Lucky Country (2009) |
BUY IT |
General | Extras | ||
Category | Thriller |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Audio Commentary-Kriv Stenders, Kristian Moliere and Andy Cox Deleted Scenes-Six scenes with optional commentary from the above people Featurette-Behind The Scenes Featurette-Making Of-Lucky Country - Video Diaries Interviews-Cast & Crew-Five Interviews TV Spots-Webisodes Theatrical Trailer-Lucky Country Teaser Trailer-Madman Propaganda |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2009 | ||
Running Time | 91:57 | ||
RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Kriv Stenders |
Studio
Distributor |
Footprint Films Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Aden Young Toby Wallace Hanna Mangan-Lawrence Pip Miller Neil Pigot Eamon Farren Robert Menzies Helmut Bakaitis |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual | ||
RPI | $29.95 | Music | Tom Schutzinger |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Unknown |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) |
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Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | None | Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Australian director, Kriv Stenders has shown great aptitude with his three previous films, The Illustrated Family Doctor, Blacktown and Boxing Day. With his fourth feature, Lucky Country, he again displays the ability to engage an audience with thought provoking and intelligent filmmaking.
In the early days of Australia's federation, a young family struggles with life on their remote homestead. For twelve-year-old Tom (Toby Wallace) and his older sister, Sarah (Hanna Mangan-Lawrence), the isolation is further compounded by the recent and sudden death of their beloved mother. Their father Nat (Aden Young) believes that God will provide for them, but his faith and indeed his sanity will soon be cruelly tested.
Out of the harsh bushland, three men arrive at the homestead on horseback. One of the men is very ill and close to death. Although Nat is very suspicious at first, he welcomes the men into his small abode and soon believes their arrival may be some kind of divine providence. As the sick young man, Jimmy (Eamon Farren), recovers the other two strangers help with tasks around the property. The older of the men, Henry (Pip Miller), has a charismatic, grandfather-like personality, which is alluring to young Tom. The other man, Carver (Neil Pigot), has a much harder persona and his cold demeanour unsettles Sarah. Gradually over time their presence at the homestead becomes more sinister and menacing. When Jimmy reveals a dark secret to Sarah, the men's purpose becomes apparent and the stakes become increasingly more lethal.
Jules O'Loughlin's haunting cinematography contributes appreciably to this underrated psychological thriller. So too, the performances from the small ensemble cast deliver a potent combination of menace and innocence with great conviction. It's worth singling out the acting debut of young Toby Wallace - an amazing achievement in a very difficult role.
Lucky Country is a largely undiscovered Australian film which definitely deserves a look. This two-disc set from Madman does the film great justice and is a worthy inclusion to any collection.
Lucky Country is presented in the correct aspect ratio of 1.85:1, which is 16x9 enhanced.
The image is hard to fault, especially in daylight scenes. There is some film grain evident during some of the darker scenes, but this is almost certainly inherent in the source material. Blacks were strong and shadow detail was excellent. The colour palette is mostly cold and dingy; this accurately reflects the sombre tone of the film. These colours are very nicely balanced, with no adverse issues.
There were no MPEG artefacts evident. Film-to-video artefacts and film artefacts were not an issue.
There are no subtitles available on this edition.
The first disc (the movie disc) is a DVD 9, dual layer disc. The layer change is well placed and occurs at 44:14. The second disc contains the bulk of the extras and is a DVD 5, single layer disc.
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There are two audio tracks available; English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) and English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s).
Dialogue quality was mostly fine and there were no apparent issues with audio sync.
The original music score by Tom Schutzinger perfectly enhances the sinister ambience of the film, without ever becoming overwhelming.
This is a sensible audio mix. The surround channels carried mainly music and ambient sound. I didn't notice much in the way of direct sound placement. The nature of the film doesn't warrant such activity in any case. The subwoofer came to life with gunshots, but in general, it was used minimally.
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Overall |
The main menu is 16x9 enhanced, animated and features a sample of Tom Schutzinger's score.
A fairly interesting commentary full of relevant information and anecdotes. It's obvious that this trio has a good rapport and they are proud of their achievements with Lucky Country. The discussions cover virtually every aspect of the production with humour and very little waffle.
I recommend viewing these scenes twice - first without the commentary, then again with the commentary to get the explanation behind each scene's exclusion. Of particular interest is the ten minute alternative opening, which is quite different from the one used in the final cut.
This rather brief but informative piece features on set interviews with cast and crew. It also contains plenty of behind-the-scenes footage.
This is my favourite of all the extras. This candid behind-the-scenes look at the production of Lucky Country is fascinating from start to finish. We get to see the creative processes involved in constructing various scenes in the film. This footage is then juxtaposed with the completed final cut of the relevant scene. This piece also features some brief but relevant comments from many cast and crew members. Recommended viewing.
A wide collection of short promotional grabs intended for internet display.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
At the time of writing this review there is no Region 1 edition of Lucky Country available.
Lucky Country is an underrated, brooding psychological thriller set in the early days of Australia's federation. Performances from the small ensemble cast are all excellent, as is the haunting cinematography of Jules O'Loughlin.
The video and audio transfers are very good.
The selection of quality extras does great justice to the overall presentation.
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Review Equipment | |
DVD | Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu Ray Player, using HDMI output |
Display | Hitachi 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 Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. |
Amplification | Panasonic SA-HE70 80W Dolby Digital and DTS |
Speakers | Fronts: Jensen SPX7 Rears: Jensen SPX4 Centre: Jensen SPX13 Subwoofer: Jensen SPX17 |