The Film:
In 1986, Jon Amiel directed a mini series for the BBC called "The Singing Detective" which was written by Dennis Potter. With a fantastic cast inlcuding the likes of Michael Gambon, Patrick Malahide and Joanne Whalley along with the great direction and story, the mini series was welcomed with critical acclaim and was one of the most successful series ever. Fast forward to 2003 and director Keith Gordon (Shadow Realm, Welcome The Dead) has attempted to turn what was a seven/eight hour show, into a two hour movie. With just as strong a cast including the likes of Robert Downey Jr (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Good Night And Good Luck) as Dan Dark, Robin Wright Penn (Forrest Gump) as Nina/Nicola, Mel Gibson (Braveheart, Passion Of The Christ) as Dr. Gibbon, Katie Holmes (Go, TV's Dawson's Creek) as Nurse Mills and Adrien Brody (King Kong) as First Hood and the same story from Dennis Potter, this film adaptation just can't fail. Can it? Well unfortunately, due to being squeezed into under two hours, the story suffers. It follows a sick author, Dan Dark, who is suffering from an extreme case of psoriasis, and whilst hospitalised he is reworking the book in his head. He is also suffering from paranoia however as well as being feverish and having a knack to breaking into songs. With his paranoia, he manages to confuse himself with the main character from his book, a detective who is investigating the death of a prostitute in the fifties. Whilst the film is wonderfully cast and very well acted (particularly the usually problematic Robert Downey Jr), the story falls short, though critics were a bit too harsh on the film. Because of the harsh word of the critics and general poor publicity for the film it failed to light up the box office, but in my eyes, it deserved to get an average reception and some semi-decent takings. I'd recommend renting before you buy.
The DVD:
Video:
Pyramid Home Video have provided us with a non-anamorphic transfer presented at 1.85:1 and it falls slightly short of expectations. I would've expected a crystal clear anamorphic transfer on a film so new, but what we are given is a picture that seems to suffer from slight 'ghosting' so this may have come from an NTSC source and not been properly authored into PAL. There are no subtitle options included on the disc.
Audio:
We are given the option between an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track as well as a Russian one. Naturally, with the film being English and my Russian being non-existent apart from what I've learnt from the dodgy bad guys in eighties action flicks, I listened to the English track. Dialogue was clear and music levels weere consistent throughout with good use of the surrounds, and very little use of the LFE. The surrounds could've been used a bit more than they were, but what we have is certainly adequate.
Extras:
Theatrical Trailer - The first in a small line of disappointing extras is a theatrical trailer which is presented in English. Gets your interest for the film which is all it is made to do.
TV Spot - Pretty much a shortened version of the trailer presented in Russian. Quite funny dubbed.
Bonus Trailers - We are also give five bonus trailers all presented in Russian. They are Detention, Jeepers Creepers 2, Bend It Like Beckham, Out For A Kill and National Geographic Compendium.
Cast Filmographies - The final extra on the disc is a set of filmographies for three main cast members (Robert Downey Jr., Robin Wright Penn and Mel Gibson).
