Chopper: Special Edition (2000) |
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Chopper: Special Edition (2000) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Menu Animation & Audio Dolby Digital Trailer-Train Featurette-A Weekend With Chopper Deleted Scenes-5 Audio Commentary-Andrew Dominik (Director) Audio Commentary-'Chopper' Read Theatrical Trailer |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2000 | ||
| Running Time | 90:08 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (72:38) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Andrew Dominik |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Twentieth Century Fox |
Starring |
Eric Bana Vince Colosimo Simon Lyndon Kate Beahan |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | $36.95 | Music | Mick Harvey |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 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 | ||
Chopper: Special Edition is a film based upon the best-selling books of notorious criminal Mark 'Chopper' Read.
During the course of this movie, we follow Chopper (Eric Bana) from his time in Pentridge prison, to the outside world and then returning back to prison. Chopper is portrayed as highly paranoid and unstable individual who has made numerous enemies. Eric Bana gives a fantastic performance in this role and is highly convincing as Mark 'Chopper' Read. It was for this role that he won an AFI award for Best Actor. He is surrounded by a supporting cast who all give excellent, compelling performances, including Simon Lyndon who won the AFI award for Best Supporting Actor. The film also won an AFI award for Best Direction by Andrew Dominik and was nominated in a further seven categories.
The initial rental release of this disc was a bare bones movie-only version but this retail edition includes a wide range of interesting extras. These extras include deleted scenes, clips featuring Mark 'Chopper' Read, the theatrical trailer and two audio commentaries.
I found Chopper to be a highly enjoyable movie that was deserving of the wide critical acclaim it received.
The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
The transfer is slightly soft throughout, but I believe that this is due to the original source material and not a fault of the transfer. No low level noise was detected during the transfer. Excellent levels of shadow detail are visible at all times.
An unusual colour palette is employed by this film. Each scene is given a specific colour theme through lighting, filters and processing techniques. This is a little unusual, and it may take some time for viewers to become accustomed to it. I personally found these colour choices to be slightly distracting but the transfer does accurately reproduce the director's intentions.
No MPEG artefacts were detected during the transfer. A single extremely minor instance of aliasing may be seen at 60:16, but this is unlikely to be detected by most viewers.
Some extremely small film artefacts may be seen during the transfer. The only film artefact of note occurs at 7:39 and is very minor. Some minor instances of grain may also be seen during the transfer. Viewers will not find these artefacts disruptive at any stage.
Disappointingly, no subtitles are included at all on this DVD.
The layer change occurs at the beginning of Chapter 18 at 72:38. The chosen position is non-disruptive and is unlikely to be detected by many viewers.
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The dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times. No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected at any time during the transfer.
The score by Mick Harvey provides excellent support for the on-screen action and creates a suitable atmosphere throughout.
The surround channels were used effectively during the movie for both the score and numerous directional effects.
The subwoofer is used throughout the transfer to provide support for effects, such as gunshots, as well as the score.
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This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
Five deleted scenes are included in this section. Each of these scenes are provided in their original aspect ratio with visible time codes in the letterboxed part of the frame. These scenes are provided with Dolby Digital 2.0 mixes and are not 16x9 enhanced. An optional commentary by director Andrew Dominik is provided for the first three scenes. The included deleted scenes are as follows:
This is a series of clips from a meeting between director Andrew Dominik, Eric Bana and Mark Read. This meeting was recorded with a Hi-8 video camera and consequently the video is of relatively poor quality. These clips are presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Dolby Digital 2.0 mix. A collection of six different clips are provided in this section and they must each be selected individually. An option to play each of the clips consecutively would have been appreciated. The following clips are provided:
During this feature-length commentary, director Andrew Dominik discusses the characters' motivations and their actions. He also briefly mentions some of the technical aspects of the movie such as the colour choices and the filming schedule. I found this commentary to be reasonably interesting but I would have like to hear how the project was initially started and some more technical details.
Like the commentary by Andrew Dominik, there are some small gaps during this track but Mark is able to keep the listener interested. During the commentary, Mark discusses how closely the movie portrays reality and who the characters displayed represent.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This disc is not currently available in Region 1 and therefore my preference would be for the local release. This disc has also been released in the UK (Region 2) and this release appears to be identical to our local version.
Chopper is a highly enjoyable Australian film that provides a small insight into the criminal underworld that few people would normally see.
The stunning video transfer is virtually flawless and cannot be faulted.
The impressive enveloping audio mix suits the feature and is consistently of high quality.
An interesting collection of extras provides an insight into both the film and the man it surrounds.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Toshiba 1200, using S-Video output |
| Display | Sony KP-E41SN11. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Front left/right: ME75b; Center: DA50ES; rear left/right: DA50ES; subwoofer: NAD 2600 (Bridged) |
| Speakers | Front left/right: VAF DC-X; Center: VAF DC-6; rear left/right: VAF DC-7; subwoofer: Custom NHT-1259 |