In Daniel Petrie’s 1980 movie which earned critical kudos but never caught fire at the box-office, Ellen Burstyn plays a woman who, after an accident that claims the life of her husband, awakens from a near-death experience with the ability to heal. Returning to the Kansas farming community she was raised in, Burstyn’s character tries to make sense of her brush with the afterlife and newfound ability, though has difficulty when she rubs up against fire-and-brimstone religious practitioners like the son (Sam Shepard) of a local preacher and her own Puritanical father (Roberts Blossom), both of whom want her to make a religious declaration of her powers.
The religious commentary is a little heavy-handed and becomes a central component in writer Lewis John Carlino’s multi-tiered script as the picture progresses. The climax of “Resurrection” is also something of a mess as the movie abruptly tries to arrive at a dramatic resolution with story strands that, these days, would’ve been better served being played out in a longer-form series structure. Yet Burstyn’s appealing performance is unquestionably one of her best, and Carlino’s screenplay works in its overall characterization of her lead role – a woman whose belief in love and compassion brings her to a personal realization of a higher power, and who's less interested in ordaining herself as a holy person.
“Resurrection”’s Imprint Blu-Ray includes a 1080p (1.85) 2K scan that’s generally respectable though has an occasional encoding artifact here and there. The mono sound is clear and features a quite good Maurice Jarre score that regrettably never was released. Exclusive extras include a superb half-hour interview with Burstyn who rightly regards the film as one of her finest, video essay by Kat Ellinger, and commentary from Lee Gambin.
