3 Women Blu-ray Review

3 Women Blu-ray Review

Review: Roger Altman's 1977 classic 3 Women, loosely inspired by Persona (my favourite film of all time), is a masterpiece in unease and discomfort. Whether or not you enjoy it is up to you, but one thing is certain: it is absolutely unmissable. Or you could just see Ted 2. Your choice, really. Roger Ebert's favourite film of the year on release, this disquieting portrait of obsession will bury itself into your subconscious and refuse to leave. The film follows Pinky (Sissy Spacek, walking the line between irritating and compelling perfectly) as she joins the staff of a Palm Springs day spa and becomes infatuated with her colleague (Shelley Duvall, stealing the show as the delusional Millie). The third woman of the title, Janice Rule as Willie, plagues the movie with disturbing murals of demonic, well-endowed...things (yours truly is evidently an expert in description), becoming a key motif as the increasingly disturbing relationship between Pinky and Millie goes fully down the rabbit hole. Lesser filmmakers may have produced a shlocky, brain-dead male fantasy from the palpable sexual tension of the premise, but Altman assurredly clinical direction gives it a far more cerebral edge. Released 2 years after Eraserhead, it had a clear on David Lynch's later psychosexual lesbianic headtrip Mulholland Drive. Best described as a bizarro blend of Bergman's philosophical musing on identity and Stanley Kubrick's unsentimental perspective on the human condition, this is bold, uncompromising and wholly absorbing filmmaking from one of the greats of modern American cinema. Devoutly singular yet utterly engrossing; essential viewing, even if just to say you have.

Extras: This magnificent new package from Arrow Films' Academy label includes an excellent analysis of the film with David Thompson, author of Altman on Altman, as well as an archive interview with Duvall, a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, a trailer and a new 4K restoration, making this the best-looking dream you'l ever experience (warning: not guaranteed).

3 Women is out on Blu-ray on 13th July

Five-Word Verdict: A masterful diatribe of humankind

Score: 5/5