Occupation: Dreamland
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: B-
Occupation: Dreamland is an interesting documentary
made about the War in Iraq, more specifically Fallujah. While it might be a bit slow moving at the
beginning, it quickly becomes engaging for both pro-war and anti-war
attitudes. It’s hard to tell if this
will be a good barometer years from now on the situation, but is certainly
something to ponder, especially while watching the material unfold before
you. Most of the documentary is
comprised of the ‘life’ of the soldiers as we hear interview with them on their
situation and we get a great sense of who they are outside of their duty as
well.
The
picture is fairly good considering that it’s non-anamorphic and has a documentary
texture to it. Colors seem rendered well
and detail is acceptable for something of this nature. Part of the effectiveness of a documentary is
not to polish things up, but to let the source seem raw. Surprising also is the Dolby 5.1 audio track,
which never seems fully engaged and it’s interesting that a mix for 5.1 was
used instead of just 2.0, which could have potentially worked just as
well. This is not a complaint, but just
a simple observation. There is also a
director’s commentary that can be heard and adds a nice perspective to the
content, which is particularly helpful for documentaries, which was certainly
the case with the Criterion Edition of Hearts
and Minds.
I am sure
over the next few years we will see more and more material like this surface
because it’s such a hot debate and has caused for a lot of films and
documentaries already to the date of this review. Also included on this disc is a handful of
deleted scenes and a timeline of the assault in Fallujah, plus some select
marine footage during the siege that happened in April. There are some other little knick knack type
of extras, but the bulk of the content comes from the director’s commentary and
the film itself.
- Nate Goss
