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Blood Diamond
R4 - Australia - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak and Shane Roberts (3rd June 2004). |
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The Film
 During Sierra Leone's civil war of 1999, fisherman Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) and his son Dia (Kagiso Kuypers) are grabbed by anti-government guerillas and separated. While being forced to pan for diamonds to fund the coup, Solomon discovers a huge diamond; instead of giving to his captors he hides it because he knows it could change his family's life. Apart form having to evade the rebels and the army he also draws the attention of ruthless smuggler and ex-mercenary Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) who will do anything for at least a cut of the action. When a couple goes to choose an engagement ring the last thing they're usually thinking about is how many people may have suffered or died during the diamond's trip from the ground to the jewelry store. Working closely with Sorious Samura, maker of the documentary "Cry Freetown" (1999) on the same topic, Director Edward Zwick's goal with "Blood Diamond" is to entertain but also to educate the audience on the chaos and violence the West and the diamond trade has brought to Africa just as ivory, rubber, gold and oil have done in the past. He does this extremely well by using the dramatic and fact laden script by scribe Charles Leavitt and some outstanding action scenes which involve some harrowing acts of violence. The film starts with one of the most affecting as Solomon's village is attacked and the rebels take sickeningly extreme measures to make sure people don't vote in the upcoming election. It sets the tone for the rest of the film and points out just how cheaply human lives can be treated when there's a profit to be made. All the acting is very good, but it is lead by two exceptional and Oscar nominated performances; DiCaprio is totally convincing as the aggressive and selfish Archer. Unlike the usually Hollywood anti-hero he honestly seems irredeemable, but as you get to know him and see the situation he exists in (and hear a bit more of his past) you find his attitude a little more understandable and you find yourself willing him to do the decent thing rather than just expecting him to. On the other side of the moral coin is Hounsou as Solomon, a strong and fiercely determined father who will let nothing and no-one convince him that finding his son is a lost cause. Holding on to the dream of Dia becoming a doctor, he needs the diamond as much as Archer wants it, but he isn't willing to compromise his integrity which bring them into repeated conflict. Jennifer Connelly makes the most of the slightly under written role of Maddy, the photo journalist who connects with Archer. Although she's closer to the standard love interest than she should have been, she has some great scenes (including the final phone call) and she's a welcome addition to any film. It is also good to see Arnold Vosloo in a decent sized role as Colonel Coetzee, Archer's ex-commanding officer and head of the army unit also trying to claim the diamond. He's a great character actor and although he often plays villains he does it so well that he makes any film he's in that much more interesting. Nominated for five Oscars, "Blood Diamond" is a Hollywood epic that evenly balances its action with its political conscience and features two standout acting performances, highly recommended.
Video
Presented in a ratio of 2.35:1 this anamorphic widescreen transfer is another in a line of excellent recent releases from Warner Brothers. The image is sharp and crystal clear. Detail is beautifully presented especially colours, the lush jungle and the harsh clay landscapes of North West Africa are brilliantly rendered appearing lush and vivid. Black levels are incredibly deep and feature almost no noise, minor film grain is evident but this is hardly an issue. I could find no print flaws or any compression related problems; overall this is a top notch transfer.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included in English Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its English track. Much like the image the soundtrack is just as impressive; it's deep and dynamic and displays an incredible range. The dialogue is clear and distortion free but the effects surrounds kick into hyper drive during the action sequences with an aggressiveness that will kick through your speaker system. Ambient sounds are also subtle and add a further layer of depth as does the film potent and immersive score. Only a full bit rate DTS track can top this audio experience (or perhaps an uncompressed PCM track, but we're talking standard DVD here anyway). Optional subtitles are included in English, English for the hearing impaired, Italian, Italian for the hearing impaired, Arabic, Icelandic and Hebrew.
Extras
DISC ONE: First up is a feature-length audio commentary by director Edward Zwick. In this track Zwick comments on the problems faced by the people of Sierra Leone and how the diamond trade has been the root of a lot of violence in that area. He remains largely screen-specific as the film rolls on and comments about various production issues such as locations, production design, as well as directorial issues such as themes and recurring motifs and imagery he used in the film (while pointing them out of course). He also comments on character motivations, dealing with violence specifically the decision on how brutal the depiction of the Freetown violence that erupted. From the track you learn rather quickly that Zwick likes to use the word "real", especially when dealing with things that actually happened (I do find this rather funny at times considering there are many action elements in this film that go beyond "real"). The track is an equal mix of production information and historical background on the film's topic but Also on this disc is the film's original theatrical trailer which runs for 1 minute 57 seconds. Insinuate DISC TWO: First up on this disc is "Blood on the Stone", a documentary which runs for 50 minutes 10 seconds. This is an investigative piece that follows the path of a diamond from the ground to the store. Journalist Sorious Samura takes a look at the Kimberly process (that is supposed to certify that a particular diamond is conflict free) and the legal and illegal diamond trade currently running in his home country of Sierra Leone. He takes us through the illegal process, working in the diamond mines and even showing us how easy it is to smuggle the diamonds out of the country. Even though the area is in peace it's eye-opening how easy it is to sell conflict diamonds and that a market is still accessible even though the Kimberly process is in effect. "Becoming Archer" is the first of three featurettes on this disc and runs for 8 minutes 33 seconds. This clip takes a look at how Leonardo DiCaprio took on the role and transformed himself into the character. We learn about his interest in the project and what attracted him to it as well as the preparation he underwent which includes getting the accent right and weapons training which were utilised in helping deliver a believable performance. The second featurette is entitled "Journalism On The Front Line" which runs for 5 minutes 12 seconds. This takes a closer look at the character of Maddy played by Jennifer Connelly. Here we see that Connolly managed to get inspiration for her character from the women journalists that put their lives on the line in war zones to get a story. Director Zwick comments on the strength of these women and what he sees in Connolly that communicates that in her character. The third and final featurette is "Inside The Siege Of Freetown" which runs for 10 minutes 29 seconds. This is a look at the filming of the siege that portrays an actual event which saw the murder of many people. This behind-the-scenes look takes us through the preparation and safety enforced during the production as well as the shooting of the intense violence and action scenes. We get an overall understanding of what it's like creating chaos in a controlled environment. The filmmakers spend a large amount of time preparing for the shoot in order to get everything right and maintain order while on location in Mozambique. Rounding out the extras is a music video entitled "Shine On 'Em" performed by Nas which hruns for 2 minutes 46 seconds.
Overall
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