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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.
Blackrock (1997)

Blackrock (1997)

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Released 18-Nov-2003

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Drama Main Menu Audio & Animation
Interviews-Cast & Crew
Featurette
Theatrical Trailer
Outtakes-Includes Short Films
TV Spots-Trailer
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 1997
Running Time 86:05
RSDL / Flipper RSDL (73:57) Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Steven Vidler
Studio
Distributor
Palm Beach Pictures
Universal Pictures Home Video
Starring Nick Enright
Nichole Avramidis
George Basha
Gina Bortolin
Pip Branson
Laurence Breuls
Kellie Bright
Daniel Carlin
Aaron David Carter
Justine Clarke
Jeanette Cronin
Linda Cropper
Essie Davis
Case ?
RPI $19.95 Music Steve Kilbey
Ben Lee


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
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

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    When I think of the great Australian films of recent times - Lantana, Japanese Story, Walking on Water, Australian Rules and Looking for Alibrandi immediately spring to mind - I come to the clear realization that what makes all the films mentioned so brilliant and compelling is their frankness and (for the most part) utter lack of pretension when dealing with the emotional complexities of people's lives. Of course there now exists the threat of the gritty Australian drama becoming a cinematic cliché of itself, but when our nation's filmmakers continue to enrich our filmic oeuvre with their passionate work I doubt few voices of complaint are likely to be heard.

    I say this because Blackrock, written by the late Nick Enright and directed by (according to the producer David Elfick) debutante Steven Vidler predates all the above films by a number of years, and perhaps, I venture to say, contributed to another flourishing of our film industry in the late 90s in respect to films of this genre.

    In one sense the film, acted brilliantly by an almost exclusively teenage cast, the brilliant Linda Cropper playing the mother of the central character Jared (Laurence Breuls) a noteworthy exception, is as the director notes, a drama dealing with a rape and murder of a fifteen year old girl and its repercussions within the small working class surfing town of Blackrock. Unlike most films dealing with this subject however, the film focuses on the crime and its aftermath through the eyes of a young man, Jared. Without divulging too much of the plot, Jared is forced to come to terms with his own actions and sense of guilt as the film progresses, as well as deal with a number of important relationships he has in the film, in particular those with his mother and best mate Ricko (Simon Lyndon).

    Always confronting, if sometimes a little heavy handed, well acted, raw and bustling with the energy of its cast and teenage subject matter, Blackrock is a very worthy film, rightly acclaimed by audiences and critics alike at its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and subsequent theatrical release in Australia.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and is obviously not 16x9 enhanced. By comparing the stock footage found in the extra features with scenes during the film I'm pretty sure we've been provided with a full frame transfer. Why we could not be given an accurate ratio widescreen transfer is a mystery to me, and it certainly got the transfer off on the wrong foot.

    The transfer is agreeably sharp with good levels of detail. A number of night scenes occur during the film and for the most part blacks were clean and clear - although there was an intermittent grainy appearance. Shadow detail was good, especially considering the way the outdoor night scenes would have been lit during filming.

    The film has a distinctive and attention-grabbing colour palette, in the beginning dominated by brash sun-drenched colours that seem to cool and become more stark following the terrible events that unfold at the beach party. Occasionally skin tones appear more yellow or red than normal but this appears to be a stylistic choice and never distracts the viewer.

    There are a number of pans and tracks during the film that require quick changes of focus from foreground to background and inevitably some MPEG artefacts result (see 22:00). Only one incident of aliasing really concerned me and it involved some Venetian blinds at 26:15.

    Film artefacts were, for me, a more significant problem. The transfer is rarely without them and, whilst not overly distracting, one wished the print had been a little cleaner. The final credits roll is particularly bad.

    No subtitles are provided.

    The layer change occurs at 73:57 and is not overly distracting.

    The colours and sharpness redeem a transfer marred by an incorrect aspect ratio and film artefacts. This was a low budget film, however, so we shouldn't judge too harshly.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    We get a solitary English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround mix which is of decent quality.

    The dialogue is always clear and easy to understand at all times. No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected at any stage during the transfer.

    The soundtrack is a great mix of music contemporary to the film's release - silverchair, Cruel Sea, Ben Lee, Swirl, The Cranberries and Sidewinder all contribute. The music is well suited to the onscreen action and provides emotional impetus (particularly The Cranberries' contribution) in a few key scenes.

    Even after activation the surround channels are not used terribly extensively, although I was pleasantly surprised to hear a helicopter flying by at 27:00. This is not a movie for subwoofers.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    The menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced, with 2.0 audio.

Cast and Crew Interviews

    All the interviews are interesting but by far the most valuable are those with the director Steven Vidler and screenwriter Nick Enright. An interesting fact gained from the interview with Nick Enright is the fact that the screenplay and stage play were in development at the same time.

    The format is the same throughout - question flashes onscreen (with timing of answer) and is then answered by the interviewee. All interviews are presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Featurette (3:54)

    A very brief snapshot of the film borrowing footage from the film and cast & crew interviews. Presented at varying aspect ratios.

Trailer and TV Spot

    Running for 2:07 and 0:32 respectively, presented at just under 1.33:1 aspect ratio these are decent enough, although the voice over on the TV spot was unnecessarily portentous. The picture quality is not as good as the film itself.

Goof Reel (9:13)

    Outtakes, stock footage and short films made by the cast all thrown together, presented at varying aspect ratios and picture qualities. The short films look to have been shot on hand held camera, but are good to watch to see the rapport between the cast members.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    This title is currently available in the U.S. in unrated form. Details are sketchy and owing to the normal NTSC/PAL differences and the price my vote goes to the Region 4.

Summary

    A distinctly Australian but nonetheless universally compelling and well acted teenage drama with a strong sense of realism. Well worth seeing.

    The video quality is good but not great, hampered by an incorrect aspect ratio.

    The audio quality is reasonable for the type of film that this is.

    The extras are small in number and occasionally interesting, but don't seem very well thought out or put together.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Scott Murray (Dont read my bio - it's terrible.)
Friday, April 23, 2004
Review Equipment
DVDYamaha DVR-S100, using Component output
DisplaySony 76cm Widescreen Trinitron TV. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to DVD Player, Dolby Digital and DTS. Calibrated with THX Optimizer.
AmplificationYamaha DVR-S100 (built in)
SpeakersYamaha NX-S100S 5 speakers, Yamaha SW-S100 160W subwoofer

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