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Resurrected: The Limited Edition Series
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Twilight Time Review written by and copyright: Neil Bray & Noor Razzak (1st August 2014). |
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The Film
 This is first film directed by Paul Greengrass and the first starring role for star David Thewlis. Made in 1989 it is making its debut on Blu-ray here. Set in 1982 during The Falklands War this is the true story of Private Deakin (David Thewlis) who was presumed dead, but later found alive suffering from exhaustion and amnesia. He comes home a hero, only to have doubts cast upon his character by the press, his regiment and his family and friends. Is he a deserter? What happened to him during the weeks he was missing? Paul Greengrass went on to direct such blockbuster films as "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004), "The Bourne Ultimatum" (2007), "Green Zone" (2010) and the recent blockbuster "Captain Phillips" (2013) . He is an accomplished director who can handle tender moments as deftly as he does action sequences. Likewise, David Thewlis, is a very versatile actor with a vast array of roles under his belt. But this was their first film. Does it show? In my opinion, yes, it does. Don’t get me wrong, this is a well acted, well directed, film. Strong performances from everyone involved make it a very engaging film to watch (noticeably the wonderful Tom Bell as Private Deakin’s doubting father struggling to cope with the possibility that his son is a coward). The fault here, is that I never really felt anything for Private Deakin. Despite Thewlis’ accomplished performance, I never felt what he was feeling. Partly, I think this comes down to the fact that the film never reveals what really happened during Deakins’ absence, but I also think the problem lies primarily in a script that never seems to rise above a gentle hum in tone. The exception to this being a scene where Deakin’s regiment subject him to a kangaroo trial; but, despite its intensity, even this scene didn’t speed my pulse. Private Deakin’s memory never returns; so it is left up to the viewer to decide if he was a hero or a coward. However, what the film does manage to convey is that it’s never as clear-cut as that; after all Private Deakin’s is very much a hero to his little brother and it doesn’t matter what anyone else says to the contrary. By the time I had finished the film I really wished Paul Greengrass had utilized more opportunities to emotionally manipulate the viewer. I wanted to empathize with all the characters I was watching; but the closest I got was watching Tom Bell masterfully convey his confusion and conflict and the tender relationship between Deakin and his younger brother. No one is sure what happened to Private Deakin; but, by the time the film finished, neither was I.
Video
The film is presented in a 1.78:1 widescreen ratio, in high definition 1080p 24/fps mastered using AVC MPEG-4 compression codec. "Resurrection" was shot on a shoe string budget, as a result the film's cinematography reflects that. The primary complaint is that the image appears quite flat, close ups fare much better and detail is picked up in these shots. Colors aren't as vibrant as they could be, but this could easily have been an aesthetic choice rather than the transfer itself. I was pleased that the majority of the image was relatively clean.
Audio
A single audio track is included here in English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (48kHz/24-bit). As mentioned previously, the film was shot on a small budget, so it doesn't seem there much much money left to mix the audio (or perhaps ADR) as the result the audio tends to be inconsistent. Dialogue was particularly quiet on this track, and this film is predominantly dialogue based, there was limited activity in terms of ambience, the score makes decent use of the stereo format. Otherwise it was a rather underwhelming audio experience. The disc doesn't feature any subtitles.
Extras
Twilight Time has released this film with a small collection of supplements, they include an isolated score, two interviews, a catalogue and booklet. Below is a closer look at these extras. John E. Keane's complete isolated music score track is presented here (DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo), watch the entire film with the score taking center stage. "Paul Greengrass on Resurrected" interview runs for 17 minutes 46 seconds, this is a generally interesting an informative piece in which Mr. Greengrass talks about how he got into making feature films, his time on the TV series "World in Action" (1985-1987) and with Granada, along with his memories of making "Resurrected". He comes across as quite a humble and interesting man whose love of his profession is evident. "David Thewlis on Resurrected" interview runs for 15 minutes 56 seconds, this interview has clips from the film inserted throughout. Mr. Thewlis talks about his experiences making the film, including meeting Philip Williams on whose story the film is based (interestingly I learnt that Philip Williams makes a cameo appearance in the film). As with the other interview presented on this disc, this is another informative and interesting piece. Distributor Twilight Time has included a catalogue consisting of 24 pages that shows off their collection of films on Blu-ray, all titles are limited to 3,000 copies only and a few of them are already sold out. Rounding out the supplements is an 8-page liner notes booklet.
Packaging
Packaged in a standard eco Blu-ray keep case, this edition is limited to 3,000 copies only.
Overall
Available to purchase exclusively only at Screen Archives Entertainment. Like Twilight Time on Facebook by going here. Film and extras reviewed by Neil Bray, A/V reviewed by Noor Razzak.
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