Commentary by Joel Schumucker and Michael Douglas, Interview with Michael Douglas Reflecting on the making of the film.

Given the recent economic meltdown and the global irresponsibility of the oil cartel (which contributed to the meltdown much as they did back in 1974), “Falling Down” seems even more appropriate than then. As one of those who lost his job in this global crisis brought on by irresponsible companies gambling on a market that suddenly had no rules (courtesy of cut backs that began during the Reagan Administration and that ex-President Bill Clinton continued allowing former President George W. to continue to dismantle every agency responsible for preventing fraud and economic abuse within the private sector), I believe that “Falling Down” arrives at a perfect time with the discontent running through the nation at the failure of a bipartisan political system that likes to point fingers at each other but, in reality, both cooperated in the failure of our system. ***

Off my soap box for the moment director Joel Schumacher’s “Falling Down” touches on the discontent faced by middle and upper-middle class America. The plot device in “Falling Down” is the lay-off of a middle aged white American engineer named Bill Foster (Michael Douglas) who finds himself “downsized” (how I love the quaint terms that corporate America comes up with for firing people and making themselves feel better about the fate of their other people—the latest I’ve heard is “rightsizing”. Yep. That one makes a whole lot of sense). He feels that everything he has been betrayed by those who he was loyal to. The problem with “Falling Down” is that it’s nothing more than a device to make a repulsive character study of a man who, in his heart, suffers from white man’s rage at being emasculated. Abandoning his car in a massive traffic jam, he walks near downtown L.A. Bill encounters a series of stereotypes and responds violently because THEY represent everything that is wrong in his life and allows him the opportunity to take it out his anger on the world. Whether it be a bunch of young thugs or a white supremacist, Foster moves through these malcontents (which is ironic given that he is a malcontent himself not realizing the depth of it) losing himself in the moments of violence. *** He’s being tracked by a cop (Robert Duvall) preparing to retire who can understand some of what Foster is going through but also recognizes how wrong it is when he begins leaving a bloody path throughout L.A. As Bill intermittently calls his frightened ex-wife (Barbara Hershey) reporting his progress, he moves closer towards a sense of the power he feels he has lost. ***

As with most of Joel Schumacher’s work, “Falling Down” the film tackles a number of rich themes and then leaves them lying on the ground. Schumacher takes a screenplay that has potential at examining our own discontent and the intoxication of sudden power after being powerless and creates a film all about surface and images. That said, “Falling Down” has three strong performances at its core. ---

Image & Sound:

“Falling Down” looks quite nice in its Blu-ray debut. The film was always somewhat gritty looking to begin with and the Blu-ray transfer stays true to that “look” that Schumacher developed. *** Audio sounds very good with a nice surround him. ---

“Falling Down” comes in a collectable book/packaging similar to other Warner releases. We also get a commentary track featuring the director with actor Douglas that’s quite good. The two are joined via "clips" by writer Ebbe Roe Smith, editor Paul Hirsch, critic Shawn Hubler, and actors Michael Paul Chan, Frederic Forrest, and Vondie Curtis-Hall. Also, there’s a retrospective interview with Douglas discussing the making of the film. Douglas accurately points out that a film like this would probably NOT get a green light in Hollywood and would probably be an indie production. We also get the original trailer in HD.

Final Words: