..Gary
Dretzka
..Noah
Forrest
..Leonard
Klady
..R.J.
Matson
..David
Poland
..Douglas
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
..Michael
Wilmington
Cross Slovakia off the places we want to visit ...
Hostel
Long before it was institutionalized with the Iron Curtain, Eastern Europe represented a dark presence in western mythology, an area at the edge of civilization, where things unhuman lurked and mingled with men. Today, the countries along Russia's western border, where the poverty of the communist past has lingered, have a similar although more sophisticated reputation. It's Europe's Tobacco Road, where sin can be had cheaply, movies can be made cheaply, and the American government can find subcontractors who will carry out torture and no one will hear the screams.Hostel, a wonderful, vomit-inducing thriller released as an Unrated Widescreen Cut by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (UPC#043396138384, $29), is set in Eastern Europe and was shot there. The heroes are Americans and the uneasy, 'open season' feeling one has about their predicament is in all likelihood an accurate measure of America's reputation these days in much of the world. That the film was made with this at least semi-sense of self-awareness for its location and political context is why it will endure beyond pajama parties and adolescent voyeurism. Derek Richardson and Jay Hernandez star as American college kids backpacking across Europe, who get a lead on a place to stay where the girls are free and easy, and the nightlife is wild and vibrant. Soon, however, their companions begin disappearing, and at this point, the film, which was directed by Eli Roth, does a very smart thing, it lets the meat grinder wail. Characters who you expect will stick around are grotesquely tortured and murdered. The blood and guts that ooze out and splatter across the screen are even more prodigious than the earlier sex and nudity. The film becomes as exciting as it was sexy and then gross, and even though loose plot ends are wrapped up a little too neatly in the final scenes, the 94-minute program delivers everything you could ever want for a night of cinematic debauchery, including just enough conscience and political metaphor to prevent its impressions from evaporating.
The letterboxing has an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The color transfer is fine, and much of the time you're averting your eyes, anyway. The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound is terrific, with make-you-squirm surround effects. There is an alternate French audio track in 5.1 Dolby, optional English and French subtitles, 6 minutes of raw footage showing a group of kids destroying an automobile, and 55 minutes of good behind the scenes footage.
Additionally, the DVD has four commentary tracks, and they're all terrific. Roth participates on every one, but you should listen to them in the reverse of the order they are presented on the menu, thus beginning with Roth's solo talk at the microphone. He describes the residual effects of having created the sleeper hit, Cabin Fever, and the connections he made around the world while taking the feature to film festivals-it was at such a festival that he first met one of the stars of Hostel, Eythor Gudjonsson. He also offers his take on the whole Hollywood scene, shares some strong opinions about the disingenuous nature of unions on low budget productions, describes the horrors of the preview process, talks a little bit about the story and the shoot, and supplies a general history of the film's production. Although he's a likable guy, he's definitely got what it takes to be a ruthless director. There are a few scenes in the film involving a gang of very young kids. "They're trying not to crack up. There's one kid who kept on laughing and we actually had to throw him off the set, and I felt bad doing it, but I was a camp counselor for many years, so I know how to get a group of boys to shut up. This one kid was like laughing very publicly, in front of everyone, and I was like, 'You! Outa here!' And I pulled him out of the shot and everyone else got so scared that they were going to get cut from the movie, and I felt bad but, you know, it had to be done."
On another track, Roth sits with producer Chris Briggs, and Roth's brother, Gabe, who shot the behind-the-scenes material. Although they do share more anecdotes about the shoot and their opinions about the story, their focus is on the technical challenges they had to overcome, finding an array of locations and creating mayhem on a restrictive budget. They sing the praises of working in Eastern Europe-Roth apparently never wants to make a movie anywhere else-and fill in many details about how the move was made.
Roth sits with editor George Folsey, Jr. for about half an hour on the next commentary, and then speaks on the phone, first with Internet film critic Harry Knowles, who had advised Roth on the script during pre-production ("I don't think that a lot of those critics out there-and I'm not talking like mainstream critics, I'm talking just fanboy critics-I don't think a lot of them believe the genuineness of [our relationship]. I think that they think that the reason you call me is to 'quote' get good coverage, but the reality is because we like to geek out about this stuff," followed by actress Barbara Nedeljakova (she says that worrying about doing a nude scene is far more taxing than actually doing it), and Gudjonsson (he has the same personality in real life that he does in the movie).
And then finally, for a total geek fest, Roth sits with producers Quentin Tarantino, Boaz Yakin and Scott Speigel, riffing on the film as it unfolds with more background stories, insights and reflections on the film's place in the world of cinema. They also share funny stories about traveling in Europe, as Tarantino describes with great amusement a prostitute's room in Amsterdam that had a poster tacked on the wall for Born on the Fourth of July ("Like, that's really going to get you into the mood.").
June 27, 2006
DVD Roundup: This Week's DVD Releases
The Review VaultDouglas Pratt's DVD-Laser Disc Newsletter is published monthly.
For a free sample, call (516)594-9304 or go to his website at www.DVDLaser.com
