| Puke green bile, dark blood,
convulsing pink. tissue, this is a close-up shot as you follow a bullet's path into and
through internal organs, you see the insides: the bullet rushes forward, stops, lodging in
mangled, throbbing flesh while fluids accumulate. It's visceral and immediate. It's
surreal and nasty. Welcome to ‘Three Kings’ !! This is not your typical war movie. Set at the end of the Gulf War, March 1991, 3
Kings directed by David O. Russell is set during the Gulf War and is set the day the
war ended. Three soldiers, one of whom being Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg) find a map stuck
up the anus of a captured Iraqi soldier (as you do). A superior of theirs, Archie Gates
(George Clooney) leads and helps them discover that the map leads to a bunker filled with
millions of dollars of Kuwaiti Gold.
Three Kings is also forthright in its critique of American
foreign policy, lambasting President Bush for inspiring Iraqi civilians to rise up against
Sadaam, and then abandoning them to face retaliation from the dictator's Republican Guard.
The Direction given to this film by David O. Russell and it’s cinematography is
original, fresh and very unconventional, scenes alternate between extremely grainy to
unnaturally clear to a shaky-cam style. Scenes freeze and then unfreeze at a moments
notice. Bright white clouds fly quickly over the heads of the soldiers, giving them what
seems to be a halo. Sand and debris from explosions flies out right into the camera until
you can see the individual grains.
The continually varying styles lend an air of uneasiness to
the movie. One of the main themes is the wrongfulness of violence. When bullets are shot,
the camera angle follows that of the bullet from the muzzle of the gun to the sickening
moment when it enters the body. People fall in agony to the ground in slow motion, as
their blood drains onto the sand. The film has it all exploding cows, exploding milk
trucks and an interrogation scene involving drinking crude oil.
In short the soldiers find that getting the gold is easy,
it’s the getting it out that becomes difficult.
So how does the transfer hold up ??
VIDEO
The DVD is presented and distributed in Australia by Village Roadshow. The
video transfer is stellar. Given the extreme demands this print must have presented
transferring it to DVD, VR have done an excellent job. The video transfer is sharp &
clear when it was meant to be, grainy and washed out when it was meant to be and overall
an excellent portrayal of the films intention. (A studio disclaimer appears at the
beginning of "Three Kings" DVD warning viewers that the experimental
step-printing and bleached color style of the film was intentional and not a mistake in
the transfer). Shadow detail in low lit scenes was spot on, colours were rich and
vibrant and flesh tones natural. An excellent transfer. It is Anamorphic Widecreen
and framed at 2.35:1.
AUDIO
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is absolutely fantastic. The track contains a
pristine separation of music, sound effects, and dialogue. The front soundstage is wide
and deep with exquisite imaging, the rear surrounds are used aggressively to support the
action as well as providing top-notch ambient fill, and your subwoofer used very nicely to
punch up the action. This is demo stuff.
EXTRAS
This DVD sets the standard for extras and again VR should be applauded !! We are treated
to two audio commentaries, one by director David O. Russell, the other by producers
Charles Roven and Ed MacDonnell. Also present are a cast and crew listing, deleted scenes
with directors commentary or production audio, theatrical trailer, hidden tv spots, photo
gallery and production notes. Then we have featurettes galore:- Under the Bunker- A behind
the scenes documentary , A tour of the Iraqi village set, An intimate look inside the
acting process with Ice Cube and a seven minute look at The cinematography of Three Kings
with director of photography Newton Thomas Siegel and last but not least David O.
Russell’s Video Journal. Dvd-rom features are also present but were not tested.
Overall a good film that deserves to be seen. Recommended
viewing.
Mayfieldast: Martin
| PICTURE QUALITY |
9/10 stellar vision |
SOUND
- Quality
- 5.1 WOW Factor |
9/10 pristine
9/10 very aggressive |
| EXTRAS |
9/10 loaded with
goodies |
Review Equipment
TV: Pioneer SD-T43W1 (16:9 RPTV)
DVD: Toshiba 2109 Region Free
Receiver: Yamaha RXV995 (DD/DTS)
Speakers:-
Fronts: Polk Audio RT55
Centre: Polk Audio CS350
Rears: Polk Audio AB705's
Sub: M&K MX125
- Reviewed 15th November 2000 |
