Taking Off - I'm Burned Out - DVD

Movie: When their daughter disappears to New York one day for a talent competition without telling her parents, Larry (Buck Henry) and Lynn Tyne (Lynn Carlin) panic. They don't understand what could have driven their daughter to just take off like that. Although Jeannie (Linnea Heacock) soon returns safely, her parents are frantically trying to figure out their daughter's generation before the girl slips away from them completely and might not come back the next time. But strip poker and first walking attempts at smoking pot don't really have the desired effect.

In 1970, Milos Forman made an acclaimed US debut with Taking Off, which flopped with audiences but has managed to grow into a minor classic over the years. With light humour and very clever editing, Forman succeeded well in perfectly capturing the alienation of two generations in the early 70s. In particular, the scene where desperate parents try to better understand their estranged children by trying weed is wonderfully and absolutely hilariously staged. Certainly, Taking Off is clearly a product of its time and much of it is only partially comprehensible from today's perspective. But if you have a soft spot for the late 60s and early 70s and just like to get something of the feeling of life at that time, but at the same time of the problems between parents and their children, this is exactly the right place.

Interesting are also the small appearances of Ike and Tina Turner, Carly Simon, a very young Kathy Bates, who called herself Bobo Bates at that time, or Vincent Schiavelli, who worked with Forman again and again afterwards, whether in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or Amadeus and The Moon Man. Even if the humor of the film or even the dramaturgy over forty years after the premiere of the film is somewhat outdated, so Taking Off is for many reasons even today an extremely worth seeing and above all entertaining film experience. It's nice that film lovers can finally experience it in restored form on DVD and Blu-Ray. Not Forman's best film, but also definitely a social as well as cinematic testimony of the times worth seeing.

Picture + Sound: The restored image is quite pleasing, especially considering its age. Although here and there weaknesses are to be discerned, but coloring and sharpness are overall well turned out. The German sound, on the other hand, is truly no enlightenment. The dialogues sound very tinny and there is also a lot of noise in many places.

Extras: In addition to the trailer and a picture gallery, the DVD has a very worthwhile, just under 30-minute documentary about Milos Forman to offer. In the interview, recorded in 2000, Forman talks in an engaging and very informative way about his beginnings as a filmmaker up to the shooting of Taking Off. A very nice and, more importantly, really meaty encore to the film.

Conclusion: Taking Off - I eloped is an entertaining morality tale of the early 70s and the launch pad for a great international directing career. Even though Milos Forman's US debut initially flopped with audiences, the acclaimed filmmaker's great talent is evident even here. Even if the sound is not really convincing, the decent picture quality and the good bonus interview are among the other good reasons to buy this little classic. Especially for cineastes definitely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp