For photographer Morris Engel, covering life was his job. As a combat photographer during World War II and an active Photo League member, he and his girlfriend at the time, fellow professional photographer Ruth Orkin (best known for her photo "American Girl in Italy") and colleague, writer Raymond Abrashkin (who would go on to co-create/write the popular sci-fi series "Danny Dunn"), decided to create their own film titled "Little Fugitive".
Created for only $30,000 with normal people as actors and shot on location in New York and a custom-made concealed strap-on 35 mm camera in Coney Island, "Little Fugitive" was created and would receive critical acclaim. And the creation of his own camera for filming would inspire other filmmakers to create their own cameras.
Even legendary French New Wave filmmaker Francois Truffaut has credited "Little Fugitive" as an inspiration to his 1959 masterpiece "The 400 Blows" and saying, "Our New Wave would never have come into being if it hadn't been for the young American Morris Engel, who showed us the way to independent production with this fine movie."
Considered as one of the most successful American independent films, "Little fugitive" would receive an Academy Award nomination for "Best Writing, Motion Picture Story" and a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
In 1997, "Little Fugitive" was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 2008, Kino released the Morris Engel box set which included his films "Little Fugitive", "Lovers and Lollipops" and "Weddings and Babies". And on March 2013, "Little Fugitive" received a Blu-ray release with the film mastered in HD from a 35 mm print preserved by the Museum of Modern Art with support from The Film Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts and the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation.
VIDEO:
"Little Fugitive" is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:33:1 aspect ratio) and in black and white. It's important to remember that "Little Fugitive" is a low budget film that was made was a custom-made 35 mm camera that had its own issues during filming.
Having owned the previous DVD release from Kino, the main differences you will see is more detail and better contrast of whites and grays with better black levels. While the original print has not been cleaned up of its white specks, I'm not sure if the original print was even possible to have been cleaned of its imperfections but still, the picture quality is an improvement over its DVD counterpart. The film is mastered in HD from a 35 mm print preserved by the Museum of Modern Art with support from The Film Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts and the Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation.
For the most part, picture quality is very good, much better detail on the Blu-ray release as one would expect. The DVD also had some color fluctuations and was slightly darker but picture quality is definitely improved in this Blu-ray release.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
"Little Fugitive"is presented in LPCM 2.0 mono. It's important to note that the film was shot and dialogue added later. Dialogue and music is clear. There is no noticeable hiss or pops during my viewing of the film. There are no English subtitles.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Little Fugitive" features the following special features:
Audio Commentary by Morris Engel - An insightful audio commentary by Morris Engel discussing the making of the film.
Morris Engel: The Independent - (28:38) Featuring a 2008 documentary by Mary Engel about her father. Featuring his life and professional career with video of her father.
Ruth Orkin: Frames of Life - (18:19) A 1995 documentary featuring the work of Ruth Orkin and audio featuring Ruth discussing her work.
Theatrical Trailer - (1:52) The original theatrical trailer for "Little Fugitive".
Image Gallery - Featuring 16 images of promotional artwork to movie stills.
JUDGMENT CALL:
When I was a teenager, I used to watch "Little Fugitive" on cable television. Having searched for the film, after forgetting the title, by the time I would rediscover "Little Fugitive", I was already in my 30′s.
With a big interest in French Nouvelle Vague and the work of Francois Truffaut, during my research one day about American independent films, I would discover a quote from Truffaut about a film titled "Little Fugitive" and how the film inspired him to create his independent masterpiece "The 400 Blows".
Suffice to say, I was overjoyed to find out that the little boy who was in Coney Island turned out to be "Little Fugitive" and it has been one of my favorite releases from Kino and now this wonderful film has been released on Blu-ray.
I absolutely loved "Little Fugitive" as it not only captured the innocence of a child, but also the adventure through Coney Island, capturing on camera, the excitement of the area of that time.
While Coney Island has been marred through controversy and many discussions of revitalizing the area, while its heyday was before the 1940′s, "Little Fugitive" would still capture the amusement park in its glory before going through significant changes in the '60s.
But the charm of the film is not just about capturing the heyday, but seeing Coney Island through the eyes of a seven-year-old boy. Yes, the film had a script and was carefully planned out, but its the ability to capture this natural feeling of a boy just enjoying his time at Coney Island and not acting as if he was in a film.
The film was also inspiring because filmmaker and cinematographer Morris Engel utilized a concealed 35 mm camera. I've seen concealed cameras used in French and Italian films but to see it employed in an American independent film and many people from Coney Island not knowing they are in the film, I thought that was pretty amazing, especially how he captured young actor Richie Andrusco, who seemed to have forgotten about the camera and just being a normal boy, the character of Joey now becoming real to viewer as the experiences were natural and felt real.
But this was guerrilla filmmaking on a budget and it's amazing to see how much was captured and done for $35,000. Watching it now, you can't help but be impressed.
As for the Blu-ray release, the special features are the same as the previous DVD. So, there is nothing new added. But with that being said, I know with this Blu-ray release, many fans will be introduced to Morris Engel's work for the first time through "Little Fugitive".
The audio commentary with Morris Engel was recorded before his death in 2005 and the commentary is just full of interesting facts. From how it was to work with the young Richie Andrusco and how he captured his personality for Joey with no need for direction, how the rifle scene was actually using a real rifle and Morris was terrified of filming that scene, how the drowning scene was real (and an explanation of why it was cut out of the TV version) and how Lennie's line "You're laying on my pants" was censored by the state of Ohio and much more.
The documentary "Morris Engel: The Independent" is also impressive as we see Engel reuniting with his young star Richie Andrusco many decades later, we see Engel's career featured to celebrate his career, but also to celebrate his life years after his death. The same can be said for "Ruth Orkin: Frames of Life" which showcases the career of Ruth Orkin in a smaller 18 minute featurette.
As mentioned earlier, the Blu-ray does feature much better contrast and detail over its DVD counterpart.
Overall, "Little Fugitive" is one of those magical classics that you simply love because it captured American innocence. It captured the real actions of people at Coney Island and it also caught a glimpse of that Coney Island magic that no longer exists. But it's also a wonderful American independent film that was inspiring to filmmakers because it showed how one can create a film, with not much money but yet have an impact on viewers all over the world.
Delightful, entertaining and wonderful, Morris Engel's "Little Fugitive" is highly recommended!
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Top reviews from other countries
Michael
künstlerisch unterhaltsamer wertvoller Film mit beindruckenden Kinderdarstellern
Reviewed in Germany on November 13, 2021
