dvd review story A good 80 minutes of the running time are spent with bullets whizzing about the screen and audio channels, with a massacre on both sides. Whilst the end count of soldiers killed is less than twenty, whilst watching it seems like no-one will escape. The epic sense of the film heightens the suspence and the tensiopn of the battlefield. We are rawn in through the use of hand-held documentary-style camerawork, alongside the usual stedicam and dolly shots. The location work is sumptuous and the film heightens every detail on the debris, putting everything into a very sharp focus. The illusion of unreality is sustained through bold and stark colours, notably the green/orange hue which saturates nearly every scene. It puts a safe distance between us and the events onscreen, and yet it remains all so real. The shots of real horror, of blood and gore are kept to a minimum. They shock because they remain onscreen for so long. This is not a film where we are nulled into feeling nothing because we see so much, but because the effects are used so sparingly and because they do not eat up screen time, they are all the more effective. We are horrified. Performances are all top-notch and the over thirty speaking roles all manage to attract our attention and our sympathies. Ewen McGregor and William Fichtner are amongst the sterling international cast. The direction is faultless with perhaps the exception of a little American sentiment creeping in during the final reel. The photography is sumptuous, and the overall effect is not quite all action gun-weilding, and yet not drama or war film. It transcends most general classifications. Whilst undoubtedly it pays tribute to the fallen, and clearly shows the suffering and heroism that they must have gone through, one also is shocked at how anyone can put themselves through the tribulations. Is the suffering and massacre on both sides really worth it? The heroism does not in fact lie in their fighting in a strange country and putting their lives at risk for a stranger, but at the peril at which the entire platoon puts themselves in to salvage the dying and the bodies of the dead, under the addage that no one gets left behind. transfer Design The design is splendid. Very sleek, and easily navigated. A little like a battle computer screen, one imagines, for the menus, this design should be replicated in the special edition when it arrives. The animated menus are fine, with some of the beautiful and haunting Hans Zimmer score. extras Theatrical Trailers There is odly no
theatrical trailer for the main feature, which seems
something of an oversight. Instead:- Filmographies are presented for seven cast members (Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Sam Shepard, & Ron Eldard), and 12 crew members (director, editor, composer, producer, diector of photography, author, screenplay and a number of producers). The filmographies though are very brief and minimal, with no appraisal or critical approach to any of the work. Black Hawk Down "On The
Set" featurette Running at just
over 24mins. This documentary goes behind the scenes of
the making of the film, and can easily be watched before
watching the main feature without spoiling the film's
content. It gives a hint but not the flavour of the
production. Apart from the opening logo, the piece is
recorded in a non-anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen. Quality
is fairly good, though some video tape and digitalisation
is evident in the clips from the film (this isn't a
straigt transfer of the film material). Of broadcast
quality, but inferior to the main feature. SUMMARY RJES |
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DISC: Feature length: 144
mins SPECIAL FEATURES: For full details,
see review on left |
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