Great Downunder Movies (BFS)
Picture:
Sound: Extras: D Films:
Tim D C B-
The Right Hand Man C- C+ C
The Chain Reaction
C-
C B-
Though
“Down Under” seems more correct, BFS has put together an unusual three-film set
in their low-budget DVD series of such releases. Covering three unusual Australian-made films,
Great Downunder Movies pulls
together three curios on a single disc.
Tim (1979) is a melodrama that Mel
Gibson did the same year as the first Mad
Max, playing a somewhat mentally limited young man who becomes a repairman
for a local woman and friend (Piper Laurie in her comeback cycle after Brian De
Palma’s Carrie and the ill-advised Ruby).
Tim has older parents and a sister, who figure in the story, but once
things start taking hold, so does the predictability. It is the acting that makes this watchable
enough.
The Right Hand Man is a tale of Australia’s past and its caste system as a
young aristocrat (Rupert Everett) has a serious accident, but is still
competing with a local workman (Hugo Weaving of The Matrix franchise) for the love of a privileged woman (Catherine
McClements). This has some nudity, but
is not that racy, while it also drags on.
The Chain Reaction is about a nuclear factory worker
(Steve Bisley) who tries to prevent an accident and becomes ill in the
process. When he begins recovering under
supervision, he immediately realizes that Australians need to be warned of a
potential disaster, but some nameless officials intend to keep things
quiet. This is when he decides to run
away, with evil officials in pursuit. It
is a half-pleasant surprise, functioning well as a dramatic thriller. As an outright thriller, it is not as
effective. In all, it is not bad, though
it might have been better if the thriller angle had been developed. It is also smarter than the Keanu Reeves pseudo-thriller
of the same name, but far from as satisfying as it could have been.
The full
frame images on all three films are not good, with Tim being so dark in places that the film might as well be jet
black filler frames. Right Hand Man is almost as bad, looking
like a pan and scan print. The Chain Reaction fares a bit better
to be the best by default, but it is still very poor. The Dolby Digital 2.0 on each film is
average, except Right Hand Man,
which is a touch better and still problematic.
It was a Dolby A-type analog theatrical release, but lacks the Pro Logic
surrounds it should have. This mix
sounds like they have been squeezed into the front speakers, but that is
probably a result of being so many generations down. The other two films are monophonic. The only extra is a few brief biographies of
five of the starts of the three films.
I still
think, give or take Village Roadshow Pictures’ successful co-productions with
Warner Bros. of mostly U.S. productions, Australia has a long way to go before
establishing its own strong cinema outside of the usual safe costume
films. Great Downunder Movies are not great, but they are different enough
for the most curious to see them.
- Nicholas Sheffo
