|
.
 |
| . |
|
| . |
|
.
Now Available |
|
|
| ..... |
"Inside
every one of us is a special talent waiting to come out.
The trick is finding it." |
Reviewed by
Cass Nunn |
Director
Stephen Daldry
Cast
Jamie Bell,
Julie Walters,
Jamie Draven,
Gary Lewis,
Jean Heywood,
Stuart Wells
Music
Stephen Warbeck
|
| Screen
Format/s |
|
(1.85:1)
|
| Audio
Track/s |
 |
English,
German |
| Subtitle/s
|
English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, German, Polish, Hungarian. |
| Region Code
|
2, 4 |
| Chapters
|
- |
| Disc Format
|
DVD9 |
| Running
Time |
106 minutes |
| Extras |
- Featurette: Billy Elliot Breaking free
- Theatrical Trailer
- Cast and Crew Bio’s
- Production Notes
- DVD ROM Features
- DVD Newsletter |
| Classification
|
M15+ |
| Distributor
|
CTHE |
| Release
date |
9th
May 2001 |
| Web
Site |
Billy Elliot |
|
|
|
..... |
|
| . |
 ... |
Billy Elliot seems to be your average child from a
low-income mining family in the North of Britain. This is all to change though when Billy
decides to hang up his boxing gloves for a little ballet. Of course the other children and
his family do not take well to this decision and Billy cannot hide it forever. He is
taunted and insulted by everyone for being "a poof" but Billy has an ambition
and he has the feet and the rhythm to be a great dancer.
His combination of ballet and tap is really quite extraordinary and there are a few
scenes in the film in which you will be amazed by such a young mans talent.
After a lot of pressure from his ballet teacher and Billy’s own insistence his
father resigns himself to the fact that Billy is very good and deserves a shot at the
Royal Ballet School. It is here that we see the whole community pull together to help the
family and to help Billy achieve his dreams.
While the initial storyline comes across as much of a chick flick there really is a lot
of appeal in this for everyone. The combination of humour and the films ability to break
down that macho barrier is very well done and will entertain even the toughest of men. |
So how does this transfer hold up?
.... |
VIDEO
The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer excellent and only falls short
with a few minor problems. The images are generally sharp and clear throughout. There is a
little grain at times but this seems to be more of an intended effect rather than a
transfer problem. The era of the film lends itself to a little graininess at times.
The colour palette is generally made up of dismal and cold
tones to reflect the atmosphere of the scenery and this is pulled off very well. On the
odd occasion that the feeling needed to change the colour scheme did well in reflecting
the mood. Given the general dark mood of the film I surprised to find that shadow detail
was perfect throughout. The dark colours and grain would lend themselves to shadow
problems but this was never the case.
There were no MPEG artefacts and only some minor instances of aliasing but generally
these were limited to problematic scenes anyway.
The biggest problem with the transfer was a scattering of film artefacts which were
really too noticeable for a transfer of such recent vintage. |
AUDIO
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio Transfer was a little lack
lustre at times. The film is really dialogue based and this was clear and easy to
understand if you can get your ears around some of the thick accents. The film has a lot
more music in it than most and this is really a good opportunity to use the surround
channels to great effect but the music still seemed to very much based in the front sound
stage. Don’t get me wrong the surrounds were used to support the score and the music
in the film but I just thought they could have been mixed a little better.
The LFE channel didn’t get a lot use except in support
the music and one or two small appearances in some directional effects. |
EXTRAS
- Featurette: Billy Elliot Breaking free: interviews with cats
and crew, some footage from the film and some behind the scenes footage. Not a bad effort,
but really just your average promotional feature.
- Theatrical Trailer
- Cast and Crew Bio’s: Gary Lewis, Julie Walters, Stephen
Daldry, Jamie Draven, Jamie Bell.
- Production Notes: info on how an actor was found to play
Billy’s character.
- DVD ROM Features: Usual web links with a little more
production information and some film stills.
- DVD Newsletter: An effort from universal to join a
newsletter mailing list.
-
Overall
I loved Billy Elliot and I really think it has appeal for everyone. |
| PICTURE
QUALITY |
7.5/10 a
few small faults |
SOUND
- Quality
- 5.1 WOW Factor |
7/10 a little flat at times.
5/10 could have been a lot better |
| EXTRAS |
5/10 lacked quality at
times. |
| EXTRAS |
7.5/10 an entertaining
flick. |
Review Equipment
TV: GE 68cm (16:9
selectable)
DVD: Pioneer 737
Receiver: Yamaha RX-V595a
Speakers:-
Fronts: B&W 602 (on a pair of custom made stands you'd KILL for)
Centre: Venturi
Rears: Wharfedale Diamond R6
Sub: M&K v75
- Reviewed 8th August 2001
* jpeg files for internet
promotion use only. Copyright© exists on all aspects of these files by Universal Pictures |
|
|
