|
|
|
Fever Pitch: The Limited Edition Series
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Twilight Time Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (7th April 2014). |
|
The Film
 In the late 90's and early 00's author Nick Hornby's work reached astronomical heights, selling millions of books and attracting Hollywood heavyweights. In 1997, a small British film "Fever Pitch" would start the proverbial ball rolling, proving a hit on its native shores and garnering a fairly decent International audience as well. "High Fidelity" (2000) opened the floodgates into North America, making stars of it's supporting cast and giving star John Cusack a new lease on his faded career, "About a Boy" (2002) followed and a big budget remake of "Fever Pitch" (2005) changing the sport to baseball and casting comic actor Jimmy Fallon. Things have cooled down a bit for Hornby since then, but there's no doubt that for around 7 years his output was among the most desirable of literary properties. Before Fallon, baseball and the Americanization of foreign films came the original, "Fever Pitch" starring the always affable Colin Firth. "Fever Pitch" is at its core a romantic comedy about a complicated relationship between a man, a woman and a football (soccer) team. Paul Ashworth (Colin Firth) is an English teacher and also a life-long super fan of football club Arsenal. One day, he meets Sarah Hughes (Ruth Gemmell) and they quickly develop a relationship whose ups and downs follow in tandem with Arsenal's progress in the football league culminating with the final match that pits Arsenal's against title rivals Liverpool. It's easy to see why this charming British film had zero impact in America, a limited theatrical release was given three years after it's domestic release in the UK, and made all but $113,384 (according to IMDB), a tiny blip on the Hollywood radar, however the film's themes and romantic comedy elements made it ripe for a remake, which was a moderate success Stateside. This original film is perhaps a little too "British" for most North American audiences, but the investment in your time is worth it. "Fever Pitch" may not be the most inventive romantic comedy, but it does have charm, wit and a loveable cast at its core which makes watching it all the more pleasurable. Firth and Gemmel play their roles to pitch perfection and develop a wonderful chemistry that brings the film to life. Hornby adapted his own novel into this screenplay, who better than the author to take control of writing duties? His dialogue is our first impression of the film and it certainly entertains, encounters with the fans feature some smile inducing moments, but most importantly the banter between Paul and Sarah are the true highlights. From the moments that Sarah enters Paul's life the film is rife with wit and humour and the development of a believable relationship amid the chaos of being a mad football fan. A romantic comedy rises and falls on the merits of its cast and these two roles are cast spot on. I can't imagine anyone else embodying these characters, not even Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore in the American remake. For all its clever dialogue and spot on casting, the film is pretty much a typical romantic comedy, there's the usual amount of opposites encounter each other, are put off by each other but then eventually fall in love and attraction blooms... there are also the usual doses of schmaltzy romantic elements and some melodrama thrown in for good measure. In saying that Firth and Gemmel hold this film together and stop it from plunging into the depths of cliché, making "Fever Pitch" a film that you should at least consider viewing, if not straight up purchasing.
Video
The film makes its debut on Blu-ray thanks to Twilight Time's licensing, it's presented in widescreen 1.78:1 high definition 1080p 24/fps mastered using AVC MPEG-4 compression codec. For a catalogue title I had some reservations, and they were pretty much met. The transfer isn't going to blow anyone away that's for sure. There are some scenes that look terrific, sharp and well rendered, however there are lots of moments that look equally flat and lacking in color. I wouldn't say the transfer is bland, but definitely takes on a more working class British aesthetic. Light grain is noticeable but some scenes look a bit more "cleaned" up digitally, DNR may have been used here, a common occurrence when it comes to Universal Pictures catalogue releases. Skin tones appear natural, contrast holds up and the overall the print is generally clean. This transfer does have it's problems, but is watchable.
Audio
A single audio track is featured here, in English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo mixed at 48kHz/24-bit. The 2.0 track is fairly adequate for this release, but I couldn't help thinking how much better the stadium scenes could have sounded in 5.1 surround? The dialogue is clean and clear and frankly aside from the football scenes at the stadium the film is pretty much dialogue driven. Ambient sounds are well rendered, direction effects feel natural and overall it's a decent track. The film does not feature any subtitles.
Extras
Twilight Time has released the film with a small collection of supplements that include an audio commentary, an isolated score track, plus a promotional catalogue and a booklet. Below is a closer look at these extras. First up is a feature-length audio commentary with film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman. The track is fairly solid, Kirgo comments on her feelings towards the film and its characters, she talks enthusiastically about it. Redman, a self confessed football fan also provides some insightful comments on the sport and the film. They make a good pair and while this track is worth listening to, I would have preferred to have the involvement of key members of the cast and crew. Boo Hewerdine and Neil MacColl's music is presented here in an isolated score track in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 surround, you can watch the entire film with the score taking center stage. Distributor Twilight Time has included a catalogue consisting of 24 pages that shows off their collection of films on Blu-ray, all titles are limited to 3,000 copies only and a few of them are already sold out. Rounding out the supplements is an 8-page liner notes booklet.
Packaging
Packaged in a standard eco Blu-ray keep case, this edition is limited to 3,000 copies only.
Overall
Available to purchase exclusively only at Screen Archives Entertainment. Like Twilight Time on Facebook by going here.
|
|||||
|