Bodyline (Miniseries) (1984)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	1984
Running Time	323:47 (Case: 330)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (3)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Denny Lawrence Lex Marinos George Ogilvie Carl Schultz
Studio Distributor	Kennedy Miller Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Gary Sweet Hugo Weaving John Doyle
Case	?
RPI	$44.95	Music	Chris Neal

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.75:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.33:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    In the 1980s, Australian television drama was dominated by the mini-series, and of the home-grown product none were better than those from the Kennedy-Miller production team. The pair were synonymous with several successful made-for-television drama mini-series focusing on important chapters in the history of this country. Director/producer George Miller and producer Byron Kennedy (at least up until his untimely death in 1983) were the team responsible not only for 1979's feature film Mad Max, but for such television series as Vietnam, The Cowra Breakout, The Dismissal, The Dirtwater Dynasty and Bangkok Hilton. Most of these mini-series are to be released on DVD at some stage this year.

    Topics tackled were wide and varied, with political dramas, war epics and social commentaries among the series commissioned. Their foray into the genre of sporting drama revolved around the recounting of one of the darkest periods in Australian sport and the lowest point in our relationship with the mother country England.

    During the Ashes cricket tour of England in 1930, a young Don Bradman emerged as a run scoring machine and batting legend. He racked up massive scores and proved the difference between the two teams as Australia reclaimed the Ashes. Stung by defeat and in an effort to thwart Bradman's influence, the English, under the leadership of the fiercely determined Douglas Jardine, devised a tactic to curb Bradman's run scoring and apply intense pressure on the whole team. This tactic was initially labelled 'Leg Theory', due to the nature of the bowling line and the field set. The bowler would dig the ball in short and angle it towards the leg stump. The field set would be completely unorthodox, with most players fielding in close to the bat on the leg side. The idea was that the precise bowling would force the batsmen into a rash defensive shot that may easily be caught by the close-in field. Of course one of the side effects of bowling short-pitched deliveries at the leg stump meant the batsmen (in a day when little protection was worn) would regularly be hit in the body. Hence the term "Bodyline" was coined. This was of course completely against the ideals of the gentleman's game and very much "just not cricket", but to an obsessed Douglas Jardine it was a legitimate tactic used to win the Ashes. Despite massive public unrest, multiple injuries and an Australian team threatening to cancel the tour, Jardine persisted with his tactics for the full test match series and eventually left our shores one of the most hated Englishmen ever to have arrived here.

    Originally shown as a seven-part series over some 320 minutes, Bodyline deals with this darkest period in Australian/English relations in great detail. It starts with an introduction to the young Douglas Jardine and Don Bradman, outlining how they were set on their collision course. As adults, Jardine is played by a very young Hugo Weaving, while Bradman is played by Gary Sweet. Jim Holt plays English speedster Harold Larwood, while look out for a young John Doyle (aka Rampaging Roy Slaven) as English bowler George "Gubby" Allen.

    Obviously the budget for this mini-series was not huge. Some of the cricket scenes (and there are plenty) seem a little cheap with many shots taken from a low angle because there was obviously no crowd in attendance. Another interesting shortcut used by the producers is instantly obvious for anyone who is familiar with the cricket grounds around Australia. Despite games supposedly taking place in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, all four of the grounds look remarkably like the SCG with the old style members and ladies stands in the background. The actors in the roles of players also don't look too convincing, appearing to be little more than social cricketers at a charity match rather than the best in the country. Interestingly, to make Jim Holt as Harold Larwood really look like the fastest bowler in the world, it appears the film has been sped up as he delivers the ball. A nice trick but a little too obvious at times.

    Good to see if you missed it the first time around some 21 years ago, just don't be surprised if it looks a little more cheaply made than you may remember.

Video

    I'd like to report on a fully restored transfer with bright, sharp images, but sadly what we have here is really quite disappointing. Hazy at times, almost to the point of being unable to work out which character is which, it is the presence of more grain than a packet of Kellogg's All Bran that sees the biggest problems.

    Somewhat oddly, the transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.75:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. Given this mini-series was originally conceived as a made-for-television special and shown in the 1980s format of 1.33:1 I would have thought that would have been the aspect ratio presented on the disc. From watching the full series and seeing a few frames that appear slightly oddly framed, I am assuming this is a matted transfer of the original 1.33:1 production. Nothing of importance appears to be lost, it just is immediately obvious that some frames have been cropped top and bottom.

    Grain is the biggest issue, with every episode across every disc being among the grainiest transfers I have yet seen. While my screen is rather small, I could well imagine the problems watching this series on a large front projector display.

    After the incredibly high levels of grain, easily one of the most obvious problems is that sharpness levels are highly variable with several scenes featuring quite blurred edges. As a result of the blur and the grain the colours are not what could be called bright or vivid and do lack a little consistency at times. Thankfully skin tones are natural enough and although blacks sometimes look a little grey, no detail is lost.

    There are no apparent compression artefacts, though the same cannot be said about other types of artefacts. A major glitch that appears to be video tracking lines occurs at 11:02-11:07 during episode four, while a couple of major splotches including a massive white one at 9:24-9:26 appear during episode five. While every episode contains artefacts of various size and shape throughout, those are the two most obvious problems.

    There are English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles available (these are the only option) and I found them excellent, though not 100 per cent accurate.

    Discs one and two are presented as single sided dual layered discs. The layer changes occur between episodes. Disc three contains just one episode and is therefore a single layer disc only.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There are two soundtracks available across the three-disc set. The original mono soundtrack is presented in the form of a Dolby Digital 2.0 mono effort. This is joined by a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack for those wanting a slightly more modern experience.

    I say slightly, because even with the inclusion of a 5.1 surround soundtrack this is very much a front and centre experience with little panning or directional effects and virtually no surround activity of any real note. As a result the 5.1 track is very similar in delivery and range to the original mono soundtrack.

    Thankfully, unlike the muddy picture the dialogue is clear enough almost all of the time and despite a handful of audio sync problems is easy to listen to.

    The score is reminiscent of the 1930s and suits the production design very well.

    There is only a very little surround and subwoofer activity.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Audio

    Sadly aside from a little menu audio there are no extras on any of the three discs.

    This mini-series is not available in Region 1.

    Bodyline was one of the more memorable television mini-series made in the early 1980s. From the Kennedy-Miller production company, it captures all the controversy and drama surrounding one of the darkest periods in our beloved national game of cricket when the English team, under the leadership of Douglas Jardine, employed tactics that went against the ideals of the most gentlemanly of sports.

    The video is disappointing, being extremely soft and grainy.

    The audio is functional while there are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall