a horrible tragedy of the past, but it is the last-ditch sedative pre- scribed for Samuel that empow- ers the monstrous entity the very next morning. Whether pharma- ceuticals are the best approach to treat what ails us is the responsi- bility of the patient or parent to decide; that person must live with whatever effects accompany pre- scription drug use. Almost 70% of Americans are dependent on pre- scription drugs, according to re- cent Mayo Clinic research. Antibiotics, antidepressants and pain-killers account for the most common prescriptions. THE BABADOOK challenges the no- tion of reaching for pharmaceuti- cal solutions to our problems, particularly when Samuel secretly rejects his medication.
The limited-run “pop up” pack- aging of the Blu-ray release makes perfect sense for a title that is an anagram of “a bad book.” As for the contents within the disc, the unsullied 1080p HD interpretation of the 2.35:1 digital film always looks razor sharp, even during the many moments when darkness
dominates the mise-en-scène. Kent discarded her original plan to shoot in black-and-white, but often the same tone is communi- cated through the drab color pal- ette that characterizes a gaunt house that is not really a home. The main audio track is a suit- ably threatening English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix.
The supplemental highlight is Kent’s riveting short film “Mon- ster” (2005, 10m 20s), a con- densed version of what would mutate into the feature film. The short includes a staircase scare sure to make anyone with a multi- level home wish for a ranch. The most in-depth supplement is a collection of cast and crew inter- views (62m 20s). The subjects are Davis, Daniel Henshall (who plays Amelia’s coworker Robbie), Bar- bara West (Amelia’s neighbor Mrs.
48
Roach), Hayley McElhinney (Amelia’s sister Claire), costume designer Heather Wallace, and producers Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere.
Most of the other supplements are rather concise. There are three deleted scenes (2m 57s); a visit with pop-up book creator Alex Juhasz (3m 53s); a tour of the house set with production designer Alex Holmes (6m 47s); a staircase effects sequence with Davis (1m 48s); a look at the creation of a stabbing effect (1m 30s); a be- hind-the-scenes clip (2m 55s) and trailers (4m 49s). Juhasz reveals the live-action creature sequences were inspired by his pop-up illus- trations, but there is not one supplement devoted to the crea- ture effects—what a disappoint- ment! Another surprising omission is the commentary track with Kent one would expect. A nifty Easter Egg unleashes the amusing little “How the ‘Dook Stole Christmas” (46s). To view it, go to the “BO- NUS” menu, highlight “Theatrical Trailer” and click right. An icon with a top hat will appear. Hit “enter” to engage the clip. I enjoyed THE BABADOOK enough to preorder the MISTER BABADOOK pop-up book designed by Kent and illustrator Juhasz. The thought of its imminent ar- rival prompts feelings of both ea- ger anticipation and high anxiety. Hopefully, it will be nothing more than a nice companion to the Blu- ray version of what is sure to be regarded as one of the most intel- ligent horror films of the decade.
GANJA & HESS
1973, Kino Lorber, $29.95, 113m 16s, BD By Kim Newman
The story of the making, un- making, burial and exhumation of Bill Gunn’s GANJA & HESS is as elliptical, bound up in mythology and weirdly affecting as the movie
itself. Hailed and damned as of- ten for what it didn’t set out to be as for what it emerged as, the film is at once an important work of African-American cinema and a major vampire movie. It has suf- fered because of tension (even felt by its makers) between these two definitions, and those who come to it expecting either a cul- turally and politically-charged black art movie or a more intel- lectual BLACULA are often bewildered. VIDEO WATCHDOG has history with this movie, pub- lishing David Walker and Tim Lu- cas’ “GANJA & HESS: The Savaging and Salvaging of an American Classic” way back in 1991 (VW 3:38) when only cas- settes of the 78m alternate ver- sion originally entitled BLOOD COUPLE were available and Gunn’s preferred 113m cut was locked up in the Museum of Mod- ern Art. In 1998, we ran David Kalat’s “GANJA & HESS: Un- dead—The Restoration of a For- gotten Treasure” and Lucas’ review of the All Day Entertain- ment DVD (VW 47:25/56) Kalat worked on. As Kalat and Lucas admitted, that splendid release was nevertheless imperfect—a brief, important scene in which Meda (Gunn’s character) recites a poem (“To the Black Male Chil- dren”) in the bath before his sui- cide had gone astray during the restoration and wasn’t present in the cut on the DVD.
Kino Classics’ Blu-ray finally includes this sequence, and must therefore stand as the most com- plete version of an important film yet made available on any home- video format—though one still feels the absence of either BLOOD COUPLE under any of its multitude of titles (DOUBLE POS- SESSION, BLACK VAMPIRE, etc.) or of excerpts from it featur- ing the alternate takes or addi- tional footage Gunn chose not to include in GANJA & HESS,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95