Blu-ray Review Riff-Raff/Raining Stones Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

Riff-Raff/Raining Stones Blu-ray Review

It is fitting that I am writing this review on Labor Day, because the plight of the working poor is a theme which runs through many of British director Ken Loach's films. Such is the case with this, the first Blu-ray double feature to be released by Twilight Time, which pairs Loach's mostly grim 1991 film Riff-Raff with his more upbeat 1993 film, Raining Stones.

Studio: Other

Distributed By: Twilight Time

Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1, 1.66:1

Audio: English 1.0 DTS-HDMA (Mono), English 2.0 DTS-HDMA

Subtitles: None

Rating: Not Rated

Run Time: 1 Hr. 36 Min., 1 Hr. 31 Min.

Package Includes: Blu-ray

Standard Blu-ray Keep Case

Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer)

Region: A

Release Date: 08/12/2014

MSRP: $29.95

The Production Rating: 4.5/5

RIFF-RAFFRiff-Raff is an unflinching examination of the lives of itinerant construction workers during a period of high unemployment in Great Britain in the immediate aftermath of the Thatcher years. A decrepit, long-vacant hospital building is being renovated into luxury apartments by a company called London Heritage Homes. This is not a union job which is providing work for skilled workers. The construction foreman, a loud-mouthed shouter named Gus (Willie Ross), is interested only in getting the project completed as quickly and inexpensively as possible. If this means cutting corners on such "unnecessary" items as worker safety, so be it.One of the hired workers is an ex-convict from Scotland named Stevie (Robert Carlyle). He, like most of the other men on the job, is homeless and desperate for work. He and the others save money on housing by breaking into vacant flats in run-down buildings, where they jury-rig the gas and electricity. While most of the men suffer the indignities of the job with good humor, the one worker who does not hesitate to speak up with complaints is Larry (Ricky Tomlinson). The hospital building is a mess, with rotting walls and floors and an infestation of rats. Scaffolding is unartfully erected with inferior materials and shoddy workmanship. When Larry attempts to organize the men and bring their grievances to the attention of management, he puts his job in jeopardy.Stevie spots a woman's handbag in the trash and realizes that it had to have been discarded accidentally. It contains the owner's name and address, so he takes it to her flat, where she is in danger of being evicted. Her name is Susan (Emer McCourt), an aspiring singer with little discernible talent but endless dreams of becoming a star. She and Stevie enter into an uneasy relationship, in which tender affection for each other alternates with shouting matches. Both of them want a better life, but they are in fact living hand-to-mouth and his hopes for breaking out of poverty seem no more realistic than her ambition of stardom.As grim as these lives sound, Riff-Raff is not without humor. One day Larry decides that he needs to clean up and he is reminded that there is a fully-equipped bathroom in a completed unit which is being shown as a model. He makes his way across scaffolding to the luxurious apartment, where he happily sheds his clothes and climbs into the bathtub, only to be interrupted when a real estate agent shows up with three Middle Eastern women clad in burqas. There also is hilarious scene involving the spreading of ashes at a funeral, of which I will say no more.Ken Loach is no fan of greedy capitalists, but he gets his points across without being didactic. Robert Carlyle, who went on to make a name for himself in such films as Trainspotting and The Full Monty, is excellent as Stevie. Emer McCourt is thoroughly believable as the somewhat pathetic Susan, and Ricky Tomlinson is superb as the outspoken Larry. Riff-Raff is a gritty, realistic film which will not soon be forgotten by those who give it a chance.RAINING STONESRaining Stones also focuses on the working poor, although in this case the story is mostly about the non-working poor who are stuck in long-term unemployment. Bob (Bruce Jones) is married to Anne (Julie Brown), and they have a daughter, Coleen (Gemma Phoenix), who is preparing for her First Communion in the Catholic Church. Although Bob is unemployed and is living on government assistance, he is determined that somehow he will make enough money to buy Coleen a brand-new Communion dress. When Bob discusses his situation with his sympathetic parish priest, Father Barry (Tom Hickey), he is told that there are donated dresses available, but he rejects the idea of his daughter wearing a "castoff" dress.Bob has been unable to find a regular job, so he and his equally unemployed friend Tommy (Ricky Tomlinson) come up with some unorthodox and illegal ways to earn a few pounds. In the film's opening scene, Bob and Tommy steal a sheep with the intention of slaughtering it and selling the meat. They end up bringing the animal to a butcher, after which they try to get patrons a local pub to buy the various cuts. However, Tommy accidentally leaves the keys to Bob's van in the rear door lock, and while they are each downing a pint someone takes off with it. Bob is devastated, because he was counting on using the van to line up whatever odd jobs he could find. Later they are hired by a landscaper, who takes them not to a client but to a private club, where they proceed to feloniously dig up the turf and load it into the landscaper's truck.The Communion dress and its accessories are going to set Bob back more than £100, but he assures Anne that he will make the money somehow. He borrows a drain clearing tool from a friend and goes door to door, hopefully looking for a homeowner who has a plumbing problem, but the only person who hires him is Father Barry, who expects Bob to do the work for free. Eventually Bob is forced to borrow the money, which only serves to exacerbate his problems. Anne attempts to get work as a seamstress, but she is unfamiliar with the sewing machine and she botches her job interview. She grudgingly accepts the fact that her life is never going to get better, confiding to a friend that she will probably live the rest of her life in the grungy flat they call home and when she dies nobody will remember her.Robert Carlyle and Julie Brown both give believable, endearing performances, and coincidentally both went on to have roles in the U.K.'s longest-running soap opera, Coronation Street. Ricky Tomlinson is very effective as Tommy, particularly in a scene where he reluctantly accepts money from his daughter and then sobs in shame because of his inability to support himself. Gemma Phoenix is very cute as Coleen, but she has not had a film or television credit since 2000. Jonathan James is particularly chilling as a vicious loan shark. Although the protagonists in Raining Stones are seemingly no better off than those in Riff-Raff, the former is decidedly a more upbeat film.

Video Rating: 4/5 3D Rating: NA

Riff-Raff is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. It was filmed in 16 mm and is quite grainy, which seems to fit perfectly with its gritty subject matter. The source material is in excellent shape and it is difficult to imagine that it has ever looked better.Raining Stones is shown in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1. It is brighter and less grainy than Riff-Raff, although a dark scene in a parking garage displays quite a bit of grain. The source material is free of damage and the presentation is very pleasing.Both films have good detail. The color palette of each film is on the dreary side, but the colors are accurate and natural-looking.

Audio Rating: 3/5

Some viewers will find the audio problematic, particularly in the case of Riff-Raff. The issue is not with the quality of the Blu-ray's audio tracks. Rather, it is with the sometimes indecipherable regional dialects of the workers. In fact, when Riff-Raff was released in the United States subtitles were added, but this Blu-ray release does not have subtitles for either film. I found it easier to understand the dialogue when I watched Raining Stones, but that may have been because I viewed Riff-Raff first.How big a problem is this? It may be enough of a problem to cause some viewers to give up shortly into the films, which would be a shame. Roger Ebert addressed it in his review of Raining Stones:The dialogue is all in the dialect of the district, and is sometimes hard to understand, although I was never in doubt about what essentially was being said. I saw the movie for the first time at the 1993 Edinburgh Film Festival, where about half the British audience also seemed to have trouble with the accents - but agreed, during a Q&A with Loach, that one understood what was necessary, and that the rest added to the atmosphere. (Stanley Kauffmann, in the New Republic, compares the experience to attending an opera in a foreign language: "If we've read a synopsis, we're all right. With Loach, we don't need a synopsis because we can understand half and fill in the rest.")The audio for Riff-Raff is mono English 1.0 DTS HD-MA. According to IMDB the original sound mix was stereo, but I have my doubts about that. The audio for Raining Stones is stereo English 2.0 DTS HD-MA. Both music scores were composed by Stewart Copeland, and his fans will appreciate the option to listen to the isolated music and effects tracks.

Special Features Rating: 2/5

The extras are limited to the isolated score and effects tracks.Also included is an eight-page illustrated booklet with an exceptional essay by Julie Kirgo which provides fascinating insight into the career of Ken Loach.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Ken Loach films are not for all tastes, and I have tried to let readers know exactly what to expect from these highly original, realistic movies. This double feature is being released in a limited edition of 3,000 copies, so those who are interested in purchasing it should go to the Screen Archives website and verify that copies are still available.

Reviewed By: Richard Gallagher

Support HTF when you buy this title:

Thanks so much, Richard, for your very thoughtful review of these 2 movies. The titles that we've imported from overseas are generally proving to be a tough sell, but we're not discouraged and have a bunch more coming in 2015...we feel it is very important to introduce a "world cinema" aspect to TT's slate and so consequently we appreciate the support of advocates like yourself.

All best,

Nick.

Nick,
I fully support your choices of introducing a "world cinema" aspect to your releases, and I've bought them all and found them surprisingly good. However, subtitles would probably help us. And it might help you sell more copies! Just a suggestion.
I really do love your "surprises."

Thanks Bujaki -- we always include subtitles when the studio (licensor) has them available, but when we are told they don't exist, there's not much we can do!

N.

Like I tell people...watch them twice(any heavy dialect movie from the UK/Ireland).Will order this.

Twilight Time said:

Thanks Bujaki -- we always include subtitles when the studio (licensor) has them available, but when we are told they don't exist, there's not much we can do!

N.

Click to expand...

Understandable, and thanks for your response.

schan1269 said:

Like I tell people...watch them twice(any heavy dialect movie from the UK/Ireland).Will order this.

Click to expand...

Sam,
I am bilingual, but English is my second language. Plus my hearing is diminished by age. Heavy accents or slang are difficult for me to understand. But give me a classic French or Italian film and I practically have no need for subtitles. Those actors were classically trained to enunciate carefully and it's a joy to hear them.
I'll just quote Professor Higgins: "Why can't the English teach their children how to speak"?

I have no trouble with these accents and have these two films as of yesterday. I welcome issues from World Cinema if TT finds a market for their 3000 copies. My library is littered with World Cinema from all parts of the world. In my country having had an ethnic network since about 1980. The generate their own subtitles even though the policy was to show items three times only, one screening being a daytime one. Policy may have changed now but it was a good one. The language used was that encompassing the local English usage which is Australian. I understand they make these subtitles available for the DVD/Blu Ray versions. SBS screened the Austrian police series Inspector Rex(Kommissar Rex) which went to about 11 series and there was an Italian series. It was very popular and we watched it here in Australia thru to the end. As far as I can see these masters and subtitles were issued in Australia before anywhere else. An Austrian family friend says the series was juvenile and would not watch it!!!!Some of the subject matter was far from juvenile.