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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • Dual Layer (RSDL 50.58)
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • English: DTS 5.1 Surround
  • English: Dolby Digital Surround
  Subtitles
  • None
  Extras
  • 2 Audio commentary - director, cinematographer, producer
  • Bonus feature film - international version - 92 min

Till Human Voices Wake Us

Madman Cinema/AV Channel . R4 . COLOR . 97 mins . M15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Those who had the misfortune of sitting through the misfired (and undoubtedly studio-interfered-with) Queen of the Damned might have seen Michael Petroni’s name as part of the screenplay credit and attached him to that film forevermore. That would, though, have been something of a mistake; sure, Petroni contributed to Queen of the Damned (though how much of his script remains in the released version is unknown), but you can’t blame a guy for wanting to make a buck. The true measure of this writer’s skill is, as always, in the low-budget independent film that gets to be itself, free of committee decision, and Till Human Voices Wake Us - which also marks Petroni’s feature directing debut - is precisely that, at least in Australia (more about that shortly).

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Contact with the past...

A quiet (extremely quiet) and meditative film about loss and regret, the film is split into two sections. In the first we meet Sam (Lindley Joyner), a thoughtful young man living in the quiet Victorian country town of Genoa, right on the Victoria/NSW border near the now-popular holiday town of Mallacoota. There’s not much to do there; Sam’s dad passes the time studying and drawing insects, and Sam is free to roam the town with his close friend Silvy (Brooke Harman), musing on whatever comes to mind and very much falling in love with each other. But an unexpected tragedy changes Sam’s life forever, and when we meet him again he’s an emotionless, efficient adult (played by Guy Pearce) working in Melbourne as a psychologist. When Sam is called home to Genoa for his father’s funeral, he runs across Ruby (Helena Bonham-Carter), a mysterious woman whose past and identity have been lost to amnesia following a suicide attempt. In trying to help Ruby, Sam gets to know her, and in the process can try and come to terms with his own past.

The above plot description might have this film sounding like a soapish character drama, but the film Petroni has crafted is anything but. Quite aside from the subtle surprises and metaphysical content of the story, there’s an all-pervasive dreamlike quality to the entire film - it’s very much a visual poem (appropriate, since the title was borrowed from a poem by T.S. Eliot) and is exquisitely crafted down to the finest detail. That itself is an amazing achievement for a low-budget film, but it shows how much can be done with so little. The four lead actors are uniformly excellent (and yes, Bonham-Carter’s Australian accent is convincing!) and genuinely bring the story and characters to life. The sound design is critical throughout - a more finely detailed and subtle audio track you’ll rarely hear - and the music score, by Dale Cornelius (played by a quartet including two members of My Friend the Chocolate Cake) is spot-on perfect.

Till Human Voices was distributed in the US by Paramount, and scored fairly tepid reviews. What US audiences saw, though, was a very, very different film to what was seen in Australian cinemas and on the original rental DVD back in March. The film was extensively reworked for the US market, turning the Sam and Sylvie material that makes up the first 35 minutes of the Australian version into “flashbacks”, introducing the “star” leads much earlier and attempting, believe it or not, to play the film from more of a mystery angle. Australian audiences now get the chance to make up their own minds about whether the re-edited version works or not - it’s included as a bonus disc in this set. See the extras section for the details.

  Video
Contract

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Ruby (Helena Bonham-Carter)
Shot at a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and presented that way on this DVD (ignore the back-cover typo that has the film at 1.85:1), this transfer of the film is, surprisingly, not in 16:9 format (though the transfer of the US version on the bonus disc is in 16:9, and rates a higher video score as a result). Considering the fact that the video transfer would have been done in the last couple of years, this is unusual to say the least; it’s rare to find a telecine facility in this country that doesn’t support 16:9 these days. However, within the limitations of the 4:3 frame this transfer represents the film admirably well, showing off the warm colours and crisp detail nicely. A bit too much digital sharpening has been applied, though, and that becomes a problem on scenes crowded with detail; interestingly, the aliasing problems that cause the most noticeable distraction are far less visible on a progressive display such as a computer monitor. Black levels are quite clearly as intended by the cinematographer, who appears to have pushed the capabilities of the film stock for some of the night shots, resulting in some grain and some washed-out palettes on occasion. But there’s plenty of true black here as well.

The layer change was fairly awkwardly positioned on the rental release, and it’s been moved on this version to a slightly less annoying location in the film. However, it’s still very noticeable due to its placement shortly after the beginning of a scene, halting Guy Pearce in mid-movement at a key point in the flow of the film.

  Audio
Contract

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Sam (Guy Pearce)
The rental release provided two audio tracks - the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack heard in cinemas, and a matrixed surround mix done for home video. This retail version adds, admirably, a DTS 5.1 track as well. Both the DTS and Dolby Surround tracks have been mastered much louder than the Dolby 5.1 offering (in the case of the surround track, it’s more likely that it’s been heavily compressed dynamically), but don’t be fooled by the generally quiet demeanour of the 5.1 tracks. It’s meant to be heard that way. Just be sure to play this one in a super-quiet environment, and then listen to all the fine detail in this wonderful sound mix. The five main channels are all used intelligently and unpretentiously, with the LFE springing into life only on the rarest of occasions. A truly immersive, almost hypnotic soundtrack that decisively reminds you how 5.1 film sound was supposed to be about creating realism, not hammering the audience with gee-whiz effects.

  Extras
Contract

In our review of the rental version, we speculated that “the real extras-fest will come with the retail version”. As it turns out, that’s not really quite the way to describe it, though what’s here is valuable stuff indeed. As always with Madman-authored discs, this one’s encoded with DVD Text and features a nicely-designed encoded jacket picture for players that support those features. The animated main menu is also typically stylish.

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View from a bridge

Feature Film - Re-edited US Version: This is a rare treat. Admittedly, the reworking of the film for the US market isn’t a unique occurrence - famous examples of market-driven tampering with a director’s vision include Ridley Scott’s Legend (reworked by Scott himself) and, most infamously, Terry Gilliam’s Brazil (altered without the director’s consent). But thanks to the demands of the US distributor, who insisted that audiences would want to see the two lead actors right at the start of the film, Till Human Voices was completely re-thought by Petroni and, with the assistance of some unused footage and the judicious trimming of over five minutes of material from the Australian cut, the entire essence of the film has been radically changed. We now meet the adult Sam right at the start of the film, and have to work out what’s going on via the flashback sequences, culled from the first 35 minutes of the original cut. It’s not a disaster by any means - in fact, it’s fascinating to see just how hugely the approach taken to editing can influence a film - but the emotional impact of the story is arguably lessened by this approach which, when all is said and done, basically amounts to a dumbing-down of the movie for an impatient audience. Another radical change is the music score - Dale Cornelius’s music has been almost entirely removed, replaced by a more romantic orchestral score written by Amotz Plessner. It’s not a bad effort, though perhaps a bit derivative, but certainly it also has a strong influence on the mood of the film. Incidentally, audio for this version of the movie is also offered in DTS 5.1 as well as the two Dolby options; the same comments about the original version’s audio mix apply here, as aside from the music score the mix is very similar. Video quality is noticeably better than that of the Australian version, which is largely thanks to the 16:9 enhancement on this transfer, an almost complete absence of the digital sharpening that was so overdone on the other disc, and noticeably better colour grading and contrast. Our video score for this 92-minute version is an enthusiastic 9. (The screen captures accompanying this review, by the way, are taken from this 16:9 US version).

Audio Commentaries: On the Australian-release disc, director Petroni, initially sounding like he’d rather be anywhere else but here but quickly warming to the process, is joined by cinematographer Roger Lancer and producer Dean Murphy for an informative commentary that will particularly please those interested in the technical filmmaking process. Lanser offers some detail about things such as his choice of film stock, while Murphy is friendly and informative (not surprising - he’s a film director himself, and he and Lanser acquitted themselves well on the DVD commentary for the terrific but little-seen Melbourne film Muggers). Petroni’s thought process with the film becomes a bit clearer as the commentary goes on. It’s a very worthwhile listen. On the US version, the same three return (recorded, we’re guessing, at the same session) to discuss the differences between the two versions. This is particularly fascinating for those interested in the choices that can be made after the cameras stop rolling.

Trailer: The Australian theatrical trailer, letterboxed at 2.35:1 and non-anamorphic. Audio is two-channel matrix surround. The same trailer appears on both discs.

Soundtrack: A still-frame ad for the soundtrack, which appears on both discs even though Dale Cornelius’s music has been almost completely removed from the version on disc two!

Cast and Crew Biographies: 12 text bios for cast and crew - more than is usually included in this kind of section. On both discs.

Madman Propaganda: The usual collection of trailers for other Madman DVD product - an older batch on the first disc, and more recent releases on the second.

  Overall  
Contract

Ultimately, this is not a story about two people, despite many having read it as a kind of romance. It’s about one person - Sam - and his journey, a fact that’s clear by the end. It’s not for everybody, but those looking for something quiet, gentle and genuinely original will relish the time they spend with this film. American readers disillusioned with the version they saw in the cinema there might want to give the original version a try, too (this disc is authored to be playable in all regions).

Madman’s DVD offers decent (but not perfect) picture on the Australian version and markedly better quality on the US revision; both have superb 5.1 sound, along with the added bonus of interesting commentary tracks.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=3081
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      And I quote...
    "Those looking for something quiet, gentle and genuinely original will relish the time they spend with this film."
    - Anthony Horan
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Sony DVP-NS300
    • TV:
          Panasonic - The One
    • Speakers:
          Klipsch Tangent 500
    • Centre Speaker:
          Panasonic
    • Surrounds:
          Jamo
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard Optical
    • Video Cables:
          Monster s-video
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