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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Attack Force Z (Blu-ray) (1981)
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Attack Force Z (Blu-ray) (1981)
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Released 1-Nov-2017
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Details At A Glance
| General |
Extras |
| Category |
War |
Featurette-The Z-Men Debriefed
Theatrical Trailer
Gallery
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| Rating |
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Year Of Production
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1981
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| Running Time |
93:29 (Case: 95)
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RSDL
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Flipper
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Dual Layered
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Cast & Crew |
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Start Up
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Menu |
| Region Coding |
2,4
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Directed By |
Roger Marshall
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Studio
Distributor |
Umbrella Entertainment
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Starring |
Mel Gibson
Sam Neill
Chris Haywood
John Waters
John Phillip Law
Chun Hsiung Ko
Ned Chun
Sylvia Chang
Koo Chuan Hsiung
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| Case |
Standard Blu-ray |
| RPI |
$29.95
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Music |
Eric Jupp
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NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.
Plot Synopsis
Falling under the “Ozploitation” banner, 1981’s Attack Force Z is a low-budget war movie that at once endeavours to be a proper historical document and a Roger Corman-esque action flick. Engineered by Ozploitation luminary Tim Burstall (Alvin Purple, Eliza Fraser), this Australian production is based on the exploits of a real-life team of elite commandos known as the Z Special Unit, or the Z Force, which operated during World War II and consisted of Australian, British and New Zealander soldiers. It’s a concept with serious potential, especially given other “men on a mission” movies like The Dirty Dozen and Inglorious Basterds, but this particular story cannot do justice to the concept. It’s not entirely unappealing, as it’s entertaining up to a certain point and at least it never feels distractingly cheap, but it’s not memorable or remarkable either.
In the South Pacific, five Z Men - Cpt. Paul Kelly (Mel Gibson), Lt. Jan Veitch (John Phillip Law), Sgt. Danny Costello (Sam Neill) Able Seaman Sparrer Bird (Chris Haywood), and Sub Lt. Ted King (John Waters) - are dispatched by submarine in canoes near an island settled by the Chinese but occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army. Their objective is to locate the wreckage of a downed Allied plane and find the survivors before silently slipping out unseen. But the mission is complicated when Veitch becomes separated from the group following a contact with enemy troops, and falls for beautiful Chinese girl Chien Hua (Sylvia Chang). In addition, the Japanese soldiers begin to close in as the Z Men endeavour to complete their assignment and make their escape.
The screenplay by veteran TV writer Roger Marshall (The Professionals, Lovejoy) is based on a real-life WWII mission known as Project Opossum, though any statements of this ilk must be taken with a grain of salt since a degree of artistic license is always taken. The big drawback of Attack Force Z is its narrative, which is markedly banal and uninvolving. Pacing is uneven and storytelling is slipshod, which makes it tough to follow the proceedings, let alone get invested in them. In addition, there is no time to develop the soldiers prior to their mission, and though they look distinct enough to be told apart, names never stick as a consequence. Meanwhile, the love story between Veitch and Chien is dead weight, pure and simple, and appears to have been included in an attempt to widen the picture’s appeal. But is this sort of thing really necessary in a violent war film? And it almost goes without saying, but Attack Force Z is painfully one-dimensional as well - the Z Men are all tough and heroic; the Chinese are brave and spiritual; and the Japanese soldiers are outright evil.
To Burstall’s credit, the opening action sequence is assembled with genuine skill, observing the unit as they stealthily move through the jungle before being attacked by a hidden machine gun nest. However, the remainder of the flick is more comfortable with a cheesy Ozploitation vibe, closer to a Chuck Norris flick than a serious war picture. Nevertheless, when Attack Force Z is locked in action mode, it definitely has its pleasures, and there’s a certain charm to seeing this type of visceral old-fashioned filmmaking with blood squibs and blank-firing weapons, and no computer-generated imagery to be seen. Considering that Burstall was a last-minute replacement after the firing of original director Phillip Noyce, and had not previously helmed an action-based movie, he acquits himself admirably. The climax is especially fun, pitting the Japanese soldiers against both the Z Men and the Chinese resistance fighters. It’s all handsomely shot by veteran cinematographer Hung-Chung Lin on location in Taiwan, and there’s sufficient punch to the editing by David Stiven (Mad Max 2) during the shootouts, though the accompanying score by Eric Jupp is overzealous and chintzy.
Ultimately, outside of its established cult audience from the VHS era, Attack Force Z will only be remembered for the presence of Gibson and Neill. Gibson was still starting out as an actor at this point in his career, and he looks extraordinarily youthful here. His performance is nothing to write home about, but nor is he dreadful. Neill is also acceptable without being outstanding, and it’s commendable that not all of the central characters make it out alive, which reinforces the harshness of war. On that note, there is a palpable anti-war message to the material, but it’s not as effective as it might have been in defter hands - perhaps Noyce had a stronger vision for the project. Although Attack Force Z comes to life in fits and starts, particularly during the impactful action sequences, it’s too hit-and-miss, even given its brisk 93-minute runtime. The same producers went on to make another film about the Z Special Unit in 1983 entitled The Highest Honor, which has since fallen into obscurity.
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Transfer Quality
Video
In keeping with their mission to release as many Ozploitation movies as possible on Blu-ray, Umbrella debut Attack Force Z on the format for the first time in Australia, following their DVD release from over a decade ago. The only previously-available Blu-ray release of the movie was a poorly-reviewed U.S. disc for its 30th anniversary back in 2011, which was presented in full-screen 1.34:1 and honestly looked like a third-generation VHS - and that's being generous. The only way to go was up, and now the good folks at Umbrella Entertainment present Attack Force Z in 1080p from a brand-new 4K scan and restoration of the interpositive (it's unclear why the original negative was not used; perhaps it wasn't available or couldn't be located). The resulting AVC-encoded transfer is better than expected, and anybody used to watching old VHS copies will feel as if they're watching this minor Ozploitation classic for the first time all over again.
Umbrella only make use of a single-layered BD-25, which admittedly seems a bit egregious, and the movie only takes up a bit under 18GB of space on the disc. Nevertheless, this doesn't noticeably hamper the presentation at all. The Blu-ray retains the movie's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, meaning that there are slight slivers of black bars at the top and bottom of the frame (though they're hardly noticeable). The opening sequence, which is set in low-light, is swarming with heavy grain which may turn off certain viewers, but the grain is actually well-resolved and never proves to be distracting. And once the movie proper gets going, the strengths of the transfer are on full display. Grain thankfully remains in tact, and there are absolutely no signs of digital noise reduction on display, as the image never looks smeary or smooth. Indeed, this is a wholly organic-looking presentation free of edge enhancement and other digital tampering, which often makes you feel as if you're watching a film print. There is also print damage here and there (which can be heavy in certain shots), and minor gate weave as well (particularly noticeable during the opening crawl), but this feels oddly appropriate given the movie's grindhouse origins.
From a detail and sharpness perspective, Umbrella's presentation is enormously impressive for the most part. Even in long shots, you can make out little beads of sweat, and textures are omnipresent on faces and clothing. Colour is another strength and contrast is spot-on, allowing for a certain depth to the presentation. During scenes set outside in the jungle, the image is vibrant and colourful, with accurate flesh-tones and lush greens. Blacks aren't quite inky enough in certain scenes, however, and brightness tends to look slightly off during moments under lower light, but this is presumably traceable to the original production and the film stock that was used. Trust me - when the transfer is on, it's really on, able to hold a candle to some of the best catalogue transfers of 1980s movies currently available. And luckily, the encoding never falls victim to black crush, aliasing, banding or any other unsightly video anomalies - it's smooth sailing across the board. Anybody still holding onto old VHS or DVD copies can finally dispose of them, as Umbrella's Blu-ray is now the definitive presentation of Attack Force Z on home video.
It's worth pointing out that 4K has become the new buzz-word for Blu-ray transfers, but it doesn't automatically mean that any 4K transfer is going to be pristine or reference-quality. Indeed, although Umbrella's transfer for Attack Force Z is very good, it's still limited by the source, and anybody expecting a conventionally "good-looking" presentation will probably walk away disappointed. There is a lot of grain and certain shots look rough, but these mostly appear to be source-related shortcomings. (If you hate grain, feel free to turn on your TV's noise reduction filters and stop complaining.) Perhaps a scan of the original negative might yield slightly better results, but this transfer is perfectly sufficient nevertheless, especially given the movie's slipshod home video history. I was genuinely impressed. It's certainly a significant step up compared to the horrendous full-frame transfer on the previous U.S. Blu-ray.
Contrary to the back cover, there are English subtitles, which is a nice touch. There are a few minor timing issues and a couple of errors ("Zed Men"), but the track is easy to read and makes the package feel more complete.
Video Ratings Summary
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| Film Artefacts | |
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Audio
Despite Dolby Digital logos on the cover and disc, the sole audio option is an uncompressed Linear PCM 2.0 mono track, which is in keeping with the film's theatrical origins. Attack Force Z was originally mixed in mono, and though audiophiles may find themselves wanting a 5.1 remix, I'm happy with this track. It is worth pointing out that the terrible 30th Anniversary U.S. Blu-ray featured a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 remix, but reviews have heavily criticised said track, so it's not a big loss.
Since this is a mono track, the audio strictly comes through the front channels and there is no surround activity to speak of, nor is there any panning or precise channel placement. It's also not as crisp or clear as more recent motion pictures, but that's par for the course. The broad strokes of the audio are fine - dialogue is well-prioritised and usually easy to hear, gunshots are impactful rather than hollow, and there is even some ambience during the jungle sequences. The uncompressed PCM encoding is a welcome step up compared to the lossy Dolby Digital mixes on other Umbrella titles like Road Games and Dark Age. I noticed a bit of peaking, but I didn't detect any sync issues or drop-outs. All things considered, this is an acceptable mix given the limitations of the source and the original mono mixing.
Audio Ratings Summary
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| Surround Channel Use |  |
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Extras
A small but appreciable selection of extras, all of which are archival. Umbrella did not produce any new content for the release.
The Z-Men Debriefed (HD; 26:56)
Created by Not Quite Hollywood mastermind Mark Hartley, this is a worthwhile featurette about the production and its legacy, featuring interviews from a variety of cast and crew intercut with (unremastered) film clips and stills. There is no real structure to the piece - it's all over the place, covering casting, the firing of Phillip Noyce, financing, and other aspects. The featurette is presented in 1080i but was evidently struck from a standard definition source, and there is a fair bit of interlacing as a result of the encode.
Original Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:45)
The chintzy original theatrical trailer for Attack Force Z. Again, this is encoded in HD but was visibly taken from a rough SD source.
Image Gallery (HD; 2:33)
And lastly, we have a silent image gallery featuring over 50 black and white photographs. These are mostly film stills, though there are also behind-the-scenes images featuring director Burstall. The images play in quick succession, though you can navigate using the chapter skip buttons on your remote control.
R4 vs R1
NOTE: To view
non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually
also NTSC compatible.
The American 30th Anniversary Blu-ray contains the same supplemental material plus a much worse technical presentation. Umbrella's Blu-ray is the current definitive edition of the movie on home video. Buy local.
Summary
More of a historical curiosity due to the actors involved, Attack Force Z is a decent but unspectacular Australian war movie which does have its fans. It's not particularly memorable or remarkable, but it comes to life at certain points.
Umbrella's Blu-ray release should please the movie's fans, who can finally retire their old VHS copies. The video presentation is better than expected, though the source does limit how good the image can look, while audio is fine and there is an interesting selection of special features. This is a good disc on the whole.
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| Extras |  |
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© Callum Knox (I studied biology)
Monday, December 11, 2017
| Review Equipment |
| DVD | LG UP970 4K UHD HDR Blu-ray Player, using HDMI output |
| Display | LG OLED65E6T.
This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 2160p.
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| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver.
This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
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| Amplification | Samsung Series 7 HT-J7750W |
| Speakers | Samsung Tall Boy speakers, 7.1 set-up |
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