Ratcatcher - Tommy Flanagan

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Lynne Ramsay
UK 1999

NOTE: This Criterion DVD of Ratcatcher is compared to their Blu-ray HERE

It's the fleeting images and little gestures that make Ratcatcher so remarkable. A pair of glasses at the bottom of a fetid canal. The skinned knee of a teenage girl. A toe poking through the hole of a stocking. A kid sitting happily on a garbage bag as if it were a beanbag chair. Grinning boys swinging dead rats by their tails.

One of the most distinctive debut films of the last decade, this feature by young Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay captures the beauty, terror and confusion in the world of a 12-year-old boy in Glasgow. The director has such a keen eye for the right details that it's hardly surprising to learn she initially studied photography, not film. (It was a viewing of experimental filmmaker Maya Deren's Meshes in the Afternoon that got her interested in movies.)

Ratcatcher has already received great acclaim in the U.K. and the U.S. -- it made the Top 20 for 2000 in a recently published poll of Film Comment writers -- and belatedly returns to town after appearances at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1999 and last year's Britpics festival.

Excerpt from Jason Anderson 's film review located HERE

Theatrical Release: May 13, 1999

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DVD Review: Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Criterion Collection - Spine # 162 - Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:33:42
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.75 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion / Home Vision Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Director Approved transfer • Video interview with Lynne Ramsay • Three short films by Lynne Ramsay • Small Deaths (1995) • Kill the Day (1996) • Gasman (1997) • Stills Gallery • Trailer • 8 page insert with essay about the director DVD Release Date: September 10, 2002 Keep Case Chapters 27

Comments

NOTE: This Criterion DVD of Ratcatcher is compared to their Blu-ray HERE

Given that this is a relatively recent film, one would expect a great A/V presentation from Criterion. Well, of course Criterion doesn't disappoint, the anamorphic image is really excellent. It has a very film-like three dimensional quality to it and being director approved we can be sure that all those beautifully drab colors are accurate. This disc isn't loaded, but what’s here is very worthwhile. I love seeing a director's early short films included with their debut film and Ramsay's really help to show how she developed. A commentary would have been nice, but given that this is a lower-priced Criterion it's still money well spent. Both film and DVD are very highly recommended.

- Mark Balson

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