Topic: Four Lions DVD/Blu-Ray Review

[Neil]

Let me start with a brief precis for surprise-loving control freaks like myself:  The commentary (or commentaries, I reckon) weren't included on the check disk - for some reason the audio set-up has been disabled for reviewers.  However, this is still a bloody great presentation of a really wonderful film.  The disk is absolutely packed with funny, fascinating, thoughtful extras, and the presentation is excellent, and occasionaly inspired.  You're going to buy it regardless of what I say, anyway, but if you preorder using this link for the DVD or this link for the blu-ray, you'll supply a tiny but much-needed trickle of cash which will allow me to continue to pay for the forums hosting bills.  This whole thing is sadly too big to get by on donated space, these days, although I'm relishing the chance to finally be able to expand it.  11 last Sunday, incidentally.


Right.  The first thing that struck me about the DVD is how well chosen all of the extra material is.  Pretty much all of it goes towards enhancing your appreciation of the main feature, particularly the Background Information section, which provoked a fair bit of thought and emotions here.  Morris seemed to resent DVD extras when he started releasing his back catalogue, and it must be somewhat galling to see fans like myself moaning about the paucity of extras on the Brass Eye release.  After all, this was a show we all figured would never, ever get a commercial release, and once it comes out, it's met with 'yeah, nice one, but ffs, considering all the stuff you could have put on there....' 

Morris must have quickly realised the potentional there was in fully engaging with the format, and subsequent releases featured a much stronger array of supporting content.  His DVD releases are quite innovative in places, and feature the remarkable amount of care and attention to detail that always trademarks his work.  The My Wrongs packaging and menus are brilliant and, if you let them, they'll draw you onto the same wave-length as the protagonist.  That's the aim - My Wrongs is a vivid emulation of psychological states, and Morris uses the packaging/menus as an extension of the main feature - in other words, he uses them to evoke a mood, much as any director will with the camera work and sound-track of the piece.  This all feeds back into the short, serving to enhance your appreciation of it. 

Four Lions feels like a more traditional presentation, but with all the flourishes we've come to expect.  Most of the menus are minimalistic, so that your focus remains on the footage that plays in the background.  I seem to recall the Nathan Barley DVD being the same - you get some really great, previously unseen footage providing a backdrop for most of the menus.  Barry's exit from the van is a particular highlight, and myself and my friend Trench quickly worked out where this scene must have been cut from.  This is one of the things that's brilliant about the Deleted Scenes section itself, you see... you only get a couple of "unused versions" of scenes (Fessal's Video and Bomb Factory, both available on the official site), but the other five clips are segments that just seem to have been snipped out of the movie because they drive the point home too much, or perhaps for reasons of time etc. 

The focus on character comedy means I laughed more at these scenes, than I did the first time I saw Four Lions in the cinema.  The film itself gets better on repeat viewings as well.  Bain and Armstrong - at their best - are capable of an almost Larry David-esque skill with character comedy, and CM's inspired way of twisting things until they become slightly surreal (while still maintaining a consistent internal logic) is what makes Four Lions such a successful application of Morris' humour to a narrative-driven format.  Surely this must be the single-greatest cast of any Morris project, too?  Kayvan Novak continues to exceed all expectations in the Deleted Scene called "The Martyr Feels No Pain" - this features Waj and Omar in Pakistan, a location some of us were desperate to see more footage of.  Remember the short clips of "Barry's Training Camp" on the official site?  There's an extended version of that little beauty of a scene as well, and it contains a line that blows "fuck Mini Baby-Bels" right out of the water.  All of the deleted scenes are just gold, though, thanks to the strength of the writing, and how well-rounded and performed the characters are. 


In fact, the characters personalities even shine through in the deleted scenes menu itself, which is based round the Party Puffin website featured in the film.  This screen also gives you access to an easter egg, which takes you into the Puffin Press Center.  This is a funny, cutesy parody of some of the most tediously generic and uninspired questions Morris has been asked by journalists over the last 6 months or so.  I'll write more about that in the replies to this post, so you can avoid the details if you wish.  I'll also be going into the Background Information section in more detail there, and I'll also compile a list of all the disc's contents. 

Let's summarise, then:  This lovingly-compiled release will thrill fans of Four Lions.  The unseen footage is as strong as anything in the main feature, if not occasionaly stronger, and you'll relish the oppurtunity to see gaps in the time-line being filled in.  It's a joy to spend more time with these characters. The Background Information section is, as I've mentioned, powerfully thought-provoking, and throws new context on the cultural issues this film is based around.  The picture quality seems stunning, although there were some audio problems on the check disc, which I'm sure will be resolved for the final release - presumably some kind of anti-piracy device.  There are no generic, plodding, just-for-the-sake-of-filling-space extras here, as you would find on most releases... everything on this disk serves to enhance your appreciation of Four Lions, and I can't wait for the commentaries (despite the fact that I barely bother with the things, as I want to work everything out for myself.)  Roll on the 30th, and roll on the next Chris Morris project.  I hope you enjoy the Four Lions DVD release as much as I have so far.

The main discussion thread for the DVD/Blu-Ray release is in Comedy Chat.  If you don't want to register, though, bear in mind that I keep posting open for guests with these updates. 

The film gets a general release in Australia this time next week, and Twitter reactions to the preview screenings have been very strong.  If you're an Aussie Morris fan, or a newcomer to his work, I'd love to hear what you think of the film.  Comedy Chat even has an Aussie comedy thread full of Australian posters, so you'll feel right at home.  It was a damn shame not to hear from the Americans etc who caught the festival screenings of Four Lions, but sadly, social networking means people don't seem to go looking for fan sites as often these days.  If you'd like to read the pre-existing discussions about Four Lions, here's a full list.

Back very soon, with the winners of that poster compo, and...well, who knows.  There are a million and one things I'm working on for this place at the minute. The Image Archive has been substantially upgraded, and I'll continue to add new bits and pieces now that's been done.  The Blue Jam episode guides have also been given a considerable overhaul, and are now much more comprehensive and useful - this is thanks to the tireless work of Lee Ashcroft.  Major thanks to him.  I'll leave you with a couple of clips of a GLR show that was kindly supplied by Neil Mossey, and which has been given serious audio reconstruction work by No Sleep Nigel.  I need to replace some of the static-y segments of songs before I consider it worth releasing, but this should keep you going in the mean time. 

DVD Contents, and Background Information analysis

[Neil]

Background Information

Two very thought-provoking extras reside in the Background Information section, and I'd advise you not to bother reading this until you've seen them, as it may thoroughly ruin your experience.  I'm very interested to know if people will respond in the same way I did. 

Let's get the menu out of the way first.  It features more scenes of Omar and Waj in Pakistan, and is presented as an authentic training video.  The ratio is 4:3, and there's plenty of VHS grain.  It looks exactly like a video that's been dubbed a few times, then ripped to DVD.  Prepare for the mother of all ear-worms when you hear the fanastic background music.  Let's get onto the real content...

The first feature is called "Lost Boys", and is a short film made by the Associate Producer Afi Khan.  It's centered round a group of muslim fellows, living in a small English town called Nelson.  It becomes immediately obvious that this is a hotbed of racial tension, and at times it almost seems like Nelson is segregated. 

I recall interviews with Morris where he said that, during the course of researching Four Lions, he drove around with young lads like this, observing as they shouted out of car windows.  That's exactly what we see in Lost Boys - we see these young lads acting like many people of their age, but with an underlying racial tension at play. 

What really got me about this short, is the way you quickly side with the 'lost boys.'  It's immediately established that they feel entirely unwelcome, and suffer from racial abuse as a matter  of course.  We're told that the BNP tried to stand there, and shown Union Jack's hanging from house windows etc.  They're disliked for reasons beyond their control, and suffer from white Brits not fully understanding the full cultural ramifications of, for example, pissing outside a Mosque when drunk. 

So...why wouldn't you side with them?  Well, in some ways they're as bad.  We have context, so we empathise, but I actually found that surprising, because we see the muslims engaging in racism, and a variety of generally unpleasant behavour!  It's pointed out that they don't trust 'whites', and we see them driving around, shouting at passers-by about how they're 'white bastards.' 

Afi Khan's skill is contexualising their situation makes it very hard to form any kind of negative judgements about them, despite this behaviour.  They seem like fundamentally decent lads, with aspirations towards helping out the community in the future by moving into youth work, for instance.  You understand that, really, they're just as rowdy as you'd expect any group of young blokes to be.  It's the combination of youth, the colour of their skin, and this feeling of being surrounded, persecuted and unwanted that makes them act in this manner.  The cultural differences mean that they split more readily into 'sides.'  It also doesn't really seem like there's much, if any, hate at the center of what they do or say.  They're just being squeezed into a role, because that's part of their identity as British muslims. 

We see that they resent and distrust the police, because they feel singled out by them.  As Trench pointed out, this isn't exactly unusual, and Lenny Bruce had great insight into why most of us grow up distrusting the police (early toilet training).  However, if it's something like long hair that gets us unwelcome attention from authority figures, we can cut it. 

This obviously has echoes of Four Lions - or vice versa, I guess.  In Four Lions, we find ourselves confronted with similar contradictions at every turn, and we empathise with the suicide bombers.  We even like them, because they're fully-rounded characters, rather than nightmares we've conjured up, prompted by the sensationalist news media, and our own cultural ignorance. 

Lost Boys is an absolutely fascinating, thought-provoking short, and it will give you genuine insight into Four Lions, and society in general. 


The other feature in the Background Information section is an interview with Mohammad Ali Ahmad, who was awaiting trial for "preparing an act of terrorism", and who had been imprisoned on remand for over a year.  Mohammad is a white convert/revert to Islam.  He appears to be a creative, passionate and sensitive young man who takes his religion very seriously. 

Let me skip to what I found to be the two most important parts of this interview.  Mohammad describes the process of being arrested, and starts to outline some of the questions he was asked under interview.  The authorities produce a letter which he had sent to his daughter, and we're told that it ends with 'If I do not live long enough to write this out neatly, then I'm sorry this is the only copy you've got.'  The police supect this to be hinting at a martyrdom operation.  I'm ashamed to say that the thought crossed my mind as well.  Reasons are given for the phrase used - he explains that it was written late at night, and then goes on to briefly explain that Muslims are very aware that they can die at any time.  The letter is used to keep him on remand for a long time, so that he can't fulfill his apparent desire to become a suicide bomber.

At the end of the interview, a caption flashes up which informs us that in March of this year, two of Mohammad's associates (who referred to themselves as the "Blackburn Resistance") were found guilty on terrorism related charges.  Again, I found suspicion nagging in the background.  Another caption tells us that Mohammad Ali was acquitted.

I quickly realised how ignorance causes fear, and how overblown things can become when you add culturual and religious differences.  Lack of knowledge leads to suspicion, which in turn leads to fear, which in turn leads to reprisals.  As I said, we're told that Mo Ali was found innocent, then we're immediately told that his two associates were found guilty.  It's so, so easy to make presumptions from that, but who on earth am I to know better than the courts?  You get a taste of how easy it is to make judgements based on very little information, with suspicion filling in all the blanks - even the ones that are caused by cultural ignorance.  You realise the incredible weight a phrase like "no smoke without fire" carries, and you begin to recognise how it originated.  You walk away from this DVD feeling challenged, embarrased, and enlightened. 

[Neil]

DVD/Blu-Ray Contents

This is a list of what I've found so far, including the hidden stuff.  As mentioned in the main review, the commentary track isn't included.  I'm wondering if there will be a Bain & Armstrong commentary, plus a cast commentary.  Or perhaps they won't even use the stuff they've recorded - I'll try and get some more information.  This list doesn't include the previously unseen footage used as menu backgrounds - on top of that, you also have the Puffin Party screens, and the training video.

Four Lions - Main Feature
Audio Set Up
Subtitles
Extras
   Background Material
     Lost Boys - Short film made by Associate Producer Afi Khan
     Interview - Interview with Mohammad Ali Ahmad,
     who was on remand for "preparing an act of terrorism."
  Deleted Scenes
     Bomb Factory - Unused Version
     The Martyr Feels No Pain
     Palestinian Dad
     Costumes Are Statues
     Chase
     Barry's Training Camp
     Fessal's Video - Unused Version

Deleted Scenes also gives you access to:

Bradford Interviews
Behind The Scenes
  Smooth Running Rehearsal
  Ostrich
  Barry In The Woods
  Fight On Bridge
  Fessal Sheep Demise

[Neil]

Placeholder for a bit of info on the Behind The Scenes and Bradford Interviews section. 

[weirdbeard]

Thanks Neil, I'm really looking forward to this, I didn't get enough out of the film in the cinema as I'd have liked, the comfort of my own presence should make for a better experience. 

Are the commentaries not on there at all, or just not available through the Audio Setup screen?  Have you tried changing the audio track manually?

[Neil]

Thanks Neil, I'm really looking forward to this, I didn't get enough out of the film in the cinema as I'd have liked, the comfort of my own presence should make for a better experience. 

It really does require repeat viewings.  Plus, as mentioned above, it really benefits from them, like all good character comedy.

Are the commentaries not on there at all, or just not available through the Audio Setup screen?  Have you tried changing the audio track manually?

Yeah I tried selecting a commentary track from within the film itself, but there's no other audio track available.  The audio set-up screen just has the video in place, but the menu absent.  The video that plays is of the guys stopping the van to pray to Mecca, you see a brief bit of it over the end credits.  There's a really weird, interesting quality to the shot actually, because of the glaring car headlights.  I've emailed ThinkJam, so should find out the situation regards commentaries tomorrow. I must remember to check out the electronic press kit, too.

[madhair60]

Great coverage.  Finally I'll be able to see this film.

[weirdbeard]

I've emailed ThinkJam, so should find out the situation regards commentaries tomorrow.

Just saw the Twitter message: "Chris decided he didn't want them on there in the end".  Bloody hell.

[Neil]

Just heard back from Optimum Releasing with regards to my queries about the commentary tracks.  Apparently Chris Morris decided he didn't want them on there in the end, so they won't be a special feature.  It's a great DVD without them, anyway.  (edit:  Oops, yeah, as weirdbeard says above).

I should have the final version of the disk next week, so I'll post up any details of changes. 

By the way, I'm kicking myself even more for not bootlegging the Bradford Q&A's and intros when I was over there.  There's about 10 seconds worth of a Q&A on there, and I was sat at the back with a stereo condenser mic and a minidisc recorder in my pocket!  Didn't seem worth the risk of getting booted out though.

[Neil]

Just saw the Twitter message: "Chris decided he didn't want them on there in the end".  Bloody hell.

I wonder what the reason is, perhaps they weren't considered to be that interesting, or it could be that they lacked spontaneity, given all the Q&A's they've done.

I wouldn't imagine they'd sit and explain everything, thankfully, so I wonder if it was simply that they seemed a bit too chummy and conventional?  Or perhaps they simply didn't add anything - everything else really does add to the film, the deleted scenes are partly great because you get to see bits of the timeline filled in.  Plus, you just want to spend more time with those characters.  I wouldn't have minded seeing more of Kevin Eldon and Boyd, as that Menezes-referencing scene still doesn't work on any level for me. 

[El Unicornio, mang]

Nice write-up. Haven't even seen the film itself yet so can't wait to get the DVD and feast on the main feature and extras one evening.

[Neil]

A copy of the final blu-ray just arrived - I know Trench mentioned that blu-rays can often have very plain packaging, but this is identical to the DVD packaging displayed above. 

I was also lucky enough to receive three copies of the DVD to give away, and three copies of Disgusting Bliss!  I'm finishing reviewing the DVD for another site at the minute, so once that's done, I'll get the poster competition winners up here, and then do a new update where you can win these other goodies.  Trying to get you folks some tickets to the DVD launch party, too, but no joy as yet.  It does have another Q&A, so you might want to check that link.

[AsparagusTrevor]

I saw an advert for this in the Metro this morning (as well as a 5-star review in their DVD section) and they'd pixellated out the bomb stuck to the crow on the cover. What the fuck, is that really necessary?!?

I got the DVD this morning so I'll finally get to see it tonight hopefully.

[An tSaoi]

Are there any hidden features, and does anyone know how to get them?

_{Yes, I know this defeats the fun of wildly stabbing buttons on all the menus for half an hour until you find 30 second DVD credits or something.}

[JPA]

I saw an advert for this in the Metro this morning (as well as a 5-star review in their DVD section) and they'd pixellated out the bomb stuck to the crow on the cover. What the fuck, is that really necessary?!?

Heh, really? Be good to get a scan of that.

[JPA]

Are there any hidden features, and does anyone know how to get them?

_{Yes, I know this defeats the fun of wildly stabbing buttons on all the menus for half an hour until you find 30 second DVD credits or something.}

On the 'Deleted Scenes' menu, if you wait until the Moderator bird arrives on screen with a STOP sign, then press up on your remote, it takes you to another menu (Puffin Press Centre) that gives you access to some behind-the-scenes material and a Bradford featurette.

The gathered Puffin Press also offer up various bland questions if you leave the menu running e.g 'What about the families of people who have families?'

[AsparagusTrevor]

Heh, really? Be good to get a scan of that.

Not a scan exactly, screenshot from their online edition:



Also here's their review:
Metro 'Four Lions' Review

[Neil]

Ha, brilliant. 

I've reviewed the DVD/Blu-ray again for The Culture Vulture:

http://theculturevulture.co.uk/blog/?p=7714

Many thanks to Boycey for asking me to do it, and the very helpful assistance he gave me. 

[Glebe]

Saw it today in HMV... nice little book thingy. Blu-ray is 21 euro, not bad, but may wait to see if it goes into a sale!

[An tSaoi]

[Easter Eggs]

Heh, I just found that out by accident. Thanks anyway.

[thepuffpastryhangman]

What's the point of hidden features? "Your dessert sir? It's across the room under a seat on table five (of course!)."

I've never seen any, let's be right, who's got time to look? Sure, we all had fun turning the cardboard dial on Led Zep III, but the world was a slower place and we were young. And, the main point, with vinyl (or VHS) you might've sought more because it was pretty clear from purchase what you were getting. Apparently some folks even span LPs backwards...

But now, on a DVD or BluRay, there's so much scope for the inclusion of all types of extras, (virtually) no one ever bothers with half of them anyway. I appreciate it's different here, especially regarding (something like) Four Lions, but why hide stuff? If I wanted an Easter Egg hunt i could just ask someone to hide the bloomin' disc itself.
I also think it's a distraction, again less so here than generally, but a distraction nonetheless. Ideally a piece art should be of such density you can't possibly understand it all, let alone have time left spare to mess around searching for buried 'treasure'.

Extras are fine, but why hide them?

[I say "fine" but in music isn't it possible they could destroy the mysticism? For example, I'm fine knowing about Zimmy "staying up for days in the Chelsea Hotel, writing Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands", but if, as an oh so impressionable young un, I'd been able to watch several hours of him sat there on BluRay, or, ha, a live web feed, the enchanting eeriness of the song would've been destroyed forever.

Today's kids eh, they don't know the riches of not knowing.)

Anyway, extras, why bury 'em?

[sirhenry]

Just to say that since the DVD came out the playground at my daughter's secondary school (70ish% Muslim) has been overwhelmed with kids quoting from the film. Hopefully this can only be a Very Good Thing.

[rinksy]

The audio set-up screen just has the video in place, but the menu absent.

I don't know if your copy was different to the final release, but the menu is there. It's just outstandingly subtle. (Check out the illuminated road sign.)

[neveragain]

Sorry if this has already been covered but I've just got the DVD today in Blu-ray and can't find the Party Puffin screen or associated easter egg, so I'm wondering if I've missed it somehow or if there's anything in the normal DVD package that isn't included in this fancypants, more expensive (albeit clearer) Bluey-wooey version?

[AsparagusTrevor]

Sorry if this has already been covered but I've just got the DVD today in Blu-ray and can't find the Party Puffin screen or associated easter egg, so I'm wondering if I've missed it somehow or if there's anything in the normal DVD package that isn't included in this fancypants, more expensive (albeit clearer) Bluey-wooey version?

I've only got the Betamax on Laserdisc so I can't help, sorry.

[Neil]

I don't know if your copy was different to the final release, but the menu is there. It's just outstandingly subtle. (Check out the illuminated road sign.)

Thanks, yes, I did work that out, but it took a week or two for me to notice.  It is nice and subtle, although I was also looking at the screen with the expectation that there'd be links to a commentary track or two.  So the preview disc was actually the same as the DVD, nowt had been disabled at all.

Sorry if this has already been covered but I've just got the DVD today in Blu-ray and can't find the Party Puffin screen or associated easter egg, so I'm wondering if I've missed it somehow or if there's anything in the normal DVD package that isn't included in this fancypants, more expensive (albeit clearer) Bluey-wooey version?

No Party Puffin menu, or training video, but the content is there.  From memory, you go to the the extras menu, and just keep pressing right.  Or press down, but I'm quite sure you just keep pressing right, and then you get a hidden menu option for the other content.

[neveragain]

Ah cheers Neil. I am still slightly vexed to pay slightly more for slightly less.

[Glebe]

CHUD review.