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Detour De France
R0 - Australia - Accent Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak and Jarrod Baker (14th September 2007). |
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The Film
 We've all watched DVDs where the quotes on the cover don't seem to be in any way related to the film inside : indeed, many studios and distributors are notorious for taking small quotes from negative reviews out of context in order to push their dodgy wares on an unsuspecting public. The cover quotes for "Detour De France", on the other hand, seemed unequivocal : suggesting that the film : a documentary about the 'Tour De France' : was a hilarious romp that even people with no interest in cycling would enjoy. One quote even suggested that this was the best documentary about the Tour that had ever been made. It's fairly clear from watching the film that this is indeed what the filmmakers thought they were making. What they actually produced, however, was something quite different. "Detour De France" follows 3 members of the Australian media as they cover the 'Tour De France' in 2005. The trio are clearly cycling enthusiasts, and have a great deal of journalism expertise between them : with the exception of Bill Schwarzenberg, who inexplicably handles most of the interviews, despite having no obvious talent for it : but mere enthusiasm is unfortunately not enough. This film could have explained the 'Tour De France' to a broad audience : but instead it leaves the job unfinished. Small parts of the picture are explored in depth, while no light is shed on the race as a whole : there's little discussion of the teams, the structure, or even the apparently complex process of establishing a winner. Furthermore, the filmmakers squander any opportunity they might have had to create some drama. Numerous possibilities arise : chief among them being a drunken altercation with European police : but there's not even any footage of what could have been an interesting incident. And absolutely zero tension is derived from the 'Tour De France' itself, which seems virtually criminal when you consider that a) there are heaps of accidents and b) IT'S A RACE. Instead, we get the three Aussies fumbling around, catching up with old drinking buddies, grabbing young women, handing out kangaroo pins : and in one particularly unnecessary sequence, apparently included just so they could show some naked breasts, going to Moulin Rouge in Paris. Oh, and they occasionally have Bill do an uncomfortable interview with American celebrities : including Ron Howard, John Kerry (!) and a particularly embarrassing encounter with Sheryl Crow. It's a shame really, because there's some obvious passion, knowledge and even talent on display. It's just that very little of it is used : perhaps because, in the editor's own words, they "filmed it and started post without a solid structure". Unfortunately this means that what could have been a charming and insightful documentary is something for hardcore cycling enthusiasts only : and even they are likely to be divided on it.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1, this anamorphic transfer seems to have been created from the original digital source, this film was shot on DV and the image is a mixed bag, many outdoor sequences appear sharp and display brilliant contrast, color balance and a nice amount of detail, while other shots appear grainy and murky and not as sharp as one would like this includes a lot of the night scenes and aerial footage of France as well. Some compression artefacts are noticeable and also moire effect is also present against patterned lines (for example on a cyclist's jersey).
Audio
A single English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is included for this film and presents the audio clear and distortion free. Considering this is a dialogue based documentary a stereo track is all that is really required and serves the purpose quite well without going overboard. No optional subtitles are included for this release.
Extras
First up is a feature-length audio commentary by writer/producer/director Dan Jones and associate producer/editor Jim Coleiro, this track is recorded while the two enjoy a few beers as the two lead us a fairly screen-specific track. They talk about setting up the timeline of events, the editing and how the opening scenes sets the tone of the film as well as hw each scene was set up including the various interviews. Each participant reveals some trivia about the people involved and share stories from the production some of which are amusing. Other areas of conversation include the film's music, traveling through France and basically how they seemed to have drunk a lot and generally had fun over the course of the production among other things. Next up is a featurette entitled "Rest Day: Making a Detour" which runs for 21 minutes 2 seconds. The filmmakers reflect over the making of the film and take a look at the process from a low-budget on-the-fly method used, as well as the genesis of the project, the characters involved in the film, getting the various interviews and also on their favorite moments from the tour among other things. Following that are a series of 8 deleted scenes which can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' function, they include: - "Expectations" runs for 2 minutes 20 seconds, cyclists and crew comment on their expectations for the race and the overall mystic of the tour. - "More of Bill" runs for 1 minute 12 seconds, Bill goes around interviewing various people and having fun on camera. - "John's Burger" runs for 1 minute 7 seconds, John buys and scoffs down a burger from a roadside vendor. - "Bill and Denis Interviews Extended" runs for 1 minute 56 seconds, this is some extended clips from the tour mainly chatting up two of the ladies from the tour crew. - "Davitamon Lotto Mechanic" runs for 1 minute 22 seconds, this is an interviews with a bike mechanic and what his responsibly entails. - "Lost" runs for 1 minute 44 seconds, the boys find themselves lost somewhere in France. - "Bill and his Ricards" runs for 2 minutes 3 seconds, Bill basically gets drunk here and walks around the race barriers meeting up with other Aussies. - "Bill on Chairlift Extended" runs for 34 seconds, Bill continues to drink while traveling on a chairlift and basically makes a fool of himself. Also included on this disc are a collection of production stills, these images are of the race, various cyclists and the boys having a good time on the drink and consist of 32 images. Rounding out the extras is the film's original theatrical trailer which runs for 2 minutes 6 seconds.
Overall
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