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The film is presented in the original 1.85:1 widescreen ratio and in anamorphic widescreen, and I rarely review DVDs but this was a film I wanted to see from when I first heard about the premise and the cast, and I feel that Artificial Eye have really missed a trick by not releasing it on Blu-ray because it is a wonderful film. As such, watching this DVD on a 50″ Panasonic Plasma TV, the image is a little soft as you’d expect, but there are no issues with the print.
The audio is in Dolby Digital 5.1, and you can presume right that there’s not going to be any split-surround action here, but the general atmosphere, including birds tweeting (not on their phones, kids!), is easy to relax into, and the dialogue is clear.
The extras are as follows:
- The Making Of Still Life (5:57): On-set filming, but too short to be particularly insightful.
- Interviews: One with Eddie Marsan (12:46), Joanne Froggatt (12:55) and writer/director Uberto Pasolini (34:54). Interestingly, Eddie confirms that there’s just one funeral officer in each council who goes about looking for relatives of the dead, and that they work individually. I would’ve thought there’d be a team. Joanne is asked some similar questions, but relating more to her character, whilst continuing to light up the room wih her smile.
All three interviews are broken up with 3 or 4 chapters, depending on how long they last, as they go on for a decent length.
- Trailer (2:00): In the original 1.85:1 theatrical ratio.
Sadly, there are no subtitles on this release which is very amiss, and not what I would expect from Artificial Eye, who hae always aimed towards the discerning film buff. As such, I had to rewind the dialogue a few times, especially when the homeless men were mumbling, and I still couldn’t quite get what they said.
Chapters are a bog-standard 12. I feel one should come every five minutes on average. A lot of distributors go for a low 12 however long the film. Artificial Eye’s chaptering tends to vary from disc to disc. Unfortunately, here, it’s just the same old 12, even it is for a relatively short 89 minutes.
The menu features clips from the film alongside incidental music from the film.
Still Life is out now on DVD, and click on both the packshot above, and the poster below, for the larger versions.
|
FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
9 8 7 4 |
| OVERALL | 7 |
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 89 minutes
Year: 2014
Released: April 13th 2015
Chapters: 12
Picture: 1.85:1 Anamorphic widescreen
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: English
Subtitles: None
Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Digital Intermediate (4K))
Disc Format: DVD9
Director: Uberto Pasolini
Producer: Uberto Pasolini, Christopher Simon and Felix Vossen
Screenplay: Uberto Pasolini
Music: Philip Glass
Cast:
John May: Eddie Marsan
Kelly Stoke: Joanne Froggatt
Mary: Karen Drury
Mr Pratchett: Andrew Buchan
Shakthi: Neil D’Souza
Billy Stokes’ Caretaker: David Shaw Parker
Caretaker: Michael Elkin
Jumbo: Ciaran McIntyre
Homeless Man: Tim Potter
Homeless Man: Paul Anderson
Morgue Attendant: Bronson Webb
Crematorium Attendant: Leon Silver
Prison Officer: Lloyd McGuire
Garry: Wayne Foskett
Lucy: Hebe Beardsall
Lover Girl: Rosie Kosky-Hensman
Young Soldier: Frankie Wilson
Serving Girl: Rose-Marie Christian
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.