Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
You all know Elston. He's the guy who does our weekly recaps. He's also about to tie the knot. Yet somehow he finds the time to drop a little DVD review on us. How cool is this guy? And, Elston... buddy... best of luck with the big day. Everyone here at the Labs wishes you much joy. Now let's check out that review...
When I was in high school, fights between students were a rare treat. Cat fights were really few and far between. At lunch, gym class, sometimes in the parking lot after school, if two folks were coming to blows, our eyes were glued. It was free primal entertainment once or twice a month and nothing more. Maybe we should have paused for a moment and wonder whether or not one or both of these students had deep psychological problems. I'm not sure if it would have changed anything, but the thought could have given such an incident more meaning. Nowadays, high school violence goes beyond a short scuffle of slaps and missed punches. Weapons are involved and higher prices are paid.
Vincent Pereira's film A BETTER PLACE addresses such violence, as well as the potential psychological issues that may serve as a catalyst to such brutal activity, in his 1997 film A BETTER PLACE executive produced by View Askew's Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier. A Special Edition DVD of the movie is being released in August by Synapse Films. The story centers on a new kid in town, Barret, who is having trouble making friends on the first day of school. He meets hot-tempered rebel Ryan who takes up for Barret during a confrontation with one of the school's cocky jocks, Todd. Subsequently, the two become friends and embark on a dark odyssey that culminates in a bloody end. The tone and themes reminded me of Terence Malick's BADLANDS and David Lynch's BLUE VELVET at different times during the film and Pereira even confesses his influences of both directors in his commentary.
Pereira, who wrote, directed, edited and co-produced (with Paul C. Finn) the film, paints a strong picture of teen angst and loneliness using only a $40,000 budget, a good script, fine editing and solid performances from his cast. I'm looking forward to Pereira's next project and anxious to see what he can do with a bigger budget.
The film stars Robet DiPatri, Eion Bailey (upcoming "Band of Brothers"), Joseph Cassese, Brian Lynch (upcoming NIGHTCRAWLERS, angrynakedpat.com) and Carmen Llewelyn (CHASING AMY, NEVER BEEN KISSED). Jason Lee, Llewelyn's husband, makes an appearance twice in the film under the pseudonym Dennis Pepper. Ethan Suplee has a cameo as well.
The disc has a good presentation with clear and concise menus making it easy to navigate for simple DVD viewers like me. The disc has scene access with 25 chapters to choose from and a nice transfer from 16mm presented in full frame. The audio, mixed at Skywalker Ranch, is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1. Good sound. In fact, one of the extras on the disc lets you listen and compare the original audio track to the new 5.1 remix for three different scenes from the pic. Speaking of extras, the audio commentary for the film is very enjoyable. Pereira is very thorough with the trivia and the technical aspects of the making of the pic. It's probably the most informative commentary I've ever heard. Actors Cassese, DiPatri and Lynch are also on-hand to divulge their experiences and witty commentary for the film. And the disc's liner notes by Lynch are easily the funniest liner notes I've ever read.
There are also 8 different deleted scenes from the film on the disc, with or without commentary by Pereira. (Deleted scenes with commentary is a favorite DVD extra of mine. Love it on the BOOGIE NIGHTS disc.) The director is good to explain to us his original concept, intention and making of each scene as well as his reasons for leaving each one on the cutting room floor. Personally, I think commentaries like these are good examples for up-and-coming directors--not to mention editors--to take note.
The extras make this disc superior to many, many of the independent films released on DVD, in my opinion. In addition to what I've already mentioned, there are also three separate introductions to the film by executive producers Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier of View Askew Productions. Each intro is more witty and informative than the last. There are also color bars on the DVD which, if you run for about 20 seconds, presents an outtake/clips reel. Easter eggs are hidden in the disc as well, but I'll not ruin that surprise for you. Fun stuff all around, I assure you.
Visit Synapse's A BETTER PLACE site for more info including where to order the disc, or visit the film's official website.
A BETTER PLACE is a nice DVD to own. As far as the movie goes, it's amazing to see the results of a $40,000 budget and good talent. And this special edition has more extras than your average disc, containing information and surprises I wish many other filmmakers would include in their DVDs.
