Tim Minchin-Ready for This? (2009)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Menu Audio Booklet Trailer-Madman Trailers
Rating
Year Of Production	2009
Running Time	105:12
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Simon James
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Tim Minchin
Case	Amaray Variant
RPI	$29.95	Music	Tim Minchin

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	Yes
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Tim Minchin is without a doubt one of the funniest, most accomplished Australian comedians to emerge in the past decade. In his productive career he has gathered awards from comedy festivals as varied as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Melbourne International and the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in the US. No subject is taboo in Tim's performance, and that bright red MA rating you see on the DVD is well earned indeed.

    In Ready For This?, Tim performs his hilarious new material in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Sydney's Enmore Theatre. Two old favourites are thrown in; Canvas Bags and Dark Side are numbers from his earlier shows. Much of his new material addresses events and concerns that came to light in the Rock 'n Roll Nerd documentary, such as the reaction he received while using the "N" word to describe people of African origin. One song also retorts violently to a negative review of an early London show, published in the Guardian.

    I think it can be pretty safely said that Tim's comedy isn't for everyone, but if you appreciate intelligent, musical comedy with a socially observant sting this may be up your alley.

    You might also be interested in my reviews of Tim's earlier DVDs, Rock + Roll Nerd and So Live.

Video

    This live performance was captured digitally, and has been transferred faithfully to DVD in a 16x9 enhanced, 1.78:1 ratio.

    This generally clear and sharp transfer is let down by heavy compression grain and occasional macro blocking. It's been some time since I've seen MPEG compression issues this noticeable, which surprised me when considering this is an essentially bare-boned title on a dual-layered disc. The image breaks up considerably during simple fades and strobe lighting effects. When the stage smoke machine kicks in, things get worse. The 105 minute feature occupies 6.1Gb of disc space, which in my mind doesn't equate to the level of compression artefacting on display.

    There are no subtitles included.

    A layer break is placed during the feature, but it was not noticeable on my equipment.

Video Ratings Summary

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

    A single Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack graces the disc, encoded at a moderate 224Kb/s.

    This is a good replication of the theatre environment, Tim's vocal and his musical accompaniment are always distinct. Crowd noise is at an appropriate level and never overpowering. Sync is spot-on.

    I attempted to process the audio via Pro Logic II, with surprisingly suitable results; the majority of audience noise was separated to the rear channels. In the absence of a proper 5.1 mix, I admit that for this predominately vocal performance the stereo audio does a fine job.

    There are obviously no examples of surround or subwoofer activity to report.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu Audio

    A simple, static, 16x9 menu, graphically identical to the cover art, with an audio loop of the main theme as background music.

Booklet (28 pages)

    The package includes a thick, 28-page colour booklet, containing all the lyrics from Tim's show. It's glossy and very well laid out, as though we were reading Tim's notepad or sheet music.

Madman Trailers

    After the usual anti-piracy spiel, are trailers for the films Save Your Legs, Not Quite Hollywood and Danny Bhoy: Live at the Sydney Opera House.

    This title is only available in Region 4 at the moment. According to Tim's Facebook updates, a UK Region 2 equivalent is also on the way.

    Ready For This? is an excellent live show, showcasing a unique Australian talent.

    The DVD transfer quality is passable.

    A booklet is the only substantial extra.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall