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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.
Bottle Rocket (1996)

Bottle Rocket (1996)

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Released 17-Aug-2004

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Trailer-Blue Sreak, I Spy, Charlie's Angels
Trailer-Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 1996
Running Time 87:36
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Wes Anderson
Studio
Distributor

Sony Pictures Home Entertain
Starring Luke Wilson
Owen Wilson
Ned Dowd
Shea Fowler
Haley Miller
Robert Musgrave
Andrew Wilson
Brian Tenenbaum
Jenni Tooley
Temple Nash
Dipak Pallana
Darryl Cox
Stephen Dignan
Case ?
RPI $14.95 Music Mark Mothersbaugh


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
French Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
German Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles Arabic
Czech
Danish
English
English for the Hearing Impaired
Finnish
French
German
Greek
Hindi
Hungarian
Norwegian
Polish
Swedish
Turkish
Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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

Plot Synopsis

They're not criminals, but everybody's got to have a dream.

    Bottle Rocket is a cult comedy that did badly at the box office when first released. In the years since it has gathered a following of fans. The main reason it has gathered this subsequent interest (besides being funny) is that it marks the start of three successful Hollywood careers, those of director, Wes Anderson and stars, Owen Wilson & Luke Wilson. Owen also co-wrote the screenplay with Wes Anderson. Since this film was made in 1995 they have collaborated on two more successful projects: Rushmore & The Royal Tenenbaums. They actually made Bottle Rocket originally as a 13 minute short in 1994 and then remade it as a feature film.

    The film opens with Anthony Adams (Luke Wilson) checking himself out of a voluntary mental institution where he was being treated for what he calls 'exhaustion', although as his little sister asks "How can you be exhausted? You haven't worked a day in your life". Soon we realise however that all is not normal because although he is checking out he has also tied his sheets together to escape out the window. When asked what this is all about he says that his friend Dignan (Owen Wilson) was so excited about helping him escape that he didn't want to disappoint him. This explains their relationship very well and you wonder pretty quickly whether the right one of the two has been in a mental institution.

    The story continues with them arriving back in their home town and immediately robbing someone's house. Dignan has a very detailed plan for how they will become criminals, go on the lam and then hook up with 'the crew' led by Mr Henry (James Caan) a local landscaper and criminal. They form a gang with Anthony's friend Bob Maplethorpe (Robert Musgrave) and execute a bigger robbery. While laying low to 'wait for the heat to die down' Anthony falls in love with a girl from Paraguay, Inez (Lumi Cavazos), who cleans their hotel room. The rest of the film revolves around the changing relationship between Anthony & Dignan and their attempts to achieve their goals, which are not necessarily in sync.

    This is a witty and eccentric comedy which has a light and good natured tone. There is a lot of good dialogue here that it pays to pay attention to. The two main protagonists never give the impression that they are particularly nasty, more inept than anything. There is a nice but mild twist at the end of the film. Owen is great and very frenetic as the hyperactive and slightly unhinged Dignan and Luke lends good straight man support.

    Overall, this is a fun film recommended for people who enjoy Owen or Luke Wilson generally or more specifically films such as Rushmore or The Royal Tenenbaums (although this is not as good a film as those).

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is close to the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

    The picture was clear and sharp throughout without being particularly crisp and there is no evidence of low level noise. Shadow detail was fine as required, which was rarely.

    The colour was excellent throughout with all colours being well saturated and free from colour bleeding.

    The only noticeable artefact present was edge enhancement which was noticeable from time to time but really didn't bother me. One example is around the characters at 48:25.

    There are subtitles available in 14 languages. I tested the English ones and they were clear, easy to read and slightly summarised from the spoken word.

    This is a single layer disc so no layer change occurs.
    

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

Audio

    The audio quality is very good.

    This DVD contains three audio options; a English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at 448 Kb/s, a French soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0 at 224 Kb/s and a German soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0 at 224 Kb/s. Despite the encoding the 5.1 track generally speaking only uses the front speakers and subwoofer.

    Dialogue was generally clear and easy to understand, however, the subtitles came in useful occasionally to check a word or phrase.

    The score of this film by Mark Mothersbaugh (formerly of Devo) is good , however to my mind the musical highlight is in some of the songs used, especially two songs by the 1960s band Love which feature on one of the best albums ever recorded - Forever Changes. The songs in question are 7 and 7 is and Alone Again Or. The music sounds excellent in the transfer.

    The surround speakers are used occasionally for some atmosphere and the occasional gunshot effect.

    The subwoofer was not used very much, but considering the nature of the film, this is to be expected.

    

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

Extras

    This disc has no significant extras. This is a shame because a commentary or documentary from the guys involved would be very interesting.

Menu

    The menu includes photos from the film and the ability to set up audio options and select scenes.

Trailers

    Trailers are included for four films (not including Bottle Rocket). They are Blue Streak, I Spy, Charlie's Angels and Charlie's Angels - Full Throttle.

R4 vs R1

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

    This movie is available on a very similar disc in Region 1 with the exception of  the Region 1 disc having a pan and scan transfer in addition to the widescreen one. Unless you want a pan & scan transfer, I think Region 4 is the way to go due to PAL/NTSC differences.

Summary

    This disc contains a funny and eccentric cult comedy which marked the entry of Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson & Luke Wilson into the mainstream movie-making business.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The disc has no extras, which is shame for a film which started three Hollywood careers.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Saturday, August 14, 2004
Review Equipment
DVDToshiba 1200, using Component output
DisplaySony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC).
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationPioneer VSX-511
SpeakersBose 201 Direct Reflecting (Front), Phillips SB680V (Surround), Phillips MX731 (Center), Yamaha YST SW90 (Sub)

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