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DVD REVIEW
Bloody Sunday (2002)
Starring:
James Nesbitt, Tim Piggott-Smith
Director:
Paul Greengrass
Rating:
R
Studio:
Paramount
Review
Posted: 4.21.03
Spoilers: Minor
Reviewed by
Dennis Landmann
This drama follows the events that
lead up to the tragic incident on January 30, 1972 in the
Northern Ireland town of Derry when a protest march led by civil
rights activist Ivan Cooper (Nesbitt) was fired upon by British
troops, killing 13 protesters and wounding 14 more.
I wasn’t
around in 1972, but Paul Greengrass might have been. His reason
for making Bloody Sunday is evident if you think about
it. Why make a film about the tragedy and sadness that hit
Derry, Northern Ireland (no pun intended, seriously)? The answer
is: to remember the day, the cause, and the aftermath (given the
facts toward the end of the film). Greengrass is the director
and writer of this film. I’m not sure how much he added to
dramatize the film itself, but that is irrelevant now, because
the film, even with said dramatization, gets its point across.
If I would have to guess, Greengrass probably needed to compress
story elements, backgrounds, and subplots to fit as much needed
information into the script as possible. The backlash of this is
too much information is presented in too little time and not all
of it is interesting. Basically, Bloody Sunday takes
patience, because only after twenty minutes you begin to fully
comprehend the situation. Also, only then does Bloody Sunday
really begin to pull you into the carnage.
Thirteen people died that Sunday
afternoon and more than a dozen people were wounded. I’m not going to
go into the detailed specifics of the day’s happenings, other
than to say, "confusion does reign." The British troops, or Paras, didn’t know what to do and got scared, but that is merely
an assumption, for why shoot at a crowd protesting as peacefully
as possible? Except for younger hooligan types throwing stones,
none of the protestors were armed yet they were fired upon. To
make this short, the civil rights movement was hurt or destroyed
to a degree, the Paras did their job and won (without
questioning it at this point), the NRA saw a lot more
applications than ever before, and thirteen people were killed.
Bloody Sunday captures much of this in a stunning
recreation. While it can be argued that the location and
geography isn’t established very well in the film, in addition
to obvious references of a limited budget (close-ups, panning,
zooming), Bloody Sunday is essentially (and partially) a
documentary. Yet it doesn’t really feel like a documentary,
because the event is real and so is the recreation, very much
so.
Bloody Sunday
stars James Nesbitt as Ivan Cooper, the leader of the Civil
Rights movement. There are so many characters in the film that
it is impossible to name or recognize them at this point, but it
is best to acknowledge their presence and impact on the overall
sense of the film. Cooper is more or less the central character
and much of the film focuses on his actions and reactions. In
other words, I think the drama plays off of him because he is
right in the middle of the whole thing. The performances are all
very good, especially by Nesbitt. Terrific direction by
Greengrass, his crew, and the extras make Bloody Sunday a
successful, realistic, and haunting recreation of the events on
that Sunday afternoon.
8 out of 10
Paramount
presents Bloody Sunday in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen.
The film’s presentation is generally excellent and the only
noticeable fault is the presence of some light edge enhancement
in a few scenes. Sharpness and detail lacked consistency, but
overall they are impressive. Quite a few of the cold, outdoors
scenes offered striking clarity, depth and definition. The
film's color palette is quite bleak throughout, but the
presentation is accurate and without major concerns. The black
level is solid and flesh tones looked fine. Bloody Sunday’s
transfer is a little dark thanks to the film’s visual style, but
the presentation is very good overall.
8 out of 10
Bloody
Sunday
is available in two different Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround tracks.
One is the Domestic Theatrical Version and the other the
Original U.K. Theatrical Version. Both of these sound very good,
but I couldn’t tell the difference between the two. I would
guess the U.K. Version includes the original track whereas the
Domestic Version includes additional, clearer dialogue for the
US audiences. The majority of the film’s soundtrack is
concentrated on the front speakers. However, it isn’t such a bad
thing, because the occasional surround use does occur for some
ambience. Nevertheless, the rear speakers are mostly silent. On
a different note, but probably more important to the viewer, is
the presentation of the dialogue. Most of the accents are pretty
heavy and may require the use of subtitles. Overall, Bloody
Sunday comes across pretty good in terms of sound
presentation, despite the lack of actual surround usage.
8 out of 10
This
release is not labeled as a special edition or anything, yet the
four major features should warrant something more than the lame
Widescreen Collection bar at the top of the cover. As it is, it
looks like this DVD received some recognition and respect in its
treatment of special features.
Commentary
by Paul Greengrass and James Nesbitt – These two keep their
conversations pretty fresh and don’t pause much. If you care for
the film and the event, listen to Greengrass explain his
intention for making the film and what happened in the aftermath
of that Sunday.
Commentary
by Don Mullan – The author of the original book Eyewitness
Bloody Sunday gives his take on the film and his experience.
There is a lack of conversation with only Mullan commenting on
the film, which basically translates to a somewhat dry track.
However, he does have interesting things to say, yet not always.
In any case, Mullan is qualified and really the right person,
even though Ivan Cooper should be, to tell you about the
behind-the-scenes of the event.
Bloody
Sunday: History Retold – This feature, running circa 20 minutes,
combines interviews and footage of the film to create the mood
and confusion that took place on the bloody Sunday,
January 30th, 1972. You might want to wait for this feature
until you’ve seen the film, because then you have more knowledge
about the incident and can also reflect on the irony and sadness
of the tragic event.
Bloody
Sunday: Ivan Cooper Remembers – Actor James Nesbitt and the real
Ivan Cooper revisit Derry, Northern Ireland. They talk about the
events and insanity of the day as they unfolded. Cooper’s
presence is appreciated and it is great to see him participating
for this feature, but other than that the film pretty much sums
up everything that happened, not necessarily counting the days,
months, and years after the fact. However, you get a first-hand
account from Cooper you can’t and won’t want to ignore.
8
out of 10
Bloody
Sunday
is a stunning piece of work. Its sense of realism and danger is
evident from the get-go. The film starts off rather slow, but as
the march goes further so does the pace. This tragic, yet
pivotal event will now be remembered, as it should thanks to
Paul Greengrass, Ivan Cooper, and many others. With good video
and audio quality, in addition to two commentaries and two
features, Bloody Sunday is a DVD you should highly
consider renting, yet you might want to consider buying it, too,
since it is pretty well rounded.
Overall DVD Rating: 8 out of 10
(not an average)
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