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Ned Kelly (2003) DVD Review
Ned Kelly (2003) DVD Credits:
Ned Kelly (2003) Directed by:
Gregor Jordan
Ned Kelly (2003) Written by:
John M. McDonagh
Ned Kelly (2003) Cast:
Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts, Rachel Griffiths, Laurence Kinlan, Joel Edgerton, Kiri Paramore, Russell Dykstra, Peter Phelps
Ned Kelly (2003) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
2
Ned Kelly (2003) DVD Release Date:
1st January 2006
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Ned Kelly (2003) Synopsis:

In the latter part of the 19th century, Australia is still largely untamed. The former penal colony's first-generation Irish immigrant population lives in poverty. Having already experienced police brutality and the death of his father, bushranger Ned Kelly is wrongfully imprisoned on the trumped-up charge of stealing a horse. Emerging a few years later, in 1874, Ned is hardened but vows to stay straight. Rejoining his widowed mother and younger siblings, he makes money for his family as a champion bare-knuckle boxer. He also toils as a farmhand on the estate of an English landowner--with whose beautiful wife Ned shares a mutual attraction. But the British colonial system and its Victorian English enforcers remain prejudiced against Australia's working people, and the struggling Kelly family is no exception. When, in 1878, a bullying police officer is rebuffed by Ned's younger sister Kate and targets the family for harassment, Ned and his mother are unjustly charged with attempted murder. Ned is determined to avenge his family's name and strike back against his people's oppressors. While hiding in the bush, he forms a loyal Gang that includes his best friend Joe Byrne. When a chance encounter with the police culminates in three officers killed, the Kelly Gang is forced to go on the run. They blaze a trail through the Outback, robbing banks to fund themselves and giving police the runaround. The Kelly Gang's reputation as invincible outlaws grows, as does nationwide support from their immigrant countrymen. To the masses, Ned is a hero. To lawmen, he is the most wanted man in Australia. When the authorities bring in the formidable Superintendent Francis Hare to capture and/or kill the outlaws, Ned strategizes a risky showdown at the Glenrowan Inn. It is this event which will seal his fate--and his legend.

Ned Kelly (2003) DVD Review:

Synopsis

Hounded by the police, together with his first-generation Irish immigrant family, Ned Kelly rebelled against a system that sought to punish his family on trumped-up charges of attempted murder. Leading a small gang of men including his young brother, Dan and two friends, Steve Hart and Joe Byrne they gained support through the towns they plundered despite their criminal reputation.

The folk hero status of the Kelly gang posed such a threat to the government of the day, that a law was passed that allowed ordinary citizens to take arms against them in exchange for a large reward. However, Ned and his friends became heroes of the underclass and, whilst betrayed by some, no civilian drew a pistol against them. The final dramatic showdown at the Inn at Glenrowan gave Kelly legendary status.

Heath Ledger (A Knight's Tale) takes up the title role alongside Naomi Watts (The Ring, Mulholland Drive), Orlando Bloom (The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy) and Laurence Kinlan (Angela's Ashes).

The Films

The story of Ned Kelly, a man who transcended from first-generation immigrant to hero of the lands, has long captivated Australia. A sweeping tale of injustices and flights from the law, culminating in all-out war with the authorities and an emotional showdown with the law are in store for viewers...

Kelly and his gang have been immortalised in all manner of media and this film from Gregor Jordan is the latest take on the tale. Heath Ledger delivers his most serious and impressive performance to date in the title role, while Orlando Bloom, Laurence Kinlan and Phil Barantini play the remaining members of the history-making group of outlaws.

As engrossing as the historical chain of events may be, Jordan's film fails to live up to its expectations. The flow of scenes often feels unnatural, with jarring fluctuations in pacing or mood arousing suspicions of heavy editing or rewriting at very late stages. The middle section needs much lengthening and, although the final third of Ned Kelly boasts the most action, the most coherent viewing is to be found at the very beginning.

Ledger absorbs himself admirably into his Kelly persona, albeit with periodic accent struggles but Orlando Bloom, however, cannot shake off his prettyboy reputation to convince with his tough character. Geoffrey Rush and Naomi Watts, usually two class acts (particularly the former), also disappoint, although through faults of the script and not by their own doing. Rush needed more screen time to build up his nemesis status against Kelly, while Watts has woefully little impact upon the plot.

Overall, Ned Kelly features striking cinematography, a stirring score and a number of good scenes, but the end result fares less well than the sum of its parts and the film is ultimately average.

Video

The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer accurately reproduces the film on the small screen. The stylised colours are consistently on target, while the black levels and sharpness are equally strong.

The only grain is that inherent from the film stock, leaving the only significant complaint to be the small handful of ugly aliasing instances. Overall, this is another very competent transfer from Universal with only a few slip-ups.

Audio

Universal have to be praised for their apparent admiration of the DTS format, but, as is the case here, this love can often be a touch overzealous. On this DVD, viewers are presented with a choice between Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio streams but the latter is not remotely required since this is a non-action film with standard sound design - wasting space on such an upgrade only serves to limit the quantity of supplements.

The tracks themselves perform at the expected level of quality. Dialogue is clear from the front, albeit poorly dubbed on occasion, while the surrounds are used fairly well for score and a few directional effects. In conclusion, the 5.1 tracks are solid given the genre, but the DTS option was overkill and not worthy of a place on the DVD.

Extras

In light of the exclusion of a bonus disc and the inclusion of the afore-mentioned DTS soundtrack, very little DVD data capacity remains to store extras. As a result, fans will need only a few moments to fully explore all of the bonus material on offer.

None of the cast and crew feature in any audio commentary, so the 'Ned Kelly In Popular Culture' featurette gets the ball rolling instead. This broad 14 minute featurette contains a few snippets from the world premiere, as well as explanation of the Kelly legend and how earlier attempts to film the tale fared.

Up next are 'The Real Kelly Gang' gallery and the poster gallery, both of which are laughably unsubstantial, followed by the teaser trailer and theatrical trailer. The final item is an 'Artist To Feature' comparison that compares storyboards and costume designs with their final feature equivalent.

Overall, the extras will barely take 20 minutes to trawl through and fail to add much added value to the title for purchasers - scrapping the DTS soundtrack to make way for a commentary and/or additional featurettes would have been a step in the right direction.

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Ned Kelly (2003) DVD review written by: Rich Badley

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