Chicken Ranch (1983)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Audio & Animation Introduction-Nick Broomfield Audio Commentary-Nick Broomfield Featurette-Nick Broomfield - A History Part 1 Gallery-Photo DVD-ROM Extras
Rating
Year Of Production	1983
Running Time	74:05 (Case: 84)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (54:05)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Nick Broomfield Sandi Sissel
Studio Distributor	Shock Entertainment	Starring	None Given
Case	?
RPI	Box	Music	None Given

    Nick Broomfield is a documentary film-maker from England who now makes his base in the United States. His first film dates from 1970, before he went to film school. His best known work to date would be the two films he made about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who was also the subject of the fiction film Monster, and the documentary Kurt and Courtney.

    Broomfield is the sound man on his films, as he reveals in the extras that his camerawork is not up to scratch. Chicken Ranch was the first feature film he made after graduating from film school, and is set in a brothel of the same name in Nevada. This is not just any ordinary brothel, but is one that has its own airstrip to fly in tourists from nearby Las Vegas.

    The brothel itself is a bunch of trailer homes joined together, and the women who work there also live in the building. We see them responding to the bell that tells that a client has arrived, and they line up and introduce themselves to the client. The client then selects one and they disappear into one of the back rooms. The reception area has some tacky furniture, all of which, including the cushions, is covered in clear plastic.

    The women are a mixed bunch, with a couple that get more screen time than the others. These are Connie, the outspoken one who doesn't like men and is having trouble getting picked, and Mandy, a buxom blonde who seems to get picked frequently. This film is not as sleazy as the subject matter. There is no nudity, and apart from a couple of clients who did not object to being filmed, most of the running time is taken up with the women talking about their experiences to each other. Broomfield and his camerawoman spent about two months at the Ranch, and it was several weeks before the girls would agree to be filmed.

    Other characters include Fran, the madame or maid as they call it, and the owner, Walter, a sleazy piece of work who is missing much of the time. The camera is a discreet observer of what is going on, more like a fly on the wall than a participant. Apart from some superimposed titles, there is no narration. The drama comes from the problems the girls have, both with their clients and with Walter. For example, they have trouble convincing a group of Japanese tourists to pick anyone, and there is a client who seems to be intoxicated who does not want to spend more than $20.

    This is a depressing film. It isn't that the women are shown being abused, but it is clear that they are being exploited and their lives seem to be quite empty and directionless. It is fascinating up to a point, but it is not the sort of film I would want to see often.

    Chicken Ranch is one of three films in a collection called The Nick Broomfield Collection Volume 1: Adventures in the Sex Trade. The other films will be reviewed separately.

Video

    The film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.29:1 and is not 16x9 enhanced. The original aspect ratio was probably 1.37:1.

    It looks as if this film was shot on 16mm, so it has the lack of clarity and detail that you would associate with this film format. Everything is slightly fuzzy, and very little is clearly defined. Shadow detail is satisfactory. Contrast levels are also satisfactory, given the source.

    Colour is reasonable. There are some bright colours at times, and these seem realistic. The bright lighting contributes to a slightly over-exposed look that prevents the colours from looking lifelike and vivid. However, I think the transfer accurately represents the original look of the film.

    I did not notice anything in the way of artefacts due to the transfer. Flecks and dirt appear on the film, but not to a troubling extent. The video is very grainy.

    The film comes on an RSDL-formatted disc. The layer change is well positioned at a cut at 54:05 and is not disruptive. No subtitles are provided.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The sole audio track is the original mono presentation, here in Dolby Digital 2.0 format.

    Dialogue is distinct throughout, even though the recording often does not pick up the voices clearly. I found I had no trouble understanding the dialogue despite this. I did not notice any significant hiss or distortion, and apart from some slight sibilance the audio is satisfactory.

    There is no music score as such, though there are a couple of songs heard on the soundtrack. These are not credited.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Audio & Animation

    Animation for the menu options consists of clips from the film accompanied by the sound of a projector.

Introduction - Nick Broomfield (2:16)

    This is a brief introduction to the film, which is in fact an excerpt from Nick Broomfield - A History Part 1, also included on this disc. Broomfield gives some background as to how the film came to be made.

Audio Commentary-Nick Broomfield

    I have a mixed reaction to this audio commentary. On the one hand there is a lot of interesting information about the film, the people in it and what happened to them. On the other hand Broomfield tends to speak slowly and with frequent pauses, and as a result there are a few dead spots. Not the sort of commentary that I would listen to again. He does, though, reveal that one of the girls, Dianne, went on to become a successful computer analyst, while sadly Mandy was murdered a couple of years after the film. Walter was missing from much of the shoot as he was in prison, and he later died while awaiting trial for the murder of three women who worked at another of his establishments.

Featurette-Nick Broomfield - A History Part 1 (50:46)

    This is basically Broomfield introducing himself and his career, with extended excerpts from his films, ranging from 1970 to the late 1980s. There are some brief highlights from the later films at the end of the featurette. These are presumably included in more detail in Part 2, which must be included in Volume 2.

Gallery-Photo

    Fifteen photos taken during the shoot, which are much sharper and clearer than the film footage.

DVD-ROM Extras

    The Extras directory on the disc contains 21 QuickTime video clips. Some of these are short promotional clips for his films, and some are advertisements he has made for a German car company. The menu item for the DVD-ROM extras also gives Broomfield's website address.

   At present this film seems to be available on DVD in Region 4 only. Alternatively, you can buy a VHS tape from Broomfield's website for a mere US$100. Plus postage.

    An interesting but ultimately sad documentary about the world's oldest profession.

    The video quality is as good as the source material allows.

    The audio quality is satisfactory.

    A good selection of extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall