DVD DETAILS:
Vision
The visual transfer here is a capable anamorphic widescreen, preserving the film’s slick and accomplished professionalism. Elegant use is made of autumnal colors and textures and the opening evocation of a beautiful and peaceful home works well to contrast the violent bloodbath that will happen within it. As is found in many Thompson films is a concern for the visual transitions between scenes. The “avenging angel” is a self-conscious motif and also an allusion to Bronson’s persona just as in this film he departs from it. Good use is made of a fluid, mobile camera and there is a fine sense of cult and community to the religious group, held in deliberate contrast to the society of rich affluence that affects it. The sense of cultural contrasts works throughout the film, a precursor to the sustained cultural clash in the later film of Kinjite. It is an accomplished film which seeks a perceptual distance from what is a quite misanthropic view of a malfunctioning patriarchy founded on violence and corruption. Thus, good use is made of how Bronson is drawn into this world and his actions as attempts to remedy not by further violence but by systematic journalistic exposure, the film thus becoming something of a detective story as it unfolds. Actions scenes are effective and there is a fine contrast between country and urban locations and the differing lifestyles and even ideological associations of both.
Sound
The sound transfer is available in Dolby Digital stereo surround, unlike the majority of other Bronson / Thompson films which are in mono. That said, although the action scenes may be tenser in stereo the mix is such that it doesn’t feel that much fuller or diverse than mono, even if it offers some stereo perks in the spatial distribution of sound effects. Sound is fullest with the score, making nice use of choral effects replete with heavy religious overtones to bring out the plot aspects. Effective use is made of wordless killers invading the natural ambience of the home setting and there is a crisp, well-rendered sense of aural distinction to the religious cult, the various families and the few higher-class urban social circles through which Bronson moves as a knowing outsider. There is a sense of individual leadership rising above a group presence and much is also made of gender difference – between active men and passive women, Van Devere culturally between such perspectives. The score is increasingly sinister and malevolent as the many plot complications play themselves out. A good motif is made out of people sermonizing, so that such extreme faith is made to seem perverse and wholly threatening in its own right – and is nicely paralleled to the almost indifferent superiority of the rich business class. Differences in location and attendant lifestyle also work well to enhance the sense of cultural clash. read more
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