The Craic (1999)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio Theatrical Trailer-(0.40) Short Film-The World Today (3:19)
Rating
Year Of Production	1999
Running Time	85:20
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Ted Emery
Studio Distributor	Foster Gracie Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Jimeoin Alan McKee Colin Hay Bob Franklin Robert Morgan Nicholas Bell Jane Hall Catherine Arena Geoff Paine Kate Gorman Anne Phelan Charles 'Bud' Tingwell Beverley Dunn
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$24.95	Music	Ricky Edwards

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     When Fergus (Jimeoin) and Wesley (Alan McKee) get in the bad books of a local rough in their home town in Northern Ireland they decide to flee to Australia. After making a new life for themselves in Sydney they soon outstay their visas and must go on the run again, this time from the immigration officials. After escaping to Queensland and thinking the coast was clear they soon discover that the immigration officials are the least of their worries as their old friend from Northern Ireland, who obviously holds a grudge, has followed them to Australia. Long time Jimeoin sidekick Bob Franklin, a man who is capable of making every word in the English language sound absolutely hilarious, contributes to what is a quite large supporting cast of familiar Australian faces which also includes Charles 'Bud' Tingwell.

     Those who haven't yet seen the film could be forgiven for thinking that The Craic might be nothing more than a big screen version of Jimeoin's stand-up routine or TV show but nothing could be further from the truth. While there are plenty of laughs to be found, the most hilarious of which involve a cane toad and a shot gun, there is story to back it up. The Craic is by no means AFI award winning material but having said that it is a gem of an Australian film that far surpassed my expectations. Comedian Jimeoin puts in a very admirable performance which clearly demonstrates that behind the stand-up comedy there is acting talent. Despite this, however, Jimeoin has been mysteriously absent from the many Australian comedies which have been released in the years since The Craic, not the least of which being Bad Eggs in which he would have slipped into like a glove. If you enjoyed The Castle or Bad Eggs you'll no doubt enjoy The Craic.

Video

     The Craic is presented in 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced - the back cover proclaims this to be the original aspect ratio although it's more likely that it was 1.85:1. This is quite a variable transfer as a result of the original film stock and the print used for this transfer.

     The level of detail suggests that the film has been shot on 16mm - I doubt very much that the film's budget would have allowed for 35mm. The image is not particularly sharp but has what can only be described as an adequate amount of detail. Shadow detail is very good in spite of the overall washed out look. The print used is very high in contrast with whites at the point of blooming on occasion.

     The colours have a warm yet raw and washed out look to them which I suspect is largely a result of the film stock and not the transfer. In fact it looks very much like The Castle (which was also shot on 16mm) in many respects - indeed it wouldn't surprise at all to learn that both movies were shot using the same film stock.

     MPEG artefacts are for the most part absent except for some minor but obvious motion blur. Aliasing when present is minor and never an issue. There is a small amount of telecine wobble present during the opening titles with possibly more instances throughout the film but it wasn't noticed. There are a moderate level of film artefacts present throughout the feature, including 'cigarette burn' reel change markings. The first of the reel change markings can be seen (in fact it can't be missed) in the top right hand corner at 12:40 and then roughly every 10 minutes thereafter. Compared to similar reel change markings I've seen in other transfers these are quite large, perhaps further indication of the 16mm source (i.e. same sized marking used for 35mm on a much smaller 16mm frame). Due to their size they are quite distracting and it is indeed a real shame that they haven't been removed for this DVD. Furthermore, in the film artefacts department there are what appear to be small drops of water on the film print at 70:38. And finally to round off the list of artefacts there is an analogue tape glitch at 61:06.

     There is a single subtitle track present - English for the Hearing Impaired - and believe me it will be of use to more than just the hearing impaired. Some of the Irish accents are very thick, particularly at the start of the film in Northern Ireland, and are rather reminiscent of Brad Pitt's pikey accent in Snatch if you catch my drift.

     This is a single layered disc. The main file size is 3900Mb.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

     Contrary to the back cover there is only a single audio track present - English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kbs). The back cover claims there is a Dolby Digital 2.0 track as well but this is nowhere to be found.

     I guess if the reel change markings could not be removed it would be rather presumptuous to expect a great deal from the audio department. The audio is indeed quickly revealed to have been sourced from a stereo master as there is a small amount of dialogue leakage in the left and right channels indicating it has been merely passed through matrix audio encoder (like Dolby Pro Logic II) to create 5.1 from 2.0 rather than a complete remix from the discrete audio mix masters.

     Dialogue is quite clear and perfectly audible although the previously mentioned problem of understanding the Irish accents means that this doesn't really matter - you'll still need the subtitles from time to time. There are no audio sync issues.

     The music is by Ricky Edwards and is a rather unique mix of Irish and Australian music, mostly contemporary with a little traditional added to the mix. This is quite an enjoyable soundtrack, particularly the Irish music, and one that I'll be keeping my eye out for in my future visits to music stores around Sydney.

     The only real surround use throughout the entire film is the Village logo at the very end - this is very much 3.0 not 5.1. The matrix encoding used to create the 5.1 mix has redirected little in the way of effects to the rears, so little in fact the audio in the rears is barely audible at all.

     The subwoofer use like the rear surrounds is minimal. When used it's only for light support for effects and music but in the end it's nothing that most speakers can't already handle. Unfortunately it is very underutilized in scenes like the kombi exploding in which it could have added so much.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

     Some very minimal extras can be found on this DVD, but nothing that would further entice potential buyers. It's a huge disappointment that an audio commentary was not recorded particularly when you consider how many years it's taken for this film to come to DVD.

Menu

     A pretty standard easy to navigate menu with audio.

Trailer (0.40)

     Presented in an aspect ratio somewhere between 1.78:1 and 1.66:1 and not 16x9 enhanced with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

Short Film - 'The World Today' (3:19)

     I'm usually a big supporter of short films but I have to say this is one of the most boring and pointless ones I've seen in some time. Other than having support from the AFTRS there is seemingly no connection at all the main feature. I guess the DVD producers were scraping the bottom of the barrel for things to pad out this DVD with.

    The Craic doesn't appear to be available outside of Australia.

     The Craic is very good light hearted comedy from Australia's best known Irish comedian Jimeoin. Sadly the many years it's taken to for this film to come out on DVD haven't been put to any use as the DVD is virtually bare bones.

     The video quality is acceptable being sadly limited to the quality of the film source and the film print used for the transfer.

     The audio quality is Dolby Digital 3.0 in the disguise of Dolby Digital 5.1.

     The extras are barely worth mentioning.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall