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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Dogs in Space (Blu-ray) (1986)

Dogs in Space (Blu-ray) (1986)

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Released 10-Mar-2010

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Drama Main Menu Audio & Animation
Audio Commentary-Richard Lowenstein & Ollie Olsen
Featurette-We're Livin' On Dog Food
Featurette-Making Of-Making of...Dogs In Space
Music Video-Rooms For The Memory
Music Video-Leap For Lunch
Short Film-Punkline
Theatrical Trailer-Dogs In Space
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 1986
Running Time 104:24
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Richard Lowenstein
Studio
Distributor

Umbrella Entertainment
Starring Michael Hutchence
Saskia Post
Nique Needles
Deanna Bond
Tony Helou
Chris Haywood
Peter Walsh
Laura Swanson
Adam Briscomb
Sharon Jessop
Edward Clayton-Jones
Martii Coles
Chuck Meo
Case Standard Blu-ray
RPI $34.95 Music Michael Hutchence


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Unknown English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 1080i
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits Yes, just some static images over titles

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Umbrella Entertainment have entered the Blu-ray market with the presentation of two excellent cult films, Withnail & I and Richard Lowenstein's 1986 film, Dogs in Space. I reviewed the two-disc DVD edition of Dogs in Space back in October 2009 - the following synopsis has been taken from that review.

    Australian writer/director, Richard Lowenstien is well known for his film work within the music industry - working with bands such as U2 and INXS. However, his reputation as a filmmaker began back in 1984 with his widely respected feature film debut, Strikebound. Although that film was a dramatic piece set in the 1930's, many of his subsequent films have had a strong connection with music - this is particularly true of his 1986 film, Dogs In Space.

    All of the events in the film are based on Lowenstein's experiences living in a "communal" house in an inner suburb of Melbourne. In fact, the actual house that the story is based on is the house used in the film. Authenticity was an important factor in the production of Dogs In Space. Many of the interiors were recreated by viewing old photographs, which in turn helped to create an accurate replica of the walls inside the shared house. This and other points of authenticity are covered in some detail in the commentary and extras on this Blu-ray presentation.

    The characters in the film are literally taken straight from reality and, in most cases, with not so much as a name change. Many of the people from Richard's share house also appear in the film in small cameo roles. Indecently, some years later Richard Lowenstein would re-explore the shared house theme in his excellent 2001 film, He Died with a Falafel in His Hand.

    Dogs In Space is set in Melbourne 1978 during the early demise of the punk movement. The premise follows the routine of a group of young people living in a crowded townhouse. These tenants cross over many social genres, but all have a similar day to day existence. The filthy state of their rented property is evidence of the non-stop parties fuelled by sex, drugs and loud music.

    One of the tenants is Sam (Michael Hutchence). Sam is lethargic, seemingly unambitious and spends the vast majority of his life just lying around - often drug induced. He is also lead singer of a small underground punk band called Dogs In Space. Sam's girlfriend, Anna (Saksia Post) has all the ambition that is lacking in her boyfriend - she is also the only person in the house with a job. A few of the many other tenants include the keyboard player, Tim (Nique Needles), the young runaway (Deanna Bond) and the engineering student, Luchio (Tony Helou).

    Television news reports tell of the impending return to Earth of Skylab. Some of the tenants watch the skies in the hope of snaring a prize piece of space junk. Inside the house Sam and Anna's drug experimentation delivers the inevitable tragedy - an event that will change the lives of all in the house.

    Dogs In Space was shot on Super 35mm and the cinemascope ratio suits the film incredibly well. Lowenstein and Director of Photography, Andrew De Groot bring the audience into the confines of the house by way of some excellent flowing Steadicam work. With the camera moving from character to character and conversation to conversation, the audience really becomes another tenant in the human menagerie.

    Lowenstein is an admirer of Bert Deling's 1975 film, Pure S*** - about a group of drug addicts searching for their next score. It's easy to see the inspiration of Pure S*** in many of the scenes in Dogs In Space . Although both films have been criticised over the years for endorsing drug use, I fail to see any such connection. In fact, both films are among the most significant anti-drug films made in this country.

    Dogs In Space was always guaranteed a cult following due to the presence of the late INXS frontman, Michael Hutchence. Prior to Umbrella's recent DVD release, this film has been missing from screens of any kind for many years. It is now great to have the opportunity to see it again in a high definition format.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    Dogs In Space is presented on Blu-ray in an aspect ratio of 2.37:1, and is 16x9 enhanced. This respects the film's correct aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The film has been encoded using MPEG-4 AVC compression. It is important to realise that this is an interlaced transfer (1080i/50). The back cover features a "Full HD 1080" logo. This is likely to be for the We're Livin' On Dog Food featurette, which is presented in Full HD 1080p.

    Like the DVD edition, this Blu-ray has been transferred from a recently restored and regraded print. The transfer still has a slightly soft appearance, retaining the characteristics of the source material. Although there is some inherent grain evident, the Blu-ray has far more clarity than the DVD image. The moving "Endless Sea" scene and subsequent cemetery scene are good contrasting examples between the SD and HD formats.

    The most notable differences lay in the strength and depth of colour. Interior scenes display a whole new degree of vibrancy. Michael Hutchence's "harlequin" jacket in the early scenes is full of vibrant colour - this is far more subtle on the DVD. In general terms the palette accurately reflects the environment and all colours appear nicely balanced on the Blu-ray.

    There were no compression artefacts evident in the transfer. As you might expect, the restored print is also very clean and free from annoying film artefacts. However, brief and unobtrusive reel change markings were evident at 34:10, 51:13, 66:22 and 86:24.

    Unfortunately, there are no subtitles available on the Blu-ray.

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

Audio

   There are just two audio tracks available on the Blu-ray. The default track is the remixed English Dolby True HD 5.1, encoded at 448Kb/s. There is also an audio commentary track on the disc, which is English Dolby Digital 2.0, encoded at 192 Kb/s.

    Dialogue quality was good throughout and there were no apparent issues with audio sync.

    The music in the film comes from a variety of sources, including many local bands from the time of the story. All of the featured music has a heavy punk influence, although the main track, Rooms For The Memory (written by Ollie Olsen and performed by Michael Hutchence), is a slight departure from this. Music from other artists including Iggy Pop, Brian Eno and The Birthday Party has also been used perfectly in the film.

    Dogs In Space was originally presented in Dolby Stereo, but for DVD and Blu-ray it has been given a new Dolby 5.1 remix. The surround channels are used intelligently throughout the film, carrying music and the occasional direct effect.

    In a similar vain, the subwoofer was active, adding enhancement to the music and bass effects - this was particularly evident during the opening scene of the film.

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

Extras

    

Menu

    The main menu is the same menu as the Umbrella DVD edition. It is animated with various grabs from the film.

    The two-disc DVD edition is still leading in terms of extras. However, the Blu-ray edition contains the main body of those extras.

Audio Commentary - Richard Lowenstein (Writer/Director/Producer) and Ollie Olsen (Musical Director)   

    The DVD edition contains three separate commentaries - but I guess it's fair to say that this particular commentary is the main one. Richard and Ollie offer great insight into all aspects of the production, with fascinating information and plenty of anecdotes.

Feaurette - We're All Living On Dog Food (94:15)

    The only extra to be presented in Full HD, this excellent 2009 documentary was produced, directed and edited by Richard Lowenstein. Basically it's a chronicle of the era and the people that inspired the film Dogs In Space. This features recent interviews with many of the people from the reality side of the story and the film itself. There is also plenty of behind-the-scenes footage and rare film of some of the bands that were part of the alterative punk scene in Melbourne circa late 70's - mid 80's. This film documents the early beginnings of the punk movement in Melbourne, highlighting the bands and venues that defined the era. It then moves onto the film Dogs In Space and discusses many interesting aspects of the production, including the casting of Michael Hutchence and the drug culture which is prevalent in the film. Highly recommended.

Featurette - Making Of Dogs In Space (19:34)

    This recently made piece seems to be a scaled down spin-off of the We're All Living On Dog Food featurette. Much of the interview footage has been taken from the above featurette, with some additional behind-the-scenes footage. It features on-set interviews with many cast and crew members, including Michael Hutchence.

Short Film - Punkline (4:41)

    A short film produced in 1980 by Sue Davis and Tony Stevens. This will bring back memories for many people - especially those of us living in Melbourne during the early 80's. This piece of nostalgia was filmed during the punk heyday at the Crystal Ballroom in St Kilda. Richard Lowenstein also used some of this footage in We're All Living On Dog Food.

Music Video - Rooms For The Memory (5:08) 

    The music video of the featured song in Dogs In Space, performed by Michael Hutchence.

The Ears - Music Video - Leap For Lunch (3:46)   

    The fictitious band Dogs In Space  were based on a real band called The Ears. This music clip is an original track from the band.

Censorship

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    At the time of this review there is no other Blu-ray version of Dogs In Space available. The two-disc DVD edition by Umbrella is still readily available - click here to read my review.

Summary

   Umbrella have entered the Blu-ray market with Dogs In Space. While the transfer is up on the DVD, a few of the extras from the two-disc DVD set have not been included here. Still, if you're a fan, you'll probably add this to your collection regardless.

    The video transfer is 1080i/50. While the image quality looks the best it's ever been for this film, don't expect a highly detailed image.

    The audio transfer features an intelligent 5.1 remix of the original Dolby Stereo track.

    The selection of extras is interesting and relevant.

 

 

 

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Steve Crawford (Tip toe through my bio)
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Review Equipment
DVDPanasonic DMP-BD35 Blu Ray Player, using HDMI output
DisplayHitachi 106cm Plasma Display 42PD5000MA (1024x1024). Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080i.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer.
AmplificationPanasonic SA-HE70 80W Dolby Digital and DTS
SpeakersFronts: Jensen SPX7 Rears: Jensen SPX4 Centre: Jensen SPX13 Subwoofer: Jensen SPX17

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