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Dom Robinson reviews
- Cert:
- Cat.no: 00323 DVD
- Running time: 96 minutes
- Year: 1999
- Pressing: 2001
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 26 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: 11 languages available
- Widescreen: 2.35:1
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £15.99
- Extras: Deleted scenes with optional commentary, Picture Galleries,Trailer, 3 Audio Commentaries
Director:
- Antonia Bird
(Face, Priest, Ravenous, Safe)
Producers:
- Adam Fields and David Heyman
Screenplay:
- Ted Griffin
Music:
- Michael Nyman and Damon Albarn
Cast:
- Captain John Boyd: Guy Pearce
Colqhoun: Robert Carlyle
Private Cleaves: David Arquette
Private Toffler: Jeremy Davies
Colonel Hart: Jeffrey Jones
General Slauson: John Spencer
Major Knox: Stephen Spinella
Private Reich: Neal McDonough
George: Joseph Runningfox
Martha: Bill Brochtrup
Ravenoushas a bizarre premise and one that makes you wonder why someone saw fit tomake a film about, but it still draws powerful performances from the twomain leads.
For his part in taking charge of an enemy’s command, Captain John Boyd(Guy Pearce) is forwarded to the isolated military outpost of FortSpencer, California, hosted by an offbeat bunch of scruffs led byColonel Hart (Jeffrey Jones) and Major Knox (Stephen Spinella),its other main characters being the headstrong Private Reich (Neal McDonough)and the dippy Private Cleaves (David Arquette).
One day they find a lone man, Colqhoun (Robert Carlyle), with a storyto tell about the people he travelled with having to shelter from a harshstorm in a cave, but the storm went on, food ran out and one of the teamdied of malnourishment. Needs must when the devil drives and the dead manbecame their next meal.
Without wanting to give too much away, Colqhoun’s story is suspected to befull of holes and with many of the men from Fort Spencer being killed offand Boyd one of the ones left, all eyes fall on him as the guilty party ashe has been forced to taste of the wrong flesh and Colqhoun disappears fromthe scene for a while…
Director Antonia Bird, who also directed Carlyle inFace, a film whichco-starredBlur‘sDamon Albarn – also the co-composer of the music here, brings to thescreen a film which is mildly diverting and worth a look once you get past theever-so-slow first fifteen minutes, but it’s not one that should be made topof anyone’s list.
It does have one classic line, the speaker of which I won’t name as it’ll spoilone plot point:
I have little complaint with the sound or picture. Framed in the original 2.35:1widescreen ratio and anamorphic, the quality can be mostly considered excellentbar the odd glitch that most people won’t really notice, probably becausetheir mind is trained to the gory blood all over the place, not to mention thegruesome, but entertaining, final fight scene.
Audio-wise there’s nothing that stands out to any major degree, apart from theoccasional use of the score, but any directional effects are impressive andthe soundtrack is clean and free of distortion.
The extras consist of a Trailer (2 mins, non-anamorphic 16:9),Picture Galleries for movie stills, costume and set design,10 Deleted Scenes, with or without commentary but all innon-anamorphic 2.35:1 and muffled sound and 3 Audio Commentaries:one from Antonia Bird & Damon Albarn, another from Carlyle on his own anda third from screenwriter Ted Griffin and actor Jeffrey Jones.
There are 26 chapters which is fine, menus are static and silentand the subtitles come in 11 languages: Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew,Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish and English forthe hearing impaired.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.