Plunkett & Macleane

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General		Extras
Category	Black Comedy	Theatrical Trailer(s)	Yes, 1 - 1.78:1 non-16x9, DD 2.0
Rating		Other Trailer(s)	None
Year Released	1999	Commentary Tracks	None
Running Time	97:08 minutes (not 101 minutes as stated on packaging)	Other Extras	Featurette-Cast & Crew Interviews (6:03) Featurette-Behind The Scenes (4:14) Booklet
RSDL/Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Selection, then Menu
Region	2,4	Director	Jake Scott
Studio Distributor	Polygram	Starring	Robert Carlyle Jonny Lee Miller Liv Tyler Ken Stott Alan Cumming Michael Gambon
Case	Super Jewel
RRP	$34.95	Music	Craig Armstrong

    Jonny Lee Miller is Macleane, a man who has a habit of living beyond his means. Subsequently, he keeps getting thrown into prison because of his inability to meet his debts. Robert Carlyle is Plunkett, an apothecary turned bad. They team up, Plunkett supplying the wherewithal and Macleane supplying the contacts, and form a formidable outlaw combination.

    Complications ensue when Macleane falls in love with Lady Rebecca (Liv Tyler), the niece of the Lord Chief Justice (Michael Gambon). Also vying for the Lady Rebecca's attentions is Thief Taker General Chance (Ken Scott) who despite his respectable position is an extremely nasty piece of work. Chance desperately wants to catch Plunkett & Macleane.

    A very unusual mix of styles is on show during this movie; the setting is 18th Century England, but the dialogue and the musical accompaniment is firmly rooted in the 20th Century. Oddly, it works rather well, even in scenes where traditional court dancing is set to what can only be described as pumping 1990s techno music.

Video

    The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is variably sharp and clear. The great majority of the transfer is crystal clear and razor sharp, but significant portions of the transfer lose some definition, particularly in scenes where smoke is used in shot for effect. Grain intrudes at time, particularly during the opening titles. Shadow detail is generally good, except when the cinematography deliberately omits shadow detail, though I did feel that this aspect of the transfer could have been better. There is no low level noise.

    The colours were unusually rendered, with a very muted and drab appearance. A few scenes were shot more naturally, and these scenes are vibrant and colourful. Purples in particular stand out brightly.

    Some MPEG artefacts were seen during the opening titles and in darker smoke-filled scenes, where there was pixelization of the background and subsequent loss of fine detail. This tended to occur during some motion shots as well. There were no film-to-video artefacts seen, nor were there any notable film artefacts.

Audio

    The dialogue was clear and easy to understand. Very occasionally, some of the dialogue peaks were slightly distorted.

    There were no audio sync problems.

    The score by Craig Armstrong is a pumping, techno-style soundtrack, quite incongruous in the period setting of the movie, but nonetheless amazingly effective and appropriate.

     The surround channels were nicely used for ambience and special effects, providing a surprisingly enveloping soundfield for a basically non-action movie.

    The .1 channel was used strongly to support the movie, almost, but not quite, to the point of excess at times.

Menu - 16x9 Enhanced

Booklet

Featurette - Cast & Crew Interviews

Featurette - Behind The Scenes

    The video quality is generally good, but fails to impress during scenes which strain the compression process.

    The audio quality is relatively good.

    The extras are passable, but not great.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Michael Demtschyna
8th December 1999
Amended 12th September 2000