One of the primary reasons that James Mangold’s Logan works so well as a send-off to Hugh Jackman’s 17 years playing Wolverine is that it does the opposite of nearly every superhero movie convention expected. The end result earned critical and commercial acclaim and an Oscar nomination for adapted screenplay (a Wolverine movie got an Oscar nomination for screenplay; thought I’d say that again). More than a superhero film, Logan has more in common with the Western where an old gunslinger goes out on a final quest (more Unforgiven than X-Men).
In fact, my favorite cut of the film is Logan Noir: the black & white version of the film included as bonus feature on the Blu Ray. Denuded of a lot of the effect of the blood, the film feels more in tune with an old warrior’s final journey. But Mangold does give the fans, at the end of the film, one final berserker charge from Wolverine as he races to save his daughter and the last mutant children from the Reavers. Even that scene though, if you put him on a horse and swapped his claws for six-shooters, would be straight out of a Western. Kudos to Jackman for 17 years as the world’s favorite mutant, and to James Mangold for figuring out a way to give us a Wolverine that was off his leash, yet more true to the character’s roots than in any other film he’s been in.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has officially announced that it will release on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray James Mangold’s blockbuster Logan (2017), starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook, and Stephen Merchant. The two releases will be available for purchase on May 23.
Touting an R-rating, allowing fans to finally see Logan’s legendary berserk rage unleashed, Mangold brings a visceral and gritty realism to the story, based on one of Marvel Comics’ most popular characters. In the near future, a weary Logan (Hugh Jackman) cares for an ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart) in a hideout on the Mexican border. But Logan’s attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are upended when a young mutant (Dafne Keen) arrives, being pursued by dark forces.
In addition to nearly 90 minutes of original content, including deleted scenes and a behind-the-scenes documentary, the Blu-ray will also include Logan Noir, a black and white version of the film that gives the acclaimed story an all-new look.
“During production of LOGAN I took many black and white photographs and noticed how striking and dramatic our gritty settings and characters appeared in monochrome,” said Mangold. “The western and noir vibes of the film seemed to shine in the format and there was not a trace of modern comic hero movie sheen. Then, while editing, Fox and I started posting some of the black and white stills online and fans also began to respond enthusiastically, many hoping that they would get a chance to see the finished film in carefully timed, high contrast black and white. Well. Sometimes hope becomes reality.”
To celebrate the release of Logan Noir, Alamo Drafthouse will be bringing the film to the big screen in all of its monochromatic glory for one night only starting at 8 PM EST on Tuesday, May 16th. The event screenings will also be accompanied by an exclusive, live streaming Q&A featuring director James Mangold. Attendees in every location of the screening will be able to participate in the live discussion with Mangold via Twitter using the hashtag #askalamo. Los Angeles fans will also get the chance to see Logan slash through the big screen as Alamo Drafthouse and Fox co-present LOGAN NOIR with American Cinematheque for a screening at the Egyptian Theatre. Tickets for all screenings are available now at drafthouse.com/logannoir.
Special Features:
Logan Noir – black and white version of the film
Audio commentary by Director James Mangold
Deleted scenes with optional audio commentary by James Mangold (Blu-ray only)
Making Logan – behind-the-scenes documentary (Blu-ray only)
Seventeen years ago, comic book movies were a dead genre. In 2000, the first X-Men movie was released and jump-started a renaissance of adaptations. The franchise succeeded in no small part because the most popular X-Man: Wolverine, was cast to perfection. Hugh Jackman was an unknown. He’d done more musicals on-stage than movies on-screen, but from the moment we saw saw him cage fighting in a bar, he owned the Wolverine in a way that no actor perhaps has ever fully become linked with a fictional character (Bond and Connery and Downey Jr. and Iron Man being the only comparisons I can come up with). Logan is Jackman’s 9th film as Wolverine and his last. The film that bears his name is a nearly perfect Wolverine story. Unlike the PG-13 Logan that had to be leashed for the team films, this is the Wolverine from the comics, and yet, this a Wolverine unlike we’ve ever seen. It’s unremittingly grim, wonderfully acted, violent and gritty, redemptive and tragic. After all, Logan’s was a story that was never going to end well. Continue reading Movie Review: Logan (2017) *Farewell, Hugh, and Thanks”→
Each Thursday we look at what is going to be coming out in theaters this weekend, show you the trailers for the big releases, predict the box office winner and just generally give you enough of a carrot to pull you through the rest of the work week. Week 2 of March Movie Madness only has one major release, but when you’re the size of Kong, one will do. Continue reading In Theaters This Week (3/10/2017): Kong Skull Island→
Now playing with Logan in theaters is a short film featuring Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool. Entitled “No Good Deed”, the film isn’t so much a Deadpool 2 trailer (for which we are still awaiting an official release date) as it is Deadpool 1.5 “As Close to a Film with Wolverine As I Can Get My Character to Be In”. Also FYI, remember we’re dealing with Deadpool here and consider this slathered in a giant red band.
