Discover what lurks in the muddy trenches of "Deathwatch" - which really was as cold and physically unpleasant to make as it looks - on this revealing DVD.
TECHNICAL FEATURES
Picture There's not much sunlight in those trenches, and the near relentless darkness makes for a challenging transfer. But the picture is sharp and highly detailed.
Sound The real strength of the film as a chiller is the sound mix, and the 5.1 effort on this DVD does terrify through gruesomely effective use of the rear speakers. Prepare to jump more than just a few times.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Audio Commentary One Writer and director Michael Bassett sits down for his first DVD commentary and proves to be a natural.
Highly self critical, upon viewing the film again he feels that all he can see are "the problems". He picks up on continuity errors and problem shots - like effects missed by the camera: "Little squib goes off on his arm... that no one sees," he says at one point.
That's not to say that he isn't proud of what's been achieved. And, as he points out, this was his first ever full-length movie. Certainly, whatever he goes on to make, his commentaries should be well worth a listen in the future.
Audio Commentary Two A commentary too far unfortunately, as actors Laurence Fox and Jamie Bell join Bassett for a chaotic track. Fox and Bell manage to talk over each other and Bassett, rendering most comments useless. They also make the mistake of indulging in far too many in-jokes that may be funny to them but are useless to the listener.
Audio Commentary Three And the commentaries just keep coming. This track sees Andy Serkis on his own... and with not much to say for himself. He comes up with a few amusing anecdotes, including how the actors got an afternoon of vague army training as opposed to the lengthy boot camps of other war movies. Apparently those few hours were spent seeing who could drown Jamie Bell first.
Featurette Michael Bassett opens this featurette by wondering aloud just how hard it can be directing nine guys in a hole? Very hard indeed, as we see the preparation that goes into building the trenches and then planning the shoot around them.
Behind the Scenes This is 16 minutes of unedited B-roll footage that's only of mild interest unless you like seeing actors getting drenched, rolling in mud, and looking either miserable or terrified.
Interviews You'll find short cast and crew interviews in this section, with the focus being on describing the characters they play and the plot of the movie.
Deleted and Alternate Scenes As well as longer edits of existing scenes, you'll also get to see the short scene Bassett filmed himself to convince the producers to back the project.
Additional Extra Features Also on the disc are a trailer for "Deathwatch" and trailers for other titles.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Chapters: 14
Ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Audio Tracks: English
Subtitles: See captions
Captions: English
Menus: Animated, with well creepy music
Special Features Subtitles None of the special features come with subtitles.
This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-N5 DVD player.
