The Boondock Saints (1999)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Dolby Digital Trailer-Egypt Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1999
Running Time	104:01
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Troy Duffy
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Willem Dafoe Sean Patrick Flanery Norman Reedus David Della Rocco Billy Connolly David Ferry Brian Mahoney Bob Marley Richard Fitzpatrick William Young Robert Pemberton Bill Craig Dot Jones
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$24.95	Music	Ian Anderson Jeff Danna

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes, television interviews during closing credits

    This movie might have initially flown under the radar, but it is a film that has developed a cult following, just like Donnie Darko. Not until its video release did Boondock Saints get recognition as being one of the most clever and innovative violent black comedies since Pulp Fiction (the cover even boasts a similarity between the movies). I was urged by my girlfriend to review this movie, as it is her favourite movie. After viewing it, I could understand why. This is writer/director Troy Duffy's debut, and he does a fine job with a creative storyline, great camera direction, and some impressive actors.

    Connor and Murphy Macmanus are both brothers who emigrated from Ireland to Boston, the Irish capital of America. Making a living as dock workers, they aren't overly well off, living in an abandoned warehouse.

    When they find out about their local pub being closed down due to the Russian Mob taking over the neighbourhood, they start a barfight with a couple of the mob hitmen. Later on, the mobmen track them down in their humble abode, intent on revenge. A death-defying roof jump by Connor, landing on and knocking out the hitmen, saves his brother's life. The police find the bodies in the alley and assume they were murdered.

    Enter FBI Agent Paul Smecker with his overt homosexuality, intimidating the other law officials and taking control of the case. Through his unique, yet unorthodox, investigation skills, he determines that the deaths are a matter of self defence. The brothers turn themselves in, and their story matches that of Smecker's. The brothers are released, with the media branding them as 'saints' for their heroic acts.

    That night the pair have a vision, and believe that God is giving them instructions to do his bidding - to punish all the wicked sinners. In order to do this, they acquire an awesome amount of weaponry. Along with their clueless, cat killing friend David 'Funny Man' Rocco, the trio make several hits on top-level mob officials. This brings FBI Agent Smecker back into the picture, believing that two mob groups are beginning the first international mob war. After discovering that it is a vigilante force instead, he sees that they are bringing extreme justice to the villains. When one mob group find that they cannot stop their members being eliminated, they bring out the big guns, an assassin who is unmatched in his field, who begins the hunt.

    Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus star as this pair of modern day saints, who believe they are doing God's work by eliminating the criminal element of society. Willem Defoe plays a convincing gay FBI agent who goes to extremes trying to solve these cases, in ways unseen before. Billy Connelly departs from his humorous nature by playing the dangerous assassin hunting the saints (SPOILER ALERT: highlight with mouse to read) who are later discovered to be his sons. Never has he looked so villainous and evil, and is truly believable. And never has profanity been used in such unique ways as it was in this movie. The "F" word is used 274 times. Flannery even states the fact - "Certainly illustrates the diversity of the word".

    Boondock Saints is a movie which makes you think, but it is also much fun to sit back and let the events unravel before your eyes.

Video

    The cover states that this movie is 16x9 enhanced and its original theatrical ratio is 2.35:1. I am sorry to inform you that this is not accurate. The transfer is in fact not 16x9 enhanced.

    The aspect ratio of the transfer is 2.35:1. The IMDB lists the original aspect ratio of this movie as 1.85:1, however Widescreen Review lists it as 2.35:1. Based on the appearance of the framing of the transfer, it would appear that 2.35:1 is indeed the correct original aspect ratio.

    Despite the lack of 16x9 enhancement, the video is quite good. The image is reasonably sharp, but could have been better. There are no concerns with the colour, as fleshtones are accurate, and reds (which we see a lot of) look good.

    There are virtually no film or video artefacts to be seen. This is a very clean print which is presented in fine form.

    The disc has a single subtitle track, English for the Hearing Impaired. This could come in handy for those of you who cannot interpret the strong Irish accents used. The subtitles are very accurate to what is said on screen. Descriptions of sounds in the soundtrack are also offered to assist those who are hard of hearing.

    The transfer is presented on a single layered DVD, with 4.05Gb used. There is obviously no layer change.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    We have just one audio option, which is an English 5.1 track encoded at 448kbps. This is a great soundtrack, although the times when it utilizes your sound system to its full capacity are few and far between.

    There are no problems with unwanted sounds like hisses, pops, and clicks. All the dialogue and sound matches up with the action on screen.

    The surrounds are not overly used, except for when the guns come out. Bullets will make you duck for cover as they fly all around you. There are not too many movies with gunfights that utilise all your speakers this well.

    The LFE channel is used in the same scenes as the surrounds. Some of the guns being used have silencers, so they did not make my subwoofer squirm. However, when the silencers come off, you can hear and feel the deep frequencies of the gunshots.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Dolby Digital Trailer - Egypt 0:33

Theatrical Trailer 2:04

    Looks like the Region 4 release is both a winner and a loser at the same time. Whilst sporting a 5.1 soundtrack, it lacks 16x9 enhancement. The Region 1 Special Edition has the same technical specifications as the Region 4 release, but is accompanied by an Audio Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes and Filmographies.

    On the other hand, the German Region 2 version has all of the extras found on the Region 1 release, as well as a Music Video, F-Word Counter, Photo Gallery and DVD-ROM Content. Most importantly, it is 16x9 enhanced.

    A few other regions also have 16x9 enhanced releases of this movie, such as Region 2 Japan (only 2.0 sound), Region 2 Italy (5.0 sound and no special features) and Region 2 Spain (limited special features). All pale in comparison to the Region 2 German release.

    One of the best ultra-violent black comedies to come out in recent years, this is not your standard mindless action flick. The blood runs thick, the storyline leaves you wanting more (which you won't have to wait much longer for, as the sequel is on the way), and the acting is plausible and credible. You may be unhappy with the lack of 16x9 enhancement, but the audio is exactly what is needed for this movie.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall