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Category:    Home > Reviews > Thriller > Australia > Ground Zero (Umbrella Entertainment DVD/Region Zero/0/PAL Format)

Ground Zero (Umbrella Entertainment DVD/Region Zero/0/PAL Format)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C+     Film: B-

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: This DVD can only be operated on machines capable of playing back DVDs that can handle Region Zero/0/PAL format software, and can be ordered from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the website address provided at the end of the review.

 

 

There is nothing like finding a good thriller you may have missed, especially when it is a foreign thriller that has good word of mouth, good reviews and is hardly seen anywhere.  That is exactly the case with the New Zealand-produced thriller Ground Zero (1987) with Colin Friels as the son of a military cinematographer whose father filmed many atomic tests in the U.K. before dying at an early age.  This was obviously from his job and now, Harvey (Friels) is also a cameraman.  However, he is about to discover there is more to what his father did.

 

Distant as he is from his current wife and kids, it is about to get worse when he gets a call from a mysterious man (Donald Pleasance) informing him there is more to what his father did and that the tests nearby may have killed and poisoned the Aborigines, New Zealanders, Australians and visitors exposed to the numerous tests.  The governments deny this, but Harvey’s father had proof and it turns out it is in a film canister.  Now, he intends to find it, unless “they” kill him first.

 

Some of the best thrillers are ones with an undertone of healthy cynicism, but these days, they are usually pointless, immature, shallow and even tack on a happy ending.  Co-directors Michael Pattinson and Bruce Myles have made a thriller that holds up well on its 20th Anniversary and performances are good all around.  There is also some interesting action, so if this is your kind of film, get this disc!

 

 

The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image may have some flaws on the film print and could have more detail & depth, while color could be a bit better, but it was shot in real anamorphic Panavision by Steve Dobson, who delivers some good compositions throughout.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is not bad for its age and this was a Dolby A-type analog theatrical release, but there are no Pro Logic surrounds to be found encoded in these tracks, meaning they are at least a generation down.  Tom Bahler’s score is not bad and sometimes interesting.  The film could use some restoration obviously and hopefully, a DVD like this will help spur that on.  Extras only include Umbrella DVD trailers, Jack Thompson interview and a good audio commentary track by Pattinson and Myler.

 

As noted above, you can order this import exclusively from Umbrella at:

 

http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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