DVD Review The Swell Season DVD Review (1 Viewer)

In the documentary “The Swell Season,” sudden fame and the complications of romance test the professional bonds of two talented and passionate musicians. Despite minimal extras, the DVD release features a strong presentation, making for a fine companion piece to what stands as one of the most uplifting moments in Academy Awards night history.

The Swell Season

Release Date: March 13, 2012

Studio: Docurama

Packaging/Materials: One-disc DVD keepcase

Year: 2011

Rating: NR

Running Time: 1:28:07

MSRP: $29.95

The Feature: 4.5/5

When Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008, it made for one of the more magical and inspiring moments in Oscar history. “Falling Slowly,” the song they wrote together for the independent film “Once,” was simultaneously an underdog and a critical darling, as it was stacked up against three songs from Disney’s “Enchanted,” yet was a perfect embodiment of “Once’s” poignant love story. Hansard’s and Irglova’s respective acceptance speeches further cemented the win, their passion and humility a breath of fresh air in what had become a largely predictable awards program. Later the press would reveal the two musicians were dating, giving their inspirational rise to fame the added dimension of producing a bonafide romance.

Riding on the wave of the awards, Hansard and Irglova embarked on a series of tours as the band the Swell Season. Joining them were filmmakers Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins and Carlo Mirabella-Davis, who documented the pair’s travels as well as their intricate working and romantic relationship over a span of three years. Whether from prescience or simple knowledge about the nature of life, the name Hansard and Irglova chose for their band proved indicative of the special, yet ultimately temporary, nature of their post-awards experience. The filmmakers captured its bittersweet quality perfectly, delving into how the pair first met, fell in love, and found success and then being there to see parts of their longstanding relationship come to an end.

Consequently, “The Swell Season” is both a concert tour documentary, and a snapshot of a particularly critical period in two people’s lives. The film’s black-and-white cinematography emphasizes this time capsule aspect as well as highlights the strong emotional forces in play as the two navigate the complications of love and fame. While some may question the relevance of Hansard and Irglova’s personal lives, especially considering they continue to work and tour together, that they’ve persisted despite changes in their relationship shows the music they still make as a team shouldn’t be taken for granted. While certain aspects of their “swell season” have certainly faded, it’s not without significant commitment – to their music and to each other – that the strongest aspects remain.

Video Quality: 4/5

The MPEG2 encoded transfer, framed at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, features strong blacks and great contrast levels, showing off the nuances of the natural light and sometimes moody black-and-white cinematography. Detail is limited, given the standard definition format, but the content of the documentary also doesn’t demand high levels of intricacy in its images. Noise is sometimes highly visible, particularly in some of the low light concert footage, but the issues could be inherent to the source footage as I imagine much of the material was shot with high definition digital devices.

Audio Quality: 4/5

Dialogue in the Dolby Digital stereo track is consistently crisp and clear, and vocals during the film’s many musical numbers have a pleasing dynamic range and tone. Bass activity is similarly strong, giving the concert footage great depth and fullness. Most viewers shouldn’t regret the lack of a surround sound mix as the quality of the stereo track proves more than adequate for presenting the musical and documentary material.

Special Features: 1/5

Deleted Scenes (46:41): Includes 10 scenes ranging from rehearsal footage to unused concert footage from various stops on the tour.

Theatrical Trailer (1:41)

Docurama Trailers: “Bob Dylan Don’t Look Back” (2:17), “Bela Fleck Throw Down Your Heart” (2:27), “Still Bill” (2:11), “The Kids Grow Up” (2:22).

Recap

The Feature: 4.5/5

Video Quality: 4/5

Audio Quality: 4/5

Special Features: 1/5

Overall Score (not an average): 4/5

Docurama delivers a strong presentation for “The Swell Season,” a look at the joys and challenges of Hansard and Irglova’s post-Academy Award win experience. Though sporting minimal extras, the release is still worthwhile, particularly for those who wondered how the pair dealt with the sudden increase in attention and success following their once-in-a-lifetime moment.