Triangle of Sadness was my favorite movie of last year because it had something profound to say about class while also being willing to go as lowbrow as poop and barf jokes. Now, it joins the elite of the elite, new releases that get the Criterion Collection as their first home video release.
Criterion also put Triangle of Sadness out on 4K UHD. Although I’ve seen it on the big screen within the last six months, I’m a tad more analytical at home compared to other movies I watch in this format.
So Triangle begins with blasé locations, an overlit audition and a fancy restaurant. Even those are sharper than the Blu-ray version, also included. Touches of red light shine through the car window, and green emergency lighting in the hotel lobby.
But it’s the bright white yacht against the bright blue ocean and bright blue sky that really show off the 4K vistas. When the lights go out on the boat, the darkness holds up in high dynamic range. Also on the island at night, but the daylight shows the island’s craggy rocks and green forests.
Writer/director Ruben Ostlund gives a 19 minute interview discussing the themes of the film. One angle I hadn’t observed was the notion of branded couples. I’d assumed Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean) were a genuine couple but it tracks. Let’s see if Ostlund makes his plane movie next.
The only behind the scenes footage is Erik Hemmendorff as the extra who gets hit by the wave of sh*t. It’s a relevant scene to showcase and funny how they rehearse it dry to get it absolutely right before they soak the set.
VFX demonstrations show the entire boat explosion was VFX and of course all the windows were blue screen. Some surprising scenes you wouldn’t expect have enhancements like the audition rooms and the restaurant. Now we have the technology to erase vomit tubes and add poop to butts. And the donkey was all CG too so no actual donkey was harmed.
Deleted scenes run just shy of 13 minutes. A scene about the engagement rink Carl buys fits with his money issues. Seven of those minutes come from the third act, though scenes of the passengers freaking out over island noises and the Russian getting to know the engineer he accused earlier are reasonable cuts.
There is more about Carl defending spending nights with Abigail to Yaya. Their relationship is so transactional. And a deleted scene explains why the Captain invites the Russian over to his table in the first place.
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