i own all of jonathan demme's films (that are available in widescreen and on region 1 dvd or blu ray) so when criterion announced a master builder to be released i was ecstatic. firstly i never knew of this film's existence until the announcement, and secondly i love wallace shawn. plus as an added bonus i get ti own another criterion disc. so last night, after owning it for a few months now, i finally got to put it in my blu ray player and watch it. i knew nothing of what it was about but i did think it was a comedy; i mean wallace shawn right? well it wasn't a comedy at all. maybe a little bit of humour but instead it was a very well constructed drama based heavily on dialogue and performance. it was very much a filmed play and it was actually rather gripping and the over two hour runtime flew by. the acting was uniformly good, the editing was excellent and the script was very well put together. telling the story of a sickly old master builder who is a) not ready to give up his legacy and b) is an entitled prick, the film is an intense and moody piece on the notion of life and death and the price you pay for good fortune and bad behaviour. i was originally going to write a spoiler-ish review but i changed my mind. rather i'll leave the story description at that and not mention other aspects that are better left as a surprise. one of these aspects does a masterful thing with the cinematography. i'll get back to that point but first i want to say that this film looks like it was shot on digital and for that reason some of the shots don't come off as impressive as they should. sure it looks good for digital but it doesn't hold a candle to film and sometimes the over digitization can be a bit distracting and make the look of the film overall weaker. but back to the point i was making earlier. when a certain thing in the film happens the aspect ratio changes. it goes from 1.85 )or 1.78) to 2.35. it just happens and you don't really notice it but then suddenly you realize and things come into focus in regards to the story. in fact, at first, right at the point when the aspect ratio changes something happens and it gets really confusing. once you clue into this 'change' the confusedness disappears and everything makes perfect sense. this aspect ratio switch also heightens the cinematography and as such counterbalances the use of digital. demme is a great director and wallace shawn is apparently a great writer. it was also nice to see the always great julie hagerty who is not in nearly enough stuff. this is bold and experimental filmmaking and has a very european flavour to it. it's low budget, it's simple and it's very well executed making this a must see for fans of intense drama. not what i was expecting but still very good non the less. production design: 8 out of 10 cinematography: 8 out of 10 re-playability: 7 out of 10 originality: 8 out of 10 costumes: 8 out of 10 directing: 8 out of 10 editing: 9 out of 10 acting: 8 out of 10 music: 8 out of 10 script: 8 out of 10 80/100