Errors Of The Human Body (2012/IFC/MPI DVD)/The Odd Angry Shot (1979/Synapse Blu-ray)/Sexy Beast (2000/Fox/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)
Picture:
C/B/B- Sound: C+/C+/B- Extras: C/C+/C+ Films: C/C+/C+
PLEASE
NOTE: The Sexy Beast
Blu-ray is limited to 3,000 copies and is available exclusively at the Screen
Archives website which can be reached at the link at the end of this review.
Now for
some genre drams with some edge that offer mixed results…
Eron
Sheean’s Errors Of The Human Body
(2012) has the tale of a geneticist (Michael Eklund) trying top solve the very
disease that killed his son, but meets a scientist (Tomas Le Marquis) who may
be working on an unrelated and possibly unethical experiment (using mice) that
would help him solve his problem. They
even initially get along, but something else is going on that is wrong and what
happens next will turn on lies and the truth.
Owing a
little to Cronenberg’s films and some other recent Science Fiction/Horror
entries (going back to Frankenstein, of course), the film has fine
performances, good moments and interesting ideas, but it slowly implodes in the
last half hour and the conclusions don’t add up, ring true, seem realistic and
despite a sad twist, fails to make this the fine film it was on the way to
being.
Extras
include a Q&A featurette with Co-Writer/Director Sheean, Behind The Scenes
Photo Gallery and Original Theatrical Trailer.
None of them explained how the makers dropped the ball on this one, so
see it if you are interested in an interesting failure.
Tom
Jeffrey’s The Odd Angry Shot (1979)
is a little-seen Vietnam
film, but the twist is that it is Australian and made by Australians. Graham Kennedy leads a cast that includes a
young Brian Brown, John Hargreaves, John Jarratt and Graeme Blundell that plays
like M*A*S*H with less comedy and
medical moments, but is more about the men before and after battles, though we
get a few and they are not bad, but have not dated well despite the realism of
the injuries.
The
psychological terror of the battles is glossed over by the gung ho attitude of
the script and as compared to the best films on the subject at the time (Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now),you can tell this was conceived in a WWII mode like
so many Aussie War films of the time. I
still bought it for the most part and the acting is good, but the results are
mixed. Still, it is better than the
revisionist, regressive 1980s films on Vietnam Hollywood produced in the 1980s
that were outright lies about the events that really happened, so it has that
going for it.
Extras
include a reversible cover, Original Theatrical Trailer, Stunts Down Under
featurette with Buddy Joe Hooker and a feature length audio commentary track
with Producer/Director Tom Jeffrey, Producer Sue Milliken and Actor Graeme
Blundell.
Last but
not least is Jonathan Glazer’s Sexy
Beast (2000), the debut feature film of the celebrated short film and Music
Video director that aims to subvert British Gangster Genre films and is at
least partly successful by playing against the expectations of that country’s
version of the genre. Ray Winstone (Scum) is a retired criminal living a
world away in Spain, having serves his prison time for being an ace
safecracker, but some old bored “business partners” are interested in having
him come out of retirement for a crazy heist scheme.
He would
rather stay at home with his wife (the underrated Amanda Redman) and enjoy the
rest of his life, but when he is almost killed by a bolder that rolls into his
fancy swimming pool, that is a bad omen of things to come. Things get worse when a self-willed psycho
gangster (Ben Kingsley) show up to get him to come back after calling in
advance and he has a bad habit of never taking no for an answer. So when put between a rock and a bad place,
what will the couple do?
I like
the performances, the look of the film, the actors (who also include Ian
McShane and James Fox) as the script plays against every convention of the
British variation of the genre. The
problems with this is that though this is amusing (and never smug like Gus Van
Sant’s To Die For), it plays too
mechanically as if the writers made a checklist and followed it without
fail. It makes the film’s overall arc
too restrictive and that is why I felt it was a bit overrated despite Glazer’s
obvious, capable directing talents. But
the film has its following and this special limited edition should interest
fans for its unique extras, which include a nicely illustrated booklet on the
film including informative text and an essay by Julie Kirgo, while the Blu-ray
adds a vintage Making Of featurette, Isolated Music Score by Roque Banos (who
just scored the recent Evil Dead
remake, reviewed on Blu-ray elsewhere on this site), and a feature length audio
commentary track with Sir Ben Kingsley and Producer Jeremy Thomas.
For more
on Glazer, try this link for his DVD of The
Work Of Johnathan Glazer DVD which includes his classic Music Video clips
for Jamiroquai’s Virtual Insanity,
Blur’s The Universal and Radiohead’s Karma Police:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2712/Work+Of+Jonathan+Glazer+(Directors
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image on Body
is much softer than I would have liked, but there are still enough good shots
that I wish I could see this one on Blu-ray.
Director of Photography Anna Howard, A.C.S., makes this one a visually
interesting shoot without overdoing the visual style or styling down the
images.
Despite
its age, the 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Shot turns out to be the best transfer
here with pretty good color and definition throughout, looking as good as most
of the Australian feature films (including many imports) we have seen to date. Director of Photography Don McAlpine, A.C.S.,
delivers a very consistent warm look without it being phony or static.
Sexy Beast comes in two 1080p digital High
Definition aspect ratios, the original 2.35 X 1 theatrical presentation and an
odd 1.78 X 1 version that has some more space at the top and bottom, but cuts
out too much form the sides, making the film lose its purely cinematic
look. Shot in the Super 35mm format, Director
of Photography Ivan Bird makes the scope frame claustrophobic and effective, so
seeing it in 1.78 X 1 here ruins the feel of the film. Both prints (which might be the same print in
two versions) have more specks and dirt than expected, meaning the film needs a
new transfer, but color is not bad,
though the 1.78 X 1 version seems more strained and less defined.
The lossy
Dolby Digital 5.1 on Body has some
good sound and sound recording, but this version of the mix seems weak and is
towards the front speakers making me wonder if it is a total representation of
the mix. Therefore, the DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 1.0 Mono lossless mix on Shot
can more than equal it, despite being sonically limited and showing its
age. Though not perfect, the DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Beast
(which can also be towards the front speakers) is the sonic champ and includes
music outside of its score to join its quiet and dialogue-only moments. Though not a great mix, it is well recorded
enough and sounds as good as it is pretty much ever going to.
As noted
above, Sexy Beast can be ordered
while supplies last at:
www.screenarchives.com
- Nicholas Sheffo
