PatWahlquist
Supporting Actor
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Payback Straight Up: Director’s Cut (HD-DVD)
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Rated: Unrated
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
HD Encoding: 1080p
HD Video Codec: MPEG4-AVC
Audio: Dolby Digital Plus: English 5.1
Subtitles: English; Spanish; French; English SDH
Time: 90 minutes
Disc Format: 1 SS/DL HD-DVD
Case Style: Keep case
Theatrical Release Date: See body of review.
HD-DVD Release Date: April 10, 2007
Several years ago, 1999, to be exact, director Brian Helgeland decided he couldn't’t concede his vision of Payback to what the studio and producer/ star Mel Gibson thought it should be. So he left the project, forcing Paramount and Gibson to hire another, un-credited director and rework the story and the final picture into another version. The theatrical version stripped away the gritty, 70’s style of filmmaking for a more audience friendly Lethal Weapon light, giving Gibson more time to plant his tongue in his cheek. Now, Paramount and Gibson have give Helgeland the chance to go back and restore his version of Payback in this new release created especially for the video market in 2007.
The story is quite simple, as most good crime stories are: Porter (Mel Gibson) and his partner Val (Gregg Henry) set up a plan to rob a group of Chinese thugs of their money orders for the sum of $350,000. The caper goes down without a hitch, until Porter’s duplicitous wife and Val double cross Porter, steal the cash (which was actually only $140,000) and leave him for dead. Val owes “The Syndicate” $130,000 in debt, so he saw this job as an opportunity to get right with the bosses. Porter survives the shooting and comes back to get his share of the loot. Porter is not a greedy man; all he wants is his share of the money: $70,000. As Porter, aided by a sweet ex-prostitute named Rosie (Maria Bello), hunts for his cash across NYC, he faces numerous hoods, creeps and crooked cops, but none of them stand in his way for long.
I remember seeing Payback theatrically in ’99 and being underwhelmed by it at the time. Part of it was due to the way the film looked, with its overly blue tinted haze (more on that later), its almost light-hearted narration, and Porter’s lack of seediness that made his novelized counterpart so effective. Helgeland has redone the third act of this new cut to bring the picture more in line with the 70’s pictures it pays homage to. Porter is far more directed and angry in this version, and what little humor he shows seems to come from Gibson more so than the character. Helgeland has enough faith in his audience to know they don’t need to be led through every plot nuance and he makes no excuses for the lengths Porter goes through to express his rage at being set up (so clearly defined in the restored scene in the kitchen of Lynn Porter). I am thankful Helgeland was given the opportunity to restore his vision to this picture as it now ranks up there with some of my favorite crime pictures.
Video:
Note: I am watching this title using a Marantz VP 12-S4 DLP projector, which has a native resolution of 720p. I am using a Toshiba HD-A1 for a player and utilizing the HDMI capabilities of both units.
The picture is in MPEG4-AVC, encoded at 1080p and it appears to be properly framed at 2.35:1. Helgeland and his editor Kevin Stitt explain in one of the documentaries how they went back to the original negative of the picture to present this new version. Gone is the obnoxious blue tint (a chemical process called bleach bypass) and we are presented with a much more interesting picture that enhances the world Porter lives in. The colors are rich and bold but they are limited to a fairly strict color palette that is accurately represented here. Black levels are exceptional and they exhibit very good shadow detail. Detail was good but it often got smeared and obscured by excessive graininess and some video noise. I sit at about 13’ from my screen and I would recommend at least a 1.5 screen size to seating distance to watch the picture to reduce this issue. Edge enhancement was not noticed.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack was attained by a 5.1 analog connection.
I watched the movie with the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 track engaged, which is the only option. This is a very “front” soundtrack, with almost all of the action occurring in the front three channels. I noticed only a couple instances where the surrounds engaged but only to provide atmospheric effects. Since this new version has restored the mood of some of the past great crime pictures, it may have been interesting to have had a 1.0 or 2.0 track as an option. Much of the music has been redone for this version and it is clear and accurate and it adds a good soundstage to the presentation. There was no imaging issues noted among the channels. LFE’s are natural and smooth and the blend in well with the other channels.
Bonus Material:
With the advent of HD-DVD, we are faced with several different audio and video codecs being used on each disc. Due to this, I have begun adding the encoding details as part of the explanation of bonus features when applicable and relevant. For this release, the extras are in MPEG-2 encoding unless otherwise noted.
Commentary by Writer/ Director Brian Helgeland: Helgeland goes into significant details about how the picture was changed between the two versions and the usual commentary fodder about the characters, plot, the shoot, etc. He expands on a lot of what he comments on in the documentary below.
Paybacks are a Bitch: On Location in Chicago and Los Angeles (30:00 and 19:30, respectively): Two documentaries that show us a bunch of behind the scenes footage of the shoot and comments from the stars, crew and one of Helgeland’s mentors, Richard Donner. These docs focus on Helgeland’s coming of age as a director, and he’s got some great Donner stories! There are also discussions on the costuming, lighting, technicalities of the filming and the stunts.
Same Story, Different Movie – Creating Payback: The Director’s Cut[/I} (28:45): Helgeland, Stitt, Gibson and others explain what lead to Helgeland being replaced as director and the forces that changed the plot. I love these types of “studio interference” stories, and luckily this one has a happy ending. Gibson is very political in his explanations, trying to cater to his studio bosses and Helgeland at the same time. This is a great doc that should be watched prior to listening to the more detailed director’s commentary.
The Hunter: A Conversation with Author Donald E. Westlake (10:45): Westlake details the history of the literary character and the transition to the screen. It’s a bit of a dry interview, but a nice addition to have the creator represented on the disc.
Conclusions:
What was once a mediocre crime picture has now been allowed to be restored to its directors intended vision. The HD disc does a good job representing the new picture, but with a few flaws in its video presentation. The extras truly enhance the viewing experience and show us a little bit of what truly goes on in Hollywood.
