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Blood Diamond (Two-Disc Special Edition) Reviews
Featured Review
July 4, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Reviewed by Ken_McAlinden
Blood Diamond: Two-Disc Special Edition
Directed By: Edward Zwick
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Honsou, Jennifer Connelly, Arnold Vosloo, David harewood, Kagiso Kuypers
I don't want no gold and no diamonds! I'm a good girl, I am!
- Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady" Edward Zwick's "Blood Diamond" takes the issue of conflict diamonds, and uses it to fuel an action-adventure variation on "The Pardoner's Tale" set in the midst of Civil War-torn Sierra Leone circa 1999.
The Film
"Blood Diamond" tells the story of native fisherman Solomon Vandy (Honsou), smuggler/soldier-of-fortune Danny Archer (DiCaprio), and a large pink diamond. Solomon found and hid the "pink" while he was forced into sifting for diamonds by the brutal Revolutionary United Front (RUF) Guerillas. He wants to use his knowledge of the diamond's location to reunite his family who became refugees when the RUF brutally attacked his town. Matters are complicated when RUF Captain Poison (Harewood), who knows that Solomon has hidden the diamond, conscripts his son, Dia (Kuypers), into his corps of child soldiers.
Archer, recently busted for smuggling diamonds, and on the outs with his former commander/current employer, "The Colonel" (Vosloo), overhears Poison accosting Vandy about the "pink" in a detention center, and sees it as an opportunity to make a score so big that he can leave the continent forever. Archer forges an uneasy, mutually exploitative, alliance with Vandy and an idealistic American reporter, Maddy (Connelly), and together, they conspire to return to the RUF-controlled area where they believe Vandy's son and the pink diamond are located.
The film is skillfully made, playing well as a genre action picture moreso than a polemic - the standard pitfall of "hot-button-issue" films. It depicts the chaos of civil war in Sierra Leone in a brutally unflinching manner, with battle scenes that use immersive techniques similar to "Saving Private Ryan". The forcible initiation of child soldiers is presented with a disturbing frankness that recalls the child gangs of "City of God". While the film as a whole is effective and involving, there are a couple of plot and story structure issues that cause it to fall short of greatness. The plot relies heavily on coincidences that include the characters stumbling on to the equivalent of needles in haystacks, and the ending goes on too long, as it insists on tying up every possible loose end with a neat bow long after the dramatic momentum has run out.
One area where the film excels is in the performances of its actors. DiCaprio and Honsou both scored well-deserved Oscar nominations for their performances. DiCaprio provides a performance that not only excels on a technical level (accent and dialect, weapons, military training, etc.) but also creates a compelling, believable character whose arc through the film is incremental and earned. Honsou, on the other hand, must overcome the obstacle that his character as written is defined by his unflagging constancy - an inherently uninteresting trait. Two key dramatic scenes he plays against Captain Poison, one early in a prison, and one late at the RUF camp show the toll that his ordeal is taking on him as much through his physical expression as through dialog. Jennifer Connelly is not quite as successful at elevating weak material. Her journalist character suffers with some too precious flirty exchanges in the early going and the distinct impression that the movie does not really have room for her story that infects much of the second half. This also makes the extended coda in London and Kimberley, South Africa seem even more superfluous.
Of the supporting cast, Kagiso Kuypers gives an exceptional performance for a juvenile actor as Solomon's son, Dia, and David Harewood brings some interesting depth to the menacing Captain Poison.
The Video
The 2.35:1 anamorphically enhanced transfer of "Blood Diamond" is difficult to assess. While it does not look as soft as recent Warner releases of films made from digital interpositives such as "Superman Returns" and "The Departed", it still seems like it could have had better detail. Visible halos along vertical edges are occasionally noticeable, but the stylized, high contrast cinematography that frequently puts dark foreground elements against bright backgrounds gives a lot of scenes an artificially "etched" look even without ringing. Shadow detail is very good, but not at the expense of deep black levels except for a few scenes where the contrast seems to have been artificially lowered to make certain shots read more clearly . My overall impression is that the DVD gives a good rendering of a highly stylized film, but take that with a grain of salt since I have no theatrical or high-definition reference with which to compare it.
The Audio
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack provides a fine representation of an enveloping mix. Atmospheric effects in the rear channels are present throughout the film, and the soundfield springs to life impressively during key actions scenes, emphasizing the chaotic nature of the gunfire coming from all directions. LFE and surround activity are used effectively, but never in an excessivly exagerrated manner. Alternate French and Spanish dubs are available, although I did not review them.
The Extras
When the first disc is inserted, skippable promotional trailers for theatrical film "Ocean's 13", video game "300:March to Glory", and direct to video film "Sublime" play. From the disc's menu, you can access a screen specific audio commentary from director Edward Zwick and a 16:9 enhanced 2.0 stereo presentation of the film's theatrical trailer. Zwick's commentary is one of the better solo commentaries I have heard from a filmmaker. While he certainly does not try to be entertaining, Zwick's comments are well presented, touching on a wide range of topics from the film's development through its production. Gaps between comments are short, and Zwick never seems to run out of steam, repeat himself, or lapse into narration of obvious plot occurences.
The second disc includes four featurettes and a music video:
"Blood on the Stone" is a 50-minute documentary by Journalist and Sierra Leone native, Sorius Somura, who also served as a consultant on "Blood Diamond". It takes the form of an investigative report into the current state of the diamond industry, and is quite an eye opener. He looks at how diamonds are mined and sold through both official and illegal channels, demonstrating in the process how easy it is to smuggle undocumented diamonds across the border to Guinea and find buyers both in Africa and in New York City. It is pretty distressing stuff, showing that existing processes are not sufficiently enforced to ensure that a diamond's true origin can be known. It is presented in 16:9 enhanced widescreen with a Dolby Digital 2.0 English track with available French Subtitles.
"Becoming Archer" is an eight-and-a-half minute featurette about Leonardo DiCaprio's character of Danny Archer, including perspectives on the character's motivation and what the actor did to prepare. Particpants include DiCaprio, Connelly, Zwick, stunt coordinator Paul Jennings, and Producer Marshall Herskovitz. It mixes talking head interview footage with film clips and bits of behind-the-scenes production footage. A lot of this material is covered as well or better in Zwick's commentary, but it is nice to hear the thoughts of some of the other participants as well.
"Journalism on the Front Line" is a five-minute featurette focusing on Jennifer Connelly's character of Maddy Bowen. It discusses research done by Connelly and Zwick, and their impressions of (unnamed) female journalists who inspired the character and Connelly's performance. Participants include Connelly, Zwick, DiCaprio, and Herskovitz. This topic was also covered nearly as well in Zwick's commentary.
"Inside the Siege of Freetown" is a ten-and-a-half minute featurette that focuses on the elaborate logistics of the sequence that recreates the time in January of 1999 when RUF rebels overwhelmed Sierra Leone's capitol city. This is the most interesting of the three production-related featurettes, with much more behind the scenes footage, and fewer film clips than the others. Participants include Zwick, Executive Producer Kevin DeLaNoy, Reporter/Consultant Sorious Somura, Honsou, Herskovitz, Producer Paula Weinstein, Special Effects Coordinator Neil Corbould, Stunt Coordinator Paul Jennings, Supervising Armorer Nick Komornicki, First Assistant Director Nilo Otero, Stunt Supervisor Thomas Struthers, and DiCaprio.
"Nas - Shine on 'Em" - is the music video for the song written for the movie and played over the closing credits. It is a straightforward, not too creative, mix of footage of the rapper performing with quick cut excerpts from the film.
Packaging
"Blood Diamond - Two-Disc Special Edition" come in a standard Amaray-style case with a hinged tray allowing it to hold two discs. The hard case is enclosed in a cardboard slipcover with the exact same artwork. The first disc with the feature film, commentary, and trailer is a DVD-9. The second disc with the remainder of the supplements is a DVD-5
Summary
"Blood Diamond" presents a harrowing tale of the costs of war, and the negative effect that exploitation of natural resources can have on war-torn countries. Video (taking into account the highly stylized look of the film) and audio quality are both quite good. For those interested in the mechanics of how the film was made, the director's commentary, available on the two-disc special edition as well as the single disc standard edition is the most comprehensive and interesting supplement. Because of the thought-provoking investigative documentary , "Blood on the Stone", the two-disc edition is recommended to anyone who is interested in learning more about the effectiveness of current efforts to curb the sale of conflict diamonds.
Note: This title was subsequently released in both competing high-definition formats with additional special features. If you are interested in the Blu-Ray edition released in June of 2007, check out Pat Wahlquist's review at this link.
If you are interested in the HD-DVD edition released in July of 2007, check out Pat's review at this link.
Directed By: Edward Zwick
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Honsou, Jennifer Connelly, Arnold Vosloo, David harewood, Kagiso Kuypers
| Studio: Warner Brothers Year: 2006 Rated: R Film Length: 143 minutes Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Subtitles: English, Spanish, French Release Date: March 20, 2006 |
- Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady" Edward Zwick's "Blood Diamond" takes the issue of conflict diamonds, and uses it to fuel an action-adventure variation on "The Pardoner's Tale" set in the midst of Civil War-torn Sierra Leone circa 1999.
The Film
"Blood Diamond" tells the story of native fisherman Solomon Vandy (Honsou), smuggler/soldier-of-fortune Danny Archer (DiCaprio), and a large pink diamond. Solomon found and hid the "pink" while he was forced into sifting for diamonds by the brutal Revolutionary United Front (RUF) Guerillas. He wants to use his knowledge of the diamond's location to reunite his family who became refugees when the RUF brutally attacked his town. Matters are complicated when RUF Captain Poison (Harewood), who knows that Solomon has hidden the diamond, conscripts his son, Dia (Kuypers), into his corps of child soldiers.
Archer, recently busted for smuggling diamonds, and on the outs with his former commander/current employer, "The Colonel" (Vosloo), overhears Poison accosting Vandy about the "pink" in a detention center, and sees it as an opportunity to make a score so big that he can leave the continent forever. Archer forges an uneasy, mutually exploitative, alliance with Vandy and an idealistic American reporter, Maddy (Connelly), and together, they conspire to return to the RUF-controlled area where they believe Vandy's son and the pink diamond are located.
The film is skillfully made, playing well as a genre action picture moreso than a polemic - the standard pitfall of "hot-button-issue" films. It depicts the chaos of civil war in Sierra Leone in a brutally unflinching manner, with battle scenes that use immersive techniques similar to "Saving Private Ryan". The forcible initiation of child soldiers is presented with a disturbing frankness that recalls the child gangs of "City of God". While the film as a whole is effective and involving, there are a couple of plot and story structure issues that cause it to fall short of greatness. The plot relies heavily on coincidences that include the characters stumbling on to the equivalent of needles in haystacks, and the ending goes on too long, as it insists on tying up every possible loose end with a neat bow long after the dramatic momentum has run out.
One area where the film excels is in the performances of its actors. DiCaprio and Honsou both scored well-deserved Oscar nominations for their performances. DiCaprio provides a performance that not only excels on a technical level (accent and dialect, weapons, military training, etc.) but also creates a compelling, believable character whose arc through the film is incremental and earned. Honsou, on the other hand, must overcome the obstacle that his character as written is defined by his unflagging constancy - an inherently uninteresting trait. Two key dramatic scenes he plays against Captain Poison, one early in a prison, and one late at the RUF camp show the toll that his ordeal is taking on him as much through his physical expression as through dialog. Jennifer Connelly is not quite as successful at elevating weak material. Her journalist character suffers with some too precious flirty exchanges in the early going and the distinct impression that the movie does not really have room for her story that infects much of the second half. This also makes the extended coda in London and Kimberley, South Africa seem even more superfluous.
Of the supporting cast, Kagiso Kuypers gives an exceptional performance for a juvenile actor as Solomon's son, Dia, and David Harewood brings some interesting depth to the menacing Captain Poison.
The Video
The 2.35:1 anamorphically enhanced transfer of "Blood Diamond" is difficult to assess. While it does not look as soft as recent Warner releases of films made from digital interpositives such as "Superman Returns" and "The Departed", it still seems like it could have had better detail. Visible halos along vertical edges are occasionally noticeable, but the stylized, high contrast cinematography that frequently puts dark foreground elements against bright backgrounds gives a lot of scenes an artificially "etched" look even without ringing. Shadow detail is very good, but not at the expense of deep black levels except for a few scenes where the contrast seems to have been artificially lowered to make certain shots read more clearly . My overall impression is that the DVD gives a good rendering of a highly stylized film, but take that with a grain of salt since I have no theatrical or high-definition reference with which to compare it.
The Audio
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack provides a fine representation of an enveloping mix. Atmospheric effects in the rear channels are present throughout the film, and the soundfield springs to life impressively during key actions scenes, emphasizing the chaotic nature of the gunfire coming from all directions. LFE and surround activity are used effectively, but never in an excessivly exagerrated manner. Alternate French and Spanish dubs are available, although I did not review them.
The Extras
When the first disc is inserted, skippable promotional trailers for theatrical film "Ocean's 13", video game "300:March to Glory", and direct to video film "Sublime" play. From the disc's menu, you can access a screen specific audio commentary from director Edward Zwick and a 16:9 enhanced 2.0 stereo presentation of the film's theatrical trailer. Zwick's commentary is one of the better solo commentaries I have heard from a filmmaker. While he certainly does not try to be entertaining, Zwick's comments are well presented, touching on a wide range of topics from the film's development through its production. Gaps between comments are short, and Zwick never seems to run out of steam, repeat himself, or lapse into narration of obvious plot occurences.
The second disc includes four featurettes and a music video:
"Blood on the Stone" is a 50-minute documentary by Journalist and Sierra Leone native, Sorius Somura, who also served as a consultant on "Blood Diamond". It takes the form of an investigative report into the current state of the diamond industry, and is quite an eye opener. He looks at how diamonds are mined and sold through both official and illegal channels, demonstrating in the process how easy it is to smuggle undocumented diamonds across the border to Guinea and find buyers both in Africa and in New York City. It is pretty distressing stuff, showing that existing processes are not sufficiently enforced to ensure that a diamond's true origin can be known. It is presented in 16:9 enhanced widescreen with a Dolby Digital 2.0 English track with available French Subtitles.
"Becoming Archer" is an eight-and-a-half minute featurette about Leonardo DiCaprio's character of Danny Archer, including perspectives on the character's motivation and what the actor did to prepare. Particpants include DiCaprio, Connelly, Zwick, stunt coordinator Paul Jennings, and Producer Marshall Herskovitz. It mixes talking head interview footage with film clips and bits of behind-the-scenes production footage. A lot of this material is covered as well or better in Zwick's commentary, but it is nice to hear the thoughts of some of the other participants as well.
"Journalism on the Front Line" is a five-minute featurette focusing on Jennifer Connelly's character of Maddy Bowen. It discusses research done by Connelly and Zwick, and their impressions of (unnamed) female journalists who inspired the character and Connelly's performance. Participants include Connelly, Zwick, DiCaprio, and Herskovitz. This topic was also covered nearly as well in Zwick's commentary.
"Inside the Siege of Freetown" is a ten-and-a-half minute featurette that focuses on the elaborate logistics of the sequence that recreates the time in January of 1999 when RUF rebels overwhelmed Sierra Leone's capitol city. This is the most interesting of the three production-related featurettes, with much more behind the scenes footage, and fewer film clips than the others. Participants include Zwick, Executive Producer Kevin DeLaNoy, Reporter/Consultant Sorious Somura, Honsou, Herskovitz, Producer Paula Weinstein, Special Effects Coordinator Neil Corbould, Stunt Coordinator Paul Jennings, Supervising Armorer Nick Komornicki, First Assistant Director Nilo Otero, Stunt Supervisor Thomas Struthers, and DiCaprio.
"Nas - Shine on 'Em" - is the music video for the song written for the movie and played over the closing credits. It is a straightforward, not too creative, mix of footage of the rapper performing with quick cut excerpts from the film.
Packaging
"Blood Diamond - Two-Disc Special Edition" come in a standard Amaray-style case with a hinged tray allowing it to hold two discs. The hard case is enclosed in a cardboard slipcover with the exact same artwork. The first disc with the feature film, commentary, and trailer is a DVD-9. The second disc with the remainder of the supplements is a DVD-5
Summary
"Blood Diamond" presents a harrowing tale of the costs of war, and the negative effect that exploitation of natural resources can have on war-torn countries. Video (taking into account the highly stylized look of the film) and audio quality are both quite good. For those interested in the mechanics of how the film was made, the director's commentary, available on the two-disc special edition as well as the single disc standard edition is the most comprehensive and interesting supplement. Because of the thought-provoking investigative documentary , "Blood on the Stone", the two-disc edition is recommended to anyone who is interested in learning more about the effectiveness of current efforts to curb the sale of conflict diamonds.
Note: This title was subsequently released in both competing high-definition formats with additional special features. If you are interested in the Blu-Ray edition released in June of 2007, check out Pat Wahlquist's review at this link.
If you are interested in the HD-DVD edition released in July of 2007, check out Pat's review at this link.
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