- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,312
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
Brick is an odd one. It was directed by Rian Johnson, apparently shot in 2003, opening at Sundance in January of 2005, after which it received a release by Focus, an arm of Universal.
Somehow, it totally escaped me, but now catching up with it a decade later, is a good thing.
Brick, which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas, Emilie de Ravin and Noah Fleiss had me smiling for every moment of its 110 low-budget minutes.
It's a bit of a mash-up of a high school clique drama...
and the best of Dashiell Hammett.
It's pure noir, in the sunbaked school grounds, of San Clemente, CA.
The dialogue is, at times, so Hammett, that one can almost set actors in place, and that's part of the fun of it.
Let's see...
That's obviously Sidney Greenstreet.
Mary Astor, check.
Elisa Cook, check.
Peter Lorre, check.
Humphrey Bogart.
Shot on film, and not taken through a 2k DI, Brick is old-fashioned cinema.
It's Blu-ray history is also a bit odd. It was released domestically on DVD in 2006, then appeared on Blu-ray in the UK as Region B in 2009, and then domestically Region A, in 2011, via Alliance. The odd thing, is that domestic product seems unattainable.
I ended up getting a copy of the Region B, which is locked as such, as presented in 1080i, which didn't seem to present any problems. However, should you order from the UK, be aware that the audio will come up as 2 channel, and it isn't all that great. It wasn't until I checked, after screening, that I discovered that 5.1 is available, and there's quite a difference.
Region A Blu-ray must be out there, somewhere.
Odd...
Image - 4
Audio - 5
4k Up-rez - 4.25
Pass / Fail - Pass
Recommended
RAH
Somehow, it totally escaped me, but now catching up with it a decade later, is a good thing.
Brick, which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas, Emilie de Ravin and Noah Fleiss had me smiling for every moment of its 110 low-budget minutes.
It's a bit of a mash-up of a high school clique drama...
and the best of Dashiell Hammett.
It's pure noir, in the sunbaked school grounds, of San Clemente, CA.
The dialogue is, at times, so Hammett, that one can almost set actors in place, and that's part of the fun of it.
Let's see...
That's obviously Sidney Greenstreet.
Mary Astor, check.
Elisa Cook, check.
Peter Lorre, check.
Humphrey Bogart.
Shot on film, and not taken through a 2k DI, Brick is old-fashioned cinema.
It's Blu-ray history is also a bit odd. It was released domestically on DVD in 2006, then appeared on Blu-ray in the UK as Region B in 2009, and then domestically Region A, in 2011, via Alliance. The odd thing, is that domestic product seems unattainable.
I ended up getting a copy of the Region B, which is locked as such, as presented in 1080i, which didn't seem to present any problems. However, should you order from the UK, be aware that the audio will come up as 2 channel, and it isn't all that great. It wasn't until I checked, after screening, that I discovered that 5.1 is available, and there's quite a difference.
Region A Blu-ray must be out there, somewhere.
Odd...
Image - 4
Audio - 5
4k Up-rez - 4.25
Pass / Fail - Pass
Recommended
RAH