Broken Flowers (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio Featurette-Girls On the Bus Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Broken Flowers: Start To Finish Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Farmhouse Theatrical Trailer Notes-Soundtrack Information
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	101:09
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (54:58)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Jim Jarmusch
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Bill Murray Julie Delpy Heather Simms Brea Frazier Jarry Fall Korka Fall Saul Holland Zakira Holland Niles Lee Wilson Jeffrey Wright Meredith Patterson Jennifer Rapp Nicole Abisinio
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$39.95	Music	Mulatu Astatke

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
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

    Broken Flowers in an inspiring road trip flick with a difference, as we follow a contemporary Don Juan on a journey to solve a very personal mystery. Director Jim Jarmusch has crafted an unpredictable, lightly comedic and stylish film that both challenges and entertains while maintaining a refreshing simplicity throughout. Simply put, this is one of my favourite films in recent memory.

    Don Johnston (Bill Murray) enjoys a recreational life, thanks to a fortune he made while investing in computer technology. We meet him just as his girlfriend Sherry (Julie Delpy) is leaving him indefinitely, not surprisingly, citing infidelity and commitment issues. Then the postman delivers a mysterious pink letter, written anonymously, advising Don of a son he conceived twenty years earlier. Don is unperturbed by the revelation and dismisses the letter as a prank, but his neighbour Winston is not so critical. A family man, amateur sleuth and lover of Ethiopian Jazz, Winston takes it upon himself to investigate the letter and develops an elaborate plan for Don to ascertain the truth, involving a trip across the country visiting his past loves. He is to do so armed with a simple strategy- always arrive with pink flowers. Don complies with some reluctance, but it soon becomes apparent that this will be no ordinary road trip.

    The reactions Don encounters as he visits his former partners are completely different from one to the next, although they do all share one similarity: suspicion. Will Don succeed in his mission? This film is really all about the trip itself, so you won't be surprised to learn that neat resolutions are secondary. The old saying 'the chase is better than the catch' never felt more apt than here.

    Bill Murray has certainly scored a hat-trick with this film and his other recent efforts The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou and Lost In Translation. While he does appear to have been a little typecast of late, all three films are comparable to a certain degree and it is clear we are witnessing the work of an actor at his peak. Let's hope he maintains this fine quality of work.

Video

    The transfer is presented in the film's original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1, complete with 16x9 enhancement.

    While I'd hardly call the transfer pristine, it is certainly representative of the theatrical presentation and retains a very film-like appearance. The image is relatively soft, with a fair degree of persistent film grain present. There are no obvious compression issues present either, only film-related specks from time to time. A slightly distracting camera wobble can be seen at 66:30. It does appear a little dark at times, but in general, I'm content with the image offered here.

    Colours are not particularly vibrant, more pastel-like, but are still presented with consistency and nice depth. There is no bleeding or oversaturation present.

    Optional English subtitles are provided and appear to be accurate.

    This disc is dual layered, with the layer transition perfectly placed during a silent fade to black between scenes at 54:58.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There is only one soundtrack; English Dolby Digital 5.1 encoded at 448Kb/s. The cover slick also lists a Dolby Digital 2.0 option, but it is nowhere to be found.

    The English dialogue is always easy to discern, despite some thick character accents. I didn't notice any obvious ADR or audio sync hiccoughs.

    The surround channels carry some slightly audible spill from the front soundstage, but are otherwise unused. I noticed many scenes that would have benefited from some rear activity, such as rain or passing traffic, but these weren't utilised. Aside from this oversight, the frontal mix is good, with nice separation from left to right.

    The film's musical accompaniment is superb, in fact after seeing the film I rushed to my local record store to buy the CD! The artists featured here include Ethiopian maestro Mulatu Astatke and delightful songstress Holly Golightly. Jarmusch has married certain scenes with memorable pieces of music that match the tone of the film superbly. I imagine the film would be unrecognisable without such a fantastic, broad range of music.

    The subwoofer was even more dormant than the surround channels. Granted, it was hardly called for in this film to a great degree, but as with the surround activity I feel a little more presence would have been nice.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

    All of the featurettes are presented with stereo audio and are not 16x9 enhanced.

Menu

Featurette- Girls On The Bus (1:40)

    A short reel of out-takes, strangely taken from one of the least memorable scenes in the film. I can think of dozens of better scenes in the film that deserve to be explored.

Featurette- Broken Flowers: Start to Finish (7:38)

    This is a sequence of clacker-board shots and out-takes (some of them humorous), set to the brilliant music of Mulatu Astatke.

Featurette- Farmhouse (4:17)

    This featurette combines what appears to be amateur video footage taken on the set with a poorly recorded audio interview with Jarmusch. In the interview he discusses his approach to the film and how he prepared the cast for their roles.

Theatrical Trailer (1:59)

    A good trailer, providing a solid overview of the film without giving too much away. Presented in 1.78:1 but not 16x9 enhanced.

Soundtrack Information

    A simple page of text, promoting the film's excellent soundtrack CD.

    The video transfer is acceptable.

    The audio transfer is average.

    A couple of interesting, but insubstantial extras are included.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall