Be Kind Rewind (2008)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-Passaic Mosaic, Improvisation + others Featurette-Making Of Interviews-Cast & Crew Short Film Music Video
Rating
Year Of Production	2008
Running Time	97:26
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (67:27)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Michel Gondry
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Jack Black Mos Def Danny Glover Mia Farrow Melonie Diaz Irv Gooch Chandler Parker
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	Jean-Michel Bernard

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes

Michel Gondry has made a bit of a splash over the last few years by writing & directing award winning films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind & The Science of Sleep. This, his latest writing and directing effort, Be Kind Rewind, is the first of his films that I have seen so I will be unable to compare it to others of his films. I would assume however that this is not up to the quality of those two previous films which have been widely praised. This film has an interesting premise and a good heartfelt ending, however generally it does not really hold together. It is certainly not a broad, laugh-out-loud comedy (despite one very amusing sight gag that takes a long time to come to fruition), more of a weird, whimsical one.

The story of this film revolves around a small Video & Thrift store in Passaic, New Jersey which is called Be Kind Rewind. It is owned by Mr Fletcher (Danny Glover) and is seriously behind the times as it still only rents videos rather than DVDs. It is also located in an old rundown building which is scheduled for demolition. Mr Fletcher's shop assistant is the well meaning (but somewhat dim) Mike (Mos Def). Across the road is a car repair and junk yard run by the very unhinged Jerry (Jack Black). He thinks the local power plant is sending out microwaves to control their brains. Accordingly, he decides to sabotage the power plant and ropes Mike into his scheme. After an accident during the sabotage attempt he becomes magnetised. Mr Fletcher goes away on a short trip, leaving Mike in charge of the store with strict instructions not to let Jerry in. Jerry manages to get in & ends up wiping all the video tapes with his magnetism which leaves Mike with a large problem. Mike & Jerry decide that the obvious solution to their problem is to remake all of the films which have been wiped themselves using locals and cheap props. They refer to this process as 'sweding'. Their sweded films quickly become very popular in the community and the shop's customer base increases overnight. Of course, challenges are just around the corner including Mr Fletcher's friend, Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow) and a representative of Hollywood (Sigourney Weaver).

Personally, I found this film hard to like as much of the running time left me quite cold, however, the final few scenes were quite good. The premise of the film as outlined above is more interesting than the actual execution of the idea which I felt should have focused more on the actual remakes which seemed to be only a very small part of the film. On a positive note, the final film they make and its effect on the community are well put together and leave you with a better view of the film by the end. The themes of community spirit, triumph of the little guy and technology not being the answer to everything come together well in these final scenes. I could not get excited about any of the performances, however, Mos Def was significantly less annoying than he was in 16 Blocks.

Fans of the director's work will get something out of this film but those looking for a straight comedy should look somewhere else.

Video

The video quality is excellent.

The feature is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

The picture was clear and sharp throughout. Shadow detail is very good.

The colour was very good with no noticeable issues.

The only noticeable artefact was some minor aliasing.

There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired which were clear and easy to read.

The layer change occurs at 67:27 causing a slight pause.

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 an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at 448 Kb/s and English Dolby Digital 2.0 descriptive audio soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s.

Dialogue was mostly clear and easy to understand although some lines proved a bit of a challenge.

The score by Jean-Michel Bernard is mostly jazzy piano and suits the film well.

The surround speakers were used well considering the style of film for lightning, music and some dialogue such as the boys' version of HAL.

The subwoofer was used sparingly adding bass to music and explosions.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Extras are 16x9 enhanced and include optional subtitles.

Menu

The menu was in keeping with the style of the film and included an intro, action and some dialogue.

Passaic Mosaic (9:58)

A worthwhile and interesting featurette about the city of Passaic, the effects of the movie being shot there, how locals were used in the production, a potted history of the town and some behind the scenes footage.

Booker T & Michel Gondry (6:27)

Featurette on the scene in the film involving some famous blues and soul performers and some footage of Gondry jamming with Booker T & the MGs.

Jack & Mos improvise songs (4:46)

Exactly what the title says. Not funny.

A Conversation with Jack Black & Michel Gondry (5:49)

A 'supposed to be amusing' conversation between star and director that covers some interesting topics. WOuld be better if they were not trying to be funny.

Fats was Born Here (4:46)

This is the film they made during the main film about the life of Fats Waller, in full. Better than the main feature.

The Making of 'Be Kind Rewind' (31:59)

An overlong making of which covers the genesis of the idea, use of non-professional actors, how various scenes were put together and other topics.

Paris Concert (6:07)

A concert to promote the film held in a small club in Paris in 2008. Features Mos Def on vocals and Gondry on drums, playing jazz standards. Not bad.

Our local release includes all the extras which are on the Blu-ray release in the US, however, the Region 1 DVD release only includes the Passaic Mosaic. So, for SD buyers the Region 4 is the one to get. There is no local Blu-ray release at this time.

The video quality is very good.

The audio quality is very good.

The disc has a decent collection of extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall