DVD REVIEW: THE INGLORIOUS BASTARDS
DVD REVIEW: 3 DISC EXPLOSIVE EDITION
DVD REVIEW: SEVERIN FILMS [ 2008 ] 99'
DVD REVIEW: AVG. BITRATE: 6.69 Mb/sec
WTFFILM RATING:

WTFFILM STORE

I'll be the first to admit that I, personally, have no real attachment to this film or the majority of like films of the genre. That said, it has grown on me considerably with each successive viewing - there's a certain charm to the pairing of Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson and the low-budget action is certainly better crafted than in many many of the other films of this ilk.

Given the rather large cult following present for this title and the added buzz of the soon-to-be Quentin Tarantino remake, it's amazing to me that this hasn't been released to DVD in America already . . . Luckily for us, Severin Films rose to the challenge, acquiring the film, restoring it from its original elements, and producing a variety of new supplements - the end result is one of the better cult releases available.

THE FEATURE PRESENTATION:

Severin Films presents THE INGLORIOUS BASTARDS in a fine anamorphically enhanced and progressive 1.80:1 transfer. I'm happy to say that, unlike any of the previous discs I've reviewed from the company, they have seen fit to transfer this film onto a dual layer disc at a bitrate higher than the usual (between 6-7 MBs as opposed to between 4-5 MBs). The image looks very nice for a low budget actioner from 1978, presenting with good color and detail reproduction and fine contrast levels. Grain, when present, is kept at an absolute minimal and damage, save for a speckle here and there, is almost unnoticeable. I noticed no issues at all with the encoding of the film, though there does seem to be a bit of edge enhancement throughout. All in all, this is one of the best DVD presentations Severin has produced to date.

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 monophonic and sounds quite good - the sound mix is on par with others out of Italy at the time and is free of hiss and damage. Augmenting the many non-English dialogue sections of the film are easy-to-read English subtitles in bold white font. Unfortunately, no English SDH subtitles are included (something that is beginning to become a sticking point with me). All told, this is a fine presentation - given that the source master is apparently in HD, I'm hoping that a Blu-Ray release of the title will be made available in the near future.

THE EXTRAS:

I've found myself a bit disappointed with the extras for the past few Severin DVD releases, but there's no such trouble this go around. This new set features three discs (2xDVD 1xCD), all of which carry some hefty supplemental weight.

Disc one, the same as is available in the single disc release of the title, begins with a commentary track provided by director Enzo G. Castellari and moderated by David Gregory. Castellari provides a goodly amount of information on the production and distribution of the film and Gregory keeps it moving at a nice pace throughout. Oddly enough, this commentary is listed nowhere on the packaging for the screener copy I received and was quite a nice find when I first watched the disc. Next up is an unplanned extra for the film - a discussion between Quentin Tarantino (need I really list his credits here??) and Castellari. While Tarantino understandably and expectedly devolves into something of a fan boy at times, the feature is still quite informative and I'm happy that Severin postponed the release date of the disc so that it could be included. Rounding out disc 1 is a trailer for the film that's in rather poor condition, but still a hoot to watch.

Disc 2 seems a little sparse at first glance, but the extras here are not to be intimidated. First up is the whopping hour and 15 minute documentary TRAIN KEPT-A-ROLLIN', a full retrospective on the film including interviews with stars Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson as well as director Castellari, effects artist Gino de Rossi, producer Roberto Sbarigia, and screenwriters Laura Toscano and Fillipo de Masi. This feature alone could be enough to warrant an individual DVD release and it is not-to-be-missed for fans of the film. Next up is the brief 13 minute featurette BACK TO THE WAR ZONE, which follows the director through a series of the film's locations. Amusingly enough, the volume label for this disc is "beastXXX" - whoever did the final encoding job obviously forgot to change that minor detail along the way.

Disc 3 is a bit of a waste (given that its content could easily have been included on either the first or second DVD of the set) and includes 4 of the original soundtrack cues prepared for the film by Francesco de Masi. These are listed as being the only surviving tracks from the original score and are a worthy addition to the release, though I'm not sure they warrant a third disc entirely their own.

With around several hours' worth of supplemental material to wade through, WTFFILM can't see how any fans of the film would be disappointed here - given the price differential between the single and three disc editions, I highly recommend that fans drop the few extra bucks and take advantage of the excellent documentary included in the 3-disc edition.

THE OVERALL PRESENTATION:

As with all of the previous Severin Films releases, THE INGLORIOUS BASTARDS comes housed in an Amaray style standard snap case, only this time there is a flipper tray to house the first two discs of the set. The cover artwork is based around the poster for the film and is as colorful as the film deserves. The on-disc menus are a bit crude to these eyes but are certainly serviceable. I have no real complaints in regard to the overall presentation.

THE VERDICT:

Severin Films has done a wonderful job bringing THE INGLORIOUS BASTARDS to these shores in what is one of the finer cult releases this reviewer has ever seen - I'd rank the 3-disc edition at the same level as the output of Synapse Films. It's nice to see Severin finally branching out to dual layered discs (I hope that trend continues) and the price of the three disc edition - SRP Of $29.95 - is much more reasonable than that asked for several of their previous releases ($30 for PAPAYA LOVE GODDESS OF THE CANNIBALS . . . seriously?).

The single disc offering - SRP $19.95 - should be enough to sate casual viewers, but WTFFILM definitely recommends the 3 Disc edition to fans of the film. You won't be disappointed. Good going, Severin!