With the film now in color, Gray takes over. His usual desk, microphone, notebook and water glass are in the middle of an empty room with brick walls and windows with blinds. Now it’s Gray’s turn to tell his story of eye trauma. While writing a novel, Gray discovered that the sight in his left eye was deteriorating. Eventually diagnosed with a rare disorder called a macular pucker, a doctor informs him that surgery can fix the problem.
With ignoring the condition out of the question and fearing the operation’s 35% failure rate might leave him blind in his left eye, Gray decides to explore alternative treatments before submitting to surgery. He takes part in a healing ceremony in an American Indian sweat lodge and travels to the Philippines to see a “psychic surgeon.” He even tries an all raw food diet, but that gives him a terrible case of gas. Gray recounts his upbringing as a Christian Scientist, and though he has left the faith, there’s a natural resistance to doctors. When it comes down to it, Gray’s issue isn’t a fear of doctors, as much as it is losing his sight. However, after the trip to the “psychic surgeon” reveals the man to be nothing more than a sleight of hand artist, Spaulding Gray decides that surgery is his only viable option.
As a viewer, it’s hard not to wonder whether Gray undertook this journey to find alternative treatments as a way to gather more material for a monologue. His tone is skeptical, almost mocking, as he relates some of the alternative treatments he’s attempting. Anyone familiar with Spalding Gray’s work knows he’s neurotic; we’ll buy a certain level of mockery because he’s desperate. Here though, the Gray does everything short of admitting that he put himself through the whole adventure in order to gather material for Gray’s Anatomy. Gray was 0ne of his generation’s greatest storytellers. His greatest talent was the ability to accumulate life experience to put into his stories. That way, he was no longer telling us his stories, but letting us in on his story gathering process.
Director Steven Soderbergh uses drastic changes in lighting to make us feel like a part of the audience in the small space. He shoots through blinds, and various projected backgrounds (eye charts, clouds, forests) and abstractions that serve to enhance the content of Gray’s monologue. Gray’s Anatomy isn’t a film that will appeal to everyone, but fans of Spalding Gray and anyone who has faced a rare illness may find this film well worth a look.
Filmed at its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, Gray’s Anatomy is yet another fine 1080p transfer from Criterion. The opening black and white segment, though grainy, comes through fine. It’s when Spalding Gray appears and the film turns to color that the transfer truly shines. Colors are bold and vibrant throughout (though reds are a bit oversaturated), and sharpness leads to fine detail. Gray’s skin tone looks normal throughout, and no digital anomalies are present.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack serves this dialogue heavy presentation very well. Dialogue, crisp and clear, has been well placed in the center channel. Cliff Martinez’ appropriately spare score subtlety spreads to the rears. No age related artifacts are present.
English SDH subtitles are available.
The following special features are included:
- Steven Soderbergh (13 min, 1080p) In this interview conducted by Criterion in 2012, director Steven Soderbergh recalls how Gray’s Anatomy came to be, its unique qualities and the performance of Spalding Gray.
- Renee Shafransky (18 min, 1080p) In this interview conducted by Criterion in 2012, Renee Shafransky (Gray’s than girlfriend), who worked with Spalding Gray on a number of his monologues, including Gray’s Anatomy, recalls her initial impressions of the actor. She also discusses his writing style.
- Swimming to the Macula (17 min, 1080i) silent, raw footage, from Spalding Gray’s actual macular surgery.
- A Personal History of the American Theater (97 min, 1080i) one of Spalding Gray’s signature monologues, created with the support of the Wooster Group, A Personal History of the American Theater was first presented on November 7, 1980, at the Performing Garage in New York City. In 1982, Spalding Gray performed the piece again as part of the Wooster, Group’s eight-week series A Spalding Gray Retrospective. That version, included here, was videotaped at the Performing Garage on November 28, 1982. This special feature is a real treat for Spalding Gray fans!
- Trailer (3 min, 1080i) original trailer for Gray’s Anatomy.
- Booklet: an18-page illustrated booklet featuring film critic Amy Taubin’s insightful essay “The Eyes of the Beholder” (Taubin is a contributing editor at Film Comment and Sight & Sound).
