The Film (5/5)

    Nicky (John Cassavetes) is stuck in a cheap hotel room with a price on his head. He has recently been discovered by his mob boss Resnick (Sanford Meisner) embezzling money.  Nicky is completely paranoid, and losing his mind in the room, when he calls his lifelong best friend and fellow mafia hood Mikey (Peter Falk). He convinces Mikey to get him out of New York, but quickly begins to lose trust in his friend. Instead of working on escape, he leads Mikey all over Manhattan to bars and cafes, a cemetery, and more.  At the same time leaving Resinick's hit man Kinsey behind.

    Mikey and Nicky is a film I've wanted on Blu-ray for far too long. I originally found a cheap DVD of the film in a Borders books in the early 2000's, and immediately fell in love with the film, its pairing of excellent lead actors with immense on-screen chemistry (Cassavetes had directed Falk in quite a few of his own movies, and co-starrted with him in Husbands). The film was directed by Elaine May known for Ishtar and A New Leaf, and was notorious in 1973 from overrunning it's budget, as May kept shooting until she got the precise performance she wanted. The film though made in 1973, would go on to be released in 1976.  This would bring the film out the same year as Cassavete's own similarly themed Killing of a Chinese Bookie.

    The film plays with mafia cinema tropes in the same way as the Cassavete's film or the earlier Peter Yates film The Friends of Eddie Coyle. It is not a film that is high on action, but works as a character study of the two lead characters, their psychology, how they work within mafia constraints, and in Nicky’s case the pressure of death on his trail.  Neither character is what one would call sympathetic, but Cassavete's Nicky seems unhinged and difficult from the get-go. This would normally put Falk's Mikey in a more favorable light, but it is quickly established that neither of these characters are people to side with.

    May in this film channels the cinema verite style popularized by Cassavetes in his own work, and thus Mikey and Nicky feels like it is spun-off of John Cassavete's own filmography. Still it's a powerful film in its own right, and one of the high points of May's sadly tiny filmography. (She would direct 3 other features, and an episode of American Masters about Mike Nichols).

Audio/Video (5/5)

    Criterion has created a truly stunning visual experience for Elaine May's Mikey and Nicky. The film is presented with a 1080p 1:85:1 transfer, and has a well-detailed, organic look to the whole film that gives it a very film like presentation unlike other versions seen prior to this, and being a severe upgrade from the DVD release.

    Audio is handled by a LPCM 1.0 mono track that services the film quite well with everything coming across crisp and clear.

Extras (3/5)

    Criterion has put together a solid package for their release of Mikey and Nicky. There is a 46 minute archival interview with actor Peter Falk. A newly created piece with film critics Carrie Rickey and Richard Brodie which analyzes the film and May's career.  There is also a piece called Collaborators where Julian Schlossberg and Joyce Van Patten go in depth on the film in a lively discussion. There is also a trailer, a TV spot, and a leaflet of liner notes.

Overall

    Mikey and Nicky is an amazing mafia infused character drama by Elaine May. The film looks and sounds better than ever in this Criterion Blu-ray release. The extras are solid, but limited, and the whole package comes RECOMMENDED.