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Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman
R1 - America - Genius Products Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (12th November 2007). |
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The Film
 This film is about Britain's most prolific executioner, Albert Pierrepoint. Albert served the Home Office for 24 years and in that time he is credited with having performed 433 hangings which includes some 200 Nazi's after the Second World War and it was during this period that Albert become known to the general public for a profession that was supposed to remain secret and performed away form the eyes of the public. This film chronicles his career as England's premiere hangman and his subsequent downfall. It's not the most cheerful film out there and deals with some morbid themes and also with a strong statement made on capital punishment. The film is in every sense British from its melancholic pace to the somber use of music, it's not a film for everyone but if given a chance despite its themes you'll be treated to one of the best performances with lead actor Timothy Spall. As mentioned previously this film chronicles Pierrepoint's career as an executioner starting in the early 1930's as he takes his first job with the home office and through the years becoming the most efficient hangman in the country and entrusted with the execution of Nazi war criminals, it follows his marriage to Annie (Juliet Stevenson) and how his profession affects their marriage and the ensuing media surrounding him as well from the anti capital punishment protestors to people that are proud of what he's accomplished. Albert is a tortured soul who takes his job seriously until he has to execute a dear friend of his and begins to see the horror and inhumanity of what he does. Based on real events, and like other films of this kind some creative choices were made to add drama to the film including some character points such as Albert recording each of his executions in a book when in fact in his autobiography he wrote that he never kept precise numbers of his executions, I suppose this attention to detail provided the filmmaker's with the basis for creating a character that was devoted to his work. The film's themes are very dark considering the taking of a human life is no joke, the film sends out a message about the facelessness of capital punishment this is achieved by showing Albert conducting his job with an efficiency normally reserved for assembly line workers. Matching the themes is the appropriately bleak tone of the film from the production design prison settings to the dim and often brooding cinematography which captures the film relatively well. The most astounding element about this film is Spall's brilliant performance, portraying the complex man he delivers a turn that will have many viewers immersed in the character and their hearts will break when he's faced with having to hang his friend Tish (Eddie Marsan) as he tries to internalize his feelings but ends up breaking down. It's a performance worthy of our attention and hopefully the attention of the Academy members come Oscar time. Aside from the performance, I highly doubt a film as bleak as this could ever garner a 'Best Picture' nomination. The film also chronicles a lot within the time frame and does jump through the years quite quickly which can be a bit jarring but if this wasn't done the film would last many hours. The film's lingering pace will likely see many viewers put off, but for those that stick around it's a rewarding film experience.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1 this anamorphic transfer presents the film suitably well, the image is sharp and detailed. Colors are accurately portrayed and dulled down, the overall image is a bit dark but I believe this is intentional. Black Levels are deep and bold, I found some instances of dirt and some grain but this was few and far between and wasn't entirely distracting except on a few occasions amid the black levels. I cold not spot any compression related problems or edge-enhancement which is always a good thing.
Audio
A single English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track is included, and although this film is largely dialogue driven the film's score breathes much needed depth into the track and makes good use of the sound space. The Dialogue is clear and distortion free and sound effects and ambient sound also add another layer to the soundtrack which presents the film's sound quite well. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired and Spanish.
Extras
First up we've got a feature-length audio commentary by the film's director Adrian Shergold provides an informative and insightful track though entirely droll, somber and with some silent gaps that make this track a challenge to stay awake for. In this screen-specific track the director takes us through the film, its themes and tone as well as the background on the real people in which are portrayed in this film. Some of the more intersecting moments include comments on morbid details about executions, interesting aspects about the background and research conducted for the film including getting the executioner's chamber accurately built for the film and capturing the history among other things. He occasionally comments on what's happening onscreen which is a waste of time considering I can see exactly what's happening and it would have been nice to have gone into further detail about the shooting of the film. Following that are 2 deleted scenes which include: - "Full Scarecrow Sequence" runs for 12 minutes 41 seconds this is the complete sequence in which Albert hangs his friend Tish and deals with it by drinking all day, encountering a scarecrow and having a nightmare about that scarecrow being Tish. - "Percy Plays Piano" runs for 1 minute 42 seconds, Percy plays a jaunty song on the piano in this omitted clip. I'm not entirely where this would have fit in the film, perhaps a commentary would have been useful with the director commenting on these scenes. Also featured on the disc is the film's original theatrical trailer which runs for 2 minutes 24 seconds. Rounding out the extras on this disc are a collection of bonus trailers for: - "This is England" which runs for 2 minutes 28 seconds. - "You Kill Me" which runs for 2 minutes 23 seconds. - "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" which runs for 2 minutes 16 seconds.
Packaging
This DVD is packaged in an amaray case housed in a cardboard slip-cover
Overall
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