If you grew up in the ‘80s like me, you can be forgiven for thinking that Sidney J. Furie was little more than a journeyman director. His attachment to slick but rather anonymous commercial projects like the “Top Gun” rip-off “Iron Eagle” and “Superman IV: The Quest For Peace” weren’t indicative of the kinds of personal projects that informed his earlier work – movies that made an indelible impression on his devotees and offered evocative widescreen visuals to match their often rich human dimensions. Imprint’s latest retrospective Blu-Ray box-set, DIRECTED BY SIDNEY J. FURIE, offers five of Furie’s superior works from the 1970s including the release of two pictures making their home video debuts here in any format.
That includes SHEILA LEVINE IS DEAD AND LIVING IN NEW YORK (112 mins., 1975, PG), a quite wonderful character study that flopped at the box-office and even picked up a “BOMB” rating in Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide. Part of the disdain for the film was through its adaptation of Gail Parent’s book of the same name, a black comic look at a young Jewish woman’s misadventures in New York City, hunting for a husband she ultimately never finds. While comedy writer Parent penned the film adaptation along with her partner, Kenny Solms, the film was a totally different animal than the source material – a much more romantic and lyrical picture that was equally concerned with Sheila Levine’s quest for self-worth and her own identity after moving from the Pennsylvania suburbs.
Since decades have passed and the public is no longer attached to the source material, it’s much easier for viewers to assess this Paramount release, and on its own level, it’s a charming and well-acted film that plays to Furie’s strengths. In Solms and Parent’s film adaptation, Sheila’s (Jeannie Berlin) assorted adventures in the big city include finding a job with a children’s record company, contending with her pretty roommate (Rebecca Dianna Smith), and meeting a doctor (Roy Scheider) attached, it seems, with his bachelorhood. The film plays out with a mix of bittersweet passages, mild laughs, and quite a bit of emotion – all of it in gorgeous widescreen, communicated with moody lighting designed by Furie and cinematographer Donald M. Morgan, and graced with a gorgeous Michel Legrand score (the second of three outings with Furie).
This is a movie that’s consistently watchable through its deft visual compositions and core performances. Berlin, who starred in “The Heartbreak Kid” and disappeared for some 15 years following this film’s release (more on that in a moment), gives a superb performance on-screen here, believably capturing Sheila’s eccentricities and vulnerability, but the real heart of the film is embodied by Scheider. Presumably appearing in the last project he shot prior to “Jaws,” Scheider gives one of his best performances as the object of Sheila’s affections, bringing a believable shading to a character who’s, ultimately, just as vulnerable as she is.
There are numerous scenes that linger long in the mind after the film is over which Furie allows his actors to shine in. This is especially true during the film’s climax where Scheider’s doctor finally lets his guard down and, in a recording booth session at Sheila’s workplace, spills his heart out to our heroine. Furie shoots this scene with Scheider playing opposite Berlin, separated by the booth’s glass but their images nearly coupled upon it – it’s a long, beautifully performed take, superbly designed, that showcases both Furie’s finesse and handling of actors.
That the movie turned out so strongly is a testament to Furie and the crew, since its production was a notorious nightmare with Berlin (Elaine May’s daughter) apparently a train wreck on the set, causing near constant arguments and assorted issues on a daily basis. She eventually quit the film, leaving Furie and Morgan with the decision to resourcefully finish the picture on their own instead of Paramount taking her to court. Their efforts work nearly seamlessly as they employed a stand-in for location shots and relied on Scheider to single-handedly carry the picture’s ending. That his performance was pulled off without the movie’s star even present for its climactic moments illustrates Scheider’s professionalism, and elevates “Sheila Levine” as a must-see for any of the actor’s fans.
Only sporadically screened on TCM over the years and never released on home video anywhere – not even VHS – “Sheila Levine Is Dead And Living in New York” debuts on Blu-Ray in a lovely 1080p (2.35) transfer via a 4K scan from the original camera negative. Details are clear, colors are strong, and the mono sound is fine, backing Legrand’s memorable musical contribution (I did find his original pop tune, “Love Me Or Love People,” to be used just a little too often throughout the movie – though I will admit you won’t forget it after having seen this picture!). It’s a shame the score, like the film, never received a release, at least not beyond its love theme (“Wonder Where I’ll Be Tomorrow”) in Legrand’s 1975 “The Legrand Concert” LP.
Daniel Kremer spearheads most of the extra features in Imprint’s box, and on this disc, he’s on-hand for a commentary with Furie who’s a little hazy on the specifics of the production (he hadn’t seen it since 1975) but recalls the crew’s struggles with Berlin and the difficulty in finishing the movie without her. An audio interview with dp Donald Morgan is insightful and gives additional detail into how he and Furie tackled the movie’s completion – elements that you’d never even guess occurred if you just watched the movie (as I had) without prior knowledge of its production troubles. Other extras include a commentary with Samm Deighan and visual essays by Bill Ackerman (on the differences between the book and the film), Scout Tafoya (on Furie and New York City), and David Cairns (“Furie’s 1970s Politics”).