicely and the cinematography (which includes some great night shots at a local fair and inside a movie theater) is always pretty. Interestingly enough, he would go on to shoot some major Hollywood features for Joe Dante including Gremlins<\/em>, Explorers<\/em>, Gremlins 2: The New Batch<\/em>, Matinee<\/em>, as well as the \u201cSmooth Criminal<\/em>\u201d video for Michael Jackson. The images have been very nicely transferred to Blu-ray by distributor MVD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This is a decent teen coming-of-age drama on its own, but\nthe Blu-ray also contains some impressive bonuses. For one, there\u2019s a\nfeature-length documentary that includes interviews with writer\/director David\nFisher, co-writer Janice Thompson, actress Tonja Walker, composer\/song-writer\nRay Benson, Jeanene Hanna (wife of producer Billy Hanna) production manager\nSusan Vogelflang and set decorator Maria Caso. It\u2019s a very informative piece\nthat goes through the entire process of how this independent film was created\nand managed to snag a distributor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Viewers learn about what inspired the story, the director\u2019s\napproach to making a teen love story, as well as the unusual plot devices that\nappear towards the climax. Some of the most interesting material involves the last\nact. Specifically, the finale and how two different versions were shot. One is described\nas happy (although it does include one major element of tragedy), while the\nother finish ends the life of one of the leads. They all discuss why two ending\nwere shot and how the alternate ending ended up being used and released in a\nfew territories. It\u2019s all fascinating stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The version on this Blu-ray has the ending that was seen in\nmost countries, but the alternate close is also available on the disc as an\nextra. There is also an entertaining featurette with composer\/song-writer Ray\nBenson and the director on the music created for the movie. Additionally, the Collector\u2019s\nEdition comes with a trailer for the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLiar\u2019s Moon\u201d is certainly am exaggerated teen romance, but one that works better than expected thanks to the great cast and crew behind the camera. It\u2019s also fun to see a star in the making with a very young Matt Dillon taking on a co-lead role. The Blu-ray is equally impressive, including about two hours of bonus material that really paints a detailed picture of how the independent flick came together. This is a very fun release that will certainly impress fans of the movie and those interested in seeing a young Dillon making his mark on the big screen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Blu-ray disc from the MVD Rewind Collection is currently available at all retailers. As many readers will already know, the 80s were a remarkable decade for movie lovers. A lot of this had to do with the proliferation of the VCR, or Videocassette Recorder. In decades past, if you wanted to catch up with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":24294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[113,114,2923,3067,3073,4367,4425,4693,9453,12331,12332,13187,13425,13672,14442,14448,17009,19654],"class_list":["post-24291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-113","tag-114","tag-blasts-from-the-past","tag-blu-ray","tag-blu-ray-review","tag-christopher-connelly","tag-cindy-fisher","tag-coming-of-age","tag-hoyt-axton","tag-liars-moon","tag-liars-moon-review","tag-margaret-blye","tag-matt-dillon","tag-melodrama","tag-mvd","tag-mvd-rewind-collection","tag-richard-moll","tag-teen-drama"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24291\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}