Kes Blu-ray - Ken Loach

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

(aka 'A Kestrel for a Knave')

Directed by Ken Loach
UK 1969

Named one of the ten best British films of the century by the British Film Institute, Ken Loach’s Kes, is cinema’s quintessential portrait of working-class Northern England. Billy (an astonishingly naturalistic David Bradley) is a fifteen-year-old miner’s son whose close bond with a wild kestrel provides him with a spiritual escape from his dead-end life. Kes brought to the big screen the sociopolitical engagement Loach had established in his work for the BBC, and pushed the British “angry young man” film of the sixties into a new realm of authenticity, using real locations and nonprofessional actors. Loach’s poignant coming-of-age drama remains the now legendary director’s most beloved and influential film.

***

Barry Hines' novel, about a young schoolboy in Barnsley who attempts to escape the tedium and meaninglessness of his uninviting working-class future by caring for and training a kestrel that he finds, is never allowed to fall into undue sentimentality by Loach's low-key direction (his first feature). Rather than a tale of a boy and his pet, the film is a lucid and moving examination of the narrow options open to people without money, family stability and support, or education. Terrific performances, illuminated by Chris Menges' naturalistic but often evocative photography.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Kes is Ken Loach's most acclaimed film. Shot in Barnsley with a largely unknown cast, it's a highly engaging tale about Billy Casper (David Bradley), a fifteen year-old boy whose independent nature doesn't gel with the rigid authoritarianism and conformity that characterise his wasted school life. It is only through the acquisition and training of a young kestrel hawk that his existence is given meaning. It allows him the kind of fulfillment and liberation that his family or school life could never provide. For once his life has a focus - he glimpses the fact that it is possible to escape from his depressing working class environment.

Excerpt from Edinburgh University Film Society review located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: September 13th, 1970 - New York Film Festival

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

MGM - Region 2,4 - PAL vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

1) MGM - Region 2,4 - PAL - LEFT

2) Criterion - Region 'A' Blu-ray - RIGHT

DVD Box Cover
Distribution	MGM - Region 2,4 - PAL	Criterion Collection - Spine # 561- Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:46:34 (4% PAL speedup)	1:51:07.702
Video	1.66:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.29 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,376,300,172 bytes Feature: 23,229,505,536 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 23.96 Mbps
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: DVD
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0), DUB: German (Dolby Digital 2.0)	LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English (HoH), German (HoH), None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: MGM Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.66:1 Edition Details: • Trailer (2:46) DVD Release Date: January 20th, 2003 Keep Case Chapters: 16	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Collection 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,376,300,172 bytes Feature: 23,229,505,536 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 23.96 Mbps Edition Details: • Making “Kes,” a new documentary featuring Loach, Menges, producer Tony Garnett, and actor David Bradley (44:55 in 1080P) • The Southbank Show: “Ken Loach,” a 1993 profile (49:08 in 1080i) • Cathy Come Home (1966), an early television feature by Loach, with an afterword (11:33 in 1080P) by film writer Graham Fuller (1:17:15 in 1080i) • Alternate, internationally released soundtrack, with postsync dialogue • Original theatrical trailer (2:56 in 1080P) • 20-page liner notes booklet featuring an essay by Fuller Blu-ray Release Date: April 19th, 2011 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters: 22

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: (April 2011) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray: With the lackluster MGM DVD Kes was a perfect choice for Criterion to release. But we can now identify just how poor the PAL transfer was when compared beside the new 1080P Blu-ray which is described as 'Newly restored digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Ken Loach and director of photography Chris Menges, with the filmmaker’s original production soundtrack'. Colors leap to life (almost unnaturally so), contrast dramatically escalates and detail tightens - not to mention the large amount of additional information now available in the 1.66 frame on the Blu-ray. This is apparent on all 4 sides but mostly notable on the side edges.

We are given the option of the filmmaker’s original production soundtrack via an uncompressed linear PCM mono track or the International post-synched track via standard Dolby Digital. Audio is a bit of a sore spot for some with Kes - but the inclusion of the DUB as well as optional subtitles should resolve any translation issues. Criterion Blu-ray disc is coded for region 'A'.

On the supplements - we are given quite a lot starting with Making Kes is a 45-minute video piece that features interviews with director Ken Loach, producer Tony Garnett, cinematographer Chris Menges, and actor David Bradley. Fall of 2010. The Southbank Show is from 1993 - an arts episode of the British program profiles director ken Loach. It features interviews with Loach, producer Tony Garnett, filmmakers Stephen Frears and Alan Parker, writer Jim Allen, and actor Ricky Tomlinson, among others. Cathy Come Home is a seventy-seven minute television drama (reviewed on out-of-print BFI DVD HERE) , an early film by director Ken Loach and producer Tony Garnett, was made for BBC's anthology series The Wednesday Play in 1966. It shows the visual grittiness and socio-political commitment that would be the hallmark of the work of Loach and Garnett throughout their careers. Also presented is a 2011 afterword (11:33) by film writer Graham Fuller. We also get a trailer and a 20-page liner notes booklet featuring an essay by Fuller.

Tremendous release by Criterion - probably an easy 'blind-buy' for many. This is a ginormous improvement over the MGM which is selling at an 81% reduction in price - however still the Criterion is the only way to go here and it has our highest recommendation!

***

ON THE MGM DVD (2003): 'The stingy MGM DVD shows some weaknesses - non-anamorphic and moderately hazy in spots - but is progressive and sports optional subtitles. Audio is unremarkable but close, I'll wager, to the way it was produced. Set to sell to a German audience as well - it has an optional Deutsche DUB (and subs). Good news again that I don't see excessive manipulation and the image is fairly clean.

The DVD inferiorities don't take away from the magnificence of the film one iota. This borders on essential cinema folks - a riveting and memorable piece of cinema. If there was a superior DVD version - we would probably recommend but this is it for now - and we've certainly seen worse.