The Delinquents (1989) |
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The Delinquents (1989) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Main Menu Audio Featurette-On The Set With The Delinquents Interviews-Cast & Crew Theatrical Trailer Short Film-The Film Score: Music ForThe Delinquents |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 1989 | ||
| Running Time | 100:10 (Case: 99) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (72:20) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Chris Thomson |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Kylie Minogue Charlie Schlatter Bruno Lawrence Todd Boyce Desirée Smith Angela Punch McGregor Melissa Jaffer Lynette Curran Lyn Treadgold Duncan Wass Rosemary Harris Yvonne Hooper Jonathan Hardy |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
| RPI | $19.95 | Music | Miles Goodman |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| 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 | ||
Kylie Minogue makes her big-screen debut in The Delinquents; a simple, but surprisingly decent teen romantic melodrama.
The Delinquents is based on the novel by Criena Rohan, of Down By The Dockside fame. The story opens in 1957, in Bundaberg, a then rather small town in Queensland, Australia.
"Brisbane was not like the tropical islands... nor was it the roaring frontier town... There was no pioneering to do, there were no wonders to see - just the housing shortage; and neighbours who ignored them... No stimulation except the stimulation of disapproval - the locals looking with intolerant amusement at his pegged trousers and duck-tail haircut." Criena Rohan in The Delinquents
Brownie (Charlie Schlatter) and Lola (Kylie Minogue) live very unhappy lives, of quiet desperation. They both feel trapped and unfulfilled in 1957 Bundaberg, and thus, when these lonely, teenage, kindred spirits meet, sparks fly and soon the two are deeply in lurve.
"Too young to be together, too in love to be apart"
Sadly, the Romeo & Juliet-style, ill-fated lovers are considered under-age, immature, and irresponsible, so soon a parade of disapproving police, government officials and various do-gooders are sticking their beaks in-between the sheets, and keeping our star-crossed lovers apart.
However, as the posters dramatically warned us: "NO person, NO law and NO institution will ever keep them apart!"
I think I would have preferred this movie if the role of Brownie had been played by Jean-Claude Van Damme - now that would have been something!
The transfer is very grainy, but still very watchable.
The widescreen transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced.
The image is usually quite soft, but overall the sharpness is good enough to produce well-defined images. The black level is fine, as is the shadow detail, as seen with the interior of the train carriage at 22:32.
The colour appears a little faded and dated, but otherwise is fine.
There are no problems with MPEG artefacts, but the excessive film grain does lead to the appearance of pixellation at times. While film-to-video artefacts are not a problem, film artefacts appear throughout. Most are small white or black flecks, but some are quite large.
English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles are present and accurate. This is a single-sided, dual-layered disc, with the layer change at 72:20.
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There are two audio options on this DVD: English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s), and English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s).
The dialogue quality and audio sync are fine on both audio options.
The musical score is credited to Miles Goodman, but it is the film's source music which dominates, with tunes by The Platters and Johnny Diesel's very memorable and bluesy Somebody To Love.
For a dialogue-based 1980s, Aussie drama, I was surprised by the addition of a 5.1 surround mix. The rears are used occasionally but effectively for ambience, such as the passing train at 21:47 and the rain at 36:16. As expected, the LFE track is quite restrained but the subwoofer does kick in now and again, such as the rumbling train at 2:43.
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There are a few extras.
Static menu with stereo audio.
Featurette-On The Set With The Delinquents (7:19)
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio, this piece of fluff includes a few behind-the-scenes shots.
Interviews-Cast & Crew
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio, there are 1989 interviews with:
Theatrical Trailer (1:57)
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.
Short Film-The Film Score: Music For The Delinquents
ATVRS short film featuring the score from the film, with some footage from the movie and its production..
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
I can't find any reliable information about this title being released on DVD in Region 1.
The Delinquents is a bit of a 1980s Aussie movie curiosity, and probably best left for Kylie fans.
The video quality is very grainy, but still very watchable.
The audio quality is quite reasonable.
The extras are slim, but decent enough.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-535, using S-Video output |
| Display | Grundig Elegance 82-2101 (82cm, 16x9). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Sony STR DE-545 |
| Speakers | Sony SS-V315 x5; Sony SA-WMS315 subwoofer |