Changi-The Complete Series (2001)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio Audio Commentary-John Doyle (Writer) & Kate Woods (Director) - Part 6 only
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	345:27 (Case: 349)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (28:52) Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Kate Woods
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Stephen Curry Leon Ford Anthony Hayes Bill Kerr Desmond Kelly Geoff Morrell Matthew Newton Mark Preistley Charles Tingwell Matthew Whittet Frank Wilson Gotaro Tsunashima Shingo Misawa
Case	Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI	$49.95	Music	Mario Millo

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	Unknown	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes, A repeated clip of the poor insane Dutch captive

     First aired in 2001 on the ABC, Changi tells the story of six POWs in a Japanese work camp of the same name, after the fall of Singapore in 1942. Being a student of military history myself, I found a lot in this series, and was deeply moved by it. But, for those of you searching for the chaotic WWII-era war realism of Saving Private Ryan or the TV series Band of Brothers, this is not the show for you. Changi is perhaps best described a cross between Bridge On The River Kwai and Magnolia, with overtones of Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, yet Changi is definitely its own unique experience, and a very Australian one at that.

     Across six episodes, Changi looks at war life in captivity and the struggle to cope afterwards through the eyes of the self-titled "Secret 9" -- Davey, Gordo, Bill, Curley, Eddie and Tom -- all young country Australian boys who answered the call to defend their nation only to be captured shortly after entering the war. As much an exploration of memory and the impact of past traumas on people's lives, each episode of Changi begins in the present with an older version of one of the central characters, each scarred in his own way from their war-time experiences. Subtle noises, phrases, inflections of tone, or instances of happenstance slowly bring back memories from captivity, and in this way we are drawn back in snippets to the past -- recollections which are often disjointed, multi-layered and stretched across more than one time frame. As each episode follows through, we begin to get a clearer picture of these cocky boys living off Aussie humour, and the scarred men they have become in their old age, still kept together through those three-and-a-half years they shared in hell.

     Why I say that this series is reminiscent of Magnolia is because of the prevalence and importance of music to the telling of these stories -- not just in the real world past of their memories, but also in seemingly surreal snippets where the entire cast will break into song, very much like the way the whole cast sings a verse each of "Wise Up" in Magnolia. While some of these songs are very traditional, and founded in years of Western cultural heritage ("The White Cliffs of Dover", for example), others are b******izations of classics (their particular version of "The Road To Gundagai" being a stand out), and all of this is shot through with 1920s American Jazz.

     Performances from the cast are exceptional, and it was hard to fault even the extras who all seemed to approach this project as if it were a major motion picture and not an ABC TV series. Particularly notable were the two Japanese leads: firstly, the sadistic Lieutenant Aso, whom the boys nickname "Asshole" (Gotaro Tsunashima), whose brutal menace is enough to send shivers up your spine; and secondly, the camp's senior officer, Colonel Nakamura (Shingo Misawa), whose desperate attempt to understand Western culture through its music in order to defeat it is simultaneously comic, tragic and admirable, particularly for a man who does not speak the language.

     While lacking the war realism of modern cinema, Changi is nevertheless an exceptional series and perhaps even better for its concentration on emotions, histories and ideas. It evokes horror, suffering, and violence through ephemeral imagery and sound, but keeps you twisting internally with humour and music. An emotional roller-coaster, and an important piece of Australian TV.

Video

     While at times a little soft, and often a little grainy during shots in the dark or relatively shadowy light, the picture is nevertheless very good.

     The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and is 16x9 enhanced. I believe this is the correct aspect ratio.

     The transfer is generally clear, with only minimal low level noise. It is very reminiscent of the transfer for Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Four.

     Colours are rich, although given an intentional sun-bleached look.

     There were no MPEG artefacts noted. There was some very minor aliasing that did not interfere with the enjoyment of the show. The worst aliasing was actually to be found in the end credits where it occasionally made it hard to read the text. There were no other film-to-video artefacts that I saw.

     Both discs are dual-layered. The transition point on Disc 1 happens at 28:52 during the second episode on the disc; on Disc 2 it occurs at 28:57, again during the second episode. While ideally the pause should have been between episodes, both pauses were only minimally disruptive, occurring in breaks in dialogue.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

     There were two soundtracks on this disc, an English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound track, and an English 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo track. The 2.0 Stereo track is the default track. I listened to both. There is also an optional audio commentary by writer John Doyle and director Kate Woods for episode six, also encoded in English 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo.

     The English 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo track was clear at all times, with a great range into deep bass and mid treble.

     The English 5.1 Dolby Digital track, however, was superb. All channels were utilised to great effect, without any overuse of the rear channels. There were no apparent audio sync problems, and dialogue was clear at all times.

     The subwoofer was used with great effect to add new dimensions to the music, both that in the show, and the actual score. This was particularly noticeable in the first episode, where it was used to underscore Davey's traumatic recollections of his early days in captivity.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Audio

     The menu is static with the theme music from the show playing in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. It is 16x9 enhanced.

Audio Commentary

     The audio commentary by writer John Doyle and director Kate Woods is a good insight into the last episode. Moreover, this affords them the opportunity to place this particular show in the context of the greater whole. What I found most interesting was their discussion of the imagery of the series, particularly the persistent dynamics between captivity and freedom and what each means in different contexts, both real and psychological.

     There appears to be no R1 release of this title, making the R4 release the clear winner.

     Changi is a superb series on a fine two disc set.

     The picture quality is generally good, although not exceptional.

     The audio quality is fantastic, fitting the dynamics of the show perfectly.

     Although there is really only one true extra to speak of, it is a good one. Ideally, there should also have been interviews with the cast, as I was very curious to know what they thought of the show they were making.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall