The Boys (1997) |
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The Boys (1997) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Menu Audio Audio Commentary-Rowan Woods (Director) Featurette-Filmmakers Talking Short Film-Tran The Man by Rowan Woods Theatrical Trailer Isolated Musical Score-The Necks: The Boys I, He Led Them Into The World Gallery-Montage Of Original Play Images Gallery-Montage Of Film Images Trailer-The Bank, The Monkey's Mask, Vigil, All Men Are Liars Trailer-The Navigator, Sweetie |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 1997 | ||
| Running Time | 81:41 (Case: 85) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (70:26) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | Directed By | Rowan Woods |
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Studio
Distributor |
Arenafilm Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
David Wenham Toni Collette Lynnette Curran John Polson Jeanette Cronin Anthony Hayes Anna Lise Pete Smith |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
| RPI | $34.95 | Music | The Necks |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | None | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Australian cinema is an odd beast. We make many quirky comedies that never make it out of the local circuit. We make lots of films that never go anywhere. Every-now-and-then, we produce cinematic masterpieces such as Shine or Lantana which are capable of transcending the oft-times parochial image of our local film industry and creating true art. The Boys is such a film.
The plot of The Boys is relatively simple. Brett Sprague (David Wenham) has just spent a year in jail for assault. He is picked up from prison by his two brothers, Glenn (John Polson) and Stevie (Anthony Hayes) who have their own issues. Glenn is trying to get away from the family with his new girlfriend Jackie (Jeanette Cronin). Stevie has gotten his girlfriend, Nola (Anna Lise Phillips), pregnant and she now lives with the Spragues in their run down suburban home. Meeting them at the house are the boys’ mother Sandra (Lynette Curran) and her new Aboriginal boyfriend George (Pete Smith), who the boys call ‘Abo’, as well as Brett’s old girlfriend Michelle (Toni Collette). During the course of the day, we are given a series of flash-forwards into the future where the boys are charged with a heinous crime, while in the present Brett menaces the household with his constantly simmering aggression as the tension culminates towards a shocking conclusion.
Based on the contentious play by Gordon Graham, the one word that really sums this film up is ‘claustrophobic’. Not in the same way that, say, The Abyss was claustrophobic. But it has an intensity that is heightened by its closed location – the majority of the film takes place inside a rundown suburban home. It has an oppressive feel about it, a tight coiling of intensity that is an analogy for Brett’s internal rage, exacerbated by his incarceration, and manifesting itself piece by piece in acts of ever-increasing violence, particularly against women.
The acting in this movie is also exceptional, most notably by David Wenham, cast against type as a sadistic misogynist who has been changed by his time in prison into an even more violent sociopath. With his uneducated drawl (‘nuffink’) and his hunched demeanour, he is simply terrifying when he gets going. Toni Collette is also outstanding as Brett’s trashy girlfriend.
While The Boys sometimes belies its stage origins a little too readily, this is a minor fault when compared with its powerful performances and technical proficiency. It sticks in your head days after you have seen it, in part no doubt to the hypnotic soundtrack provided by Sydney piano, bass and drums outfit The Necks. If you like taut, intense drama, this is one for the must see list.
Presented in 1.85:1, 16x9 enhanced, this is the original aspect ratio of the movie.
Overall, the picture is well rendered and highly detailed. There was very minimal lighting used, going more for the natural effect, and this shows in some shots which are very dark. Shadow detail is still very good and while there is some slight grain to shots done in low lighting, it is nothing harsh. Indeed, my only quibble is that the image is just a touch soft overall.
Colours are nicely balanced, although not the glossy rich saturation that you expect of modern Hollywood ‘blockbusters’. In keeping with its natural effect, the colours look highly realistic and thus not fantastic.
There were no MPEG artefacts, and very little in the way of film-to-video transfer artefacts. Some faint background aliasing crops up here and there, but is generally compensated for by the softness of the image.
There was bit of dirt on the print, and sometimes this was a little distracting but not heinously so.
The dual layer pause is at 70:26. It occurs during a fade-to-black with no audio and is tough to spot.
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Audio is available in English 2.0 Dolby Stereo only.
For a mere 2.0 Dolby Stereo track, there is a lot going on here, and obviously much thought went into the sound design. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand, and very well rendered. The low-class way in which Brett in particular speaks is very well reproduced with all its inflections. Audio sync was not a problem.
The score by The Necks is exceptionally well reproduced, which is good as it plays such an important part in the hypnotic effect of the film, much like the use of the score in Vertigo.
While there is no use of the rears, there is an unusually detailed left-right soundfield present here, with plenty of directional cues and a richly textured ambient field produced from the front.
Sadly, there is no subwoofer use.
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All menus are presented in 1.33:1, 16x9 enhanced, with a 2.0 Dolby stereo audio track featuring various tracks from the score. The main menu has a background image from the title sequence, which was shot in video, hazed with static.
Presented in 2.0 Dolby Stereo, Woods is actually a very interesting person to listen to, talking about how he adapted to film, and the various ways in which the film may be interpreted. He talks at a fairly sedate pace and there are a couple of pauses, but nothing that stretches too far.
Presented in 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, with some sequences shot in 1.33:1 and stretched to 1.78:1, and with a 2.0 Dolby Stereo soundtrack, this is a good documentary looking at the origins of the play through to the making of the film. Very engaging.
Presented in 1.33:1, non-16x9 enhanced, 2.0 Dolby Mono, this is a short film by director Rowan Woods starring David Wenham. The bleak style of Woods’ adaptation of The Boys is visible in this earlier short.
Presented in 1.85:1, letterboxed, 2.0 Dolby Stereo audio, this is the original theatrical trailer, which actually comes in two parts, one to be aired at the start of the trailer segments, the other to be screened at the end just before the movie.
The second part of the theatrical trailer, presented in the same fashion as above.
The Sydney Piano, Bass and Drums outfit The Necks, known for their impressionistic style and unrehearsed performances, got together in the studio and played several tracks which were then used in segments throughout the film. Here are two tracks off the soundtrack album in 2.0 Dolby Stereo – “The Boys I” and the extensive and powerful “He Led Them Into The Night”.
Presented in 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, 2.0 Dolby Stereo, this is a series of stills from the stage production with one of the more aggressive tracks from the soundtrack played over it.
Presented in 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, 2.0 Dolby Stereo, this is a series of stills from the film with one of the more cruisy tracks from the soundtrack played over it.
Six trailers from Arena Films:
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
As yet, there is no R1 release of this film on DVD.
The Boys is an intense drama showcasing some fine performances from some of the big names in the Australian film industry. Well worth the time and money.
The video is very good, with only a touch of softness to mar an otherwise top notch transfer.
Sound is an exceptional 2.0 Dolby Stereo mix. Although a 5.1 Dolby Digital mix would have been nice, this is the original audio and it is very well reproduced.
The extras are highly engaging.
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| Extras | |
| Plot | |
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Panasonic DVD-RV31A-S, using S-Video output |
| Display | Beko 28" (16x9). This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. |
| Amplification | Marantz SR7000 |
| Speakers | Energy - Front, Rear, Centre & Subwoofer |