Wanda

Commercially unavailable for many years (although widely circulated on bootleg video), Barbara Loden's 1970 feature film Wanda was virtually ignored in its day but is celebrated by some critics today as a landmark of independent cinema. Set in Pennsylvania's coal belt, Wanda stars Loden as the title character—a newly divorced drifter who seems curiously numb to the world around her. Literally walking her way across the state without cash or friends, she eventually hooks up with a petty crook and joins him in a small-scale crime spree. Wanda is a terribly made movie; shot in grimy 16mm with some of the worst sound recording this side of The Jazz Singer, the film has a plodding, lethargic pace that seems to want to hold up the mirror to life unfolding but only ends up making real-time feel like hard-time. Loden as a director has no clue where to put the camera, when to cut a scene, or even how to get credible performances from her mostly nonprofessional cast. As the film's star, she also gives a mannered and irritating performance, packing in enough actress-y tics to make Geraldine Page seem catatonic by comparison. The wife of Elia Kazan, Loden never directed another film (she died in 1980), and this may have added to Wanda's mystique over time, but all told, the reemergence of this elusive 'landmark'—presented here on an extra-less disc—is one of the year's most disappointing discoveries. Not recommended. (P. Hall) [Blu-ray/DVD Review—Mar. 26, 2019—Criterion, 103 min., not rated, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1970’s Wanda features a great transfer with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include the archival documentary 'I Am Wanda' (63 min.), an audio recording of filmmaker and star Barbara Loden at the AFI (62 min.), an archival episode of The Dick Cavett Show featuring Loden (14 min.), the 1975 educational film 'The Frontier Experience' (26 min.), and a booklet featuring an essay by critic Amy Taubin. Bottom line: a fine edition of a film that split critics.]