Jock – A True Tale of Friendship
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Film: C+
Set in
1880s Africa, Jock – A True Tale of Friendship (1995) is
the story of Percy Fitzpatrick (Sean Gallagher, playing the author of the book Jock of the Bushveld this is based on)
becoming much attached to the dog of the title, while visiting the
continent. This includes the dog’s
tendency to get into trouble with every form of wildlife around, and have a few
human enemies. Though not a brilliant
work, Jock does manage to achieve a
certain sense of inner-peace most entertainments have lacked severely in recent
years; a quality that goes beyond its “kids safe” realm.
They
continue to drift along until they meet an American (Robert Urich) who helps
them get their act together and Percy can continue to look for the gold he came
for in the first place. That it is based
on a book partly based in real life is one of the reasons this holds together
as well as it does. Director Duncan
MacNeillie does not do a bad job of keeping a visual and verbal consistency to
the narrative and the performances of the actors. This is still aimed for kids and families,
but runs an always watchable 102 minutes.
Those looking for a good family title they may have not shared with
their kids yet should consider this one.
This was a theatrical feature release that did not get much
distribution, so now is your chance to share something nice with younger kids.
The full
frame, color image is not bad, with good color and detail from the Fuji stocks the film was produced in,
while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is simple, without surrounds. That is odd since the film’s credits say it
is a Dolby Digital film. There are no
extras or captions, but you do get trailers for three other Questar titles, including
the also-good kids program Keeping the
Promise. Too bad the text of the
book was not available in a supplement section, or on a DVD-ROM. Even a section on animals and Africa would have been nice, but it is a
solid basic kids DVD just the same.
Finally,
there is Robert Urich, one of the great journeyman actors of TV who left us too
soon due to cancer. When the series Vegas was over, everyone wondered what
would happen next. Then, after many
successful telefilms and guest appearances on other shows, Spencer for Hire was a hit.
Urich was a big star like John Ritter for a reason. They both had a sense of joy in everything
they did and their loss makes the picture tube somehow seem a shade dimmer when
we remember them. Jock was one of those moments.
- Nicholas Sheffo
