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Ginger Snaps [Blu-ray]
(John Fawcett, 2000)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Copperheart Entertainment Video: Shout! Factory
Disc: Region: 'A' (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:48:09.524 Disc Size: 47,839,128,121 bytes Feature Size: 31,891,660,800 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.13 Mbps Chapters: 12 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: July 22nd, 2014
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 3793 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3793 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1720 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1720 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentaries:
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
/ DN -4dB
Subtitles: English, none
Extras:
• Audio Commentary with Director John Fawcett • Growing Pain: Puberty in Horror Films - Women in Horror panel discussing GINGER SNAPS (27:09) • Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by John Fawcett and Karen Walton (25:07) • The Making of GINGER SNAPS - Vintage Featurette (4:51)
Cast Auditions and Rehearsals
(17:45) • Being John Fawcett (1:59) • Trailers (3:45) • TV Spots (1:02) • Production Design Work (1:15)
Bitrate:
Description: Fifteen-year-old Brigitte Fitzgerald (Emily
Perkins, Insomnia,
Juno) and her nearly-sixteen-year-old sister Ginger
(Katharine Isabelle, Freddy vs. Jason, Hannibal)
are both best friends and outcasts. Obsessed with dying and
bound by a childhood pact to stay together forever, they
loathe their mind-numbing existence in the suburbs of Bailey
Downs. One night the two girls are heading through the woods
when Ginger is savagely attacked by a wild creature.
The Film:
The success of Ginger Snaps lies in the commitment of director
John Fawcett, actors and writer Karen Walton. They don't go for the
it's-behind-you pantomime approach that modern teenage horror movies
enjoy. They take it seriously, which makes all the difference between
empathy and objectivity. When the most responsible member of the school
body turns out to be the in-house dope dealer, you know you cannot trust
stereotypes. Vampires, zombies and cat people may have their feminine side, but werewolves are almost always male. So when 16-year-old late-developer Ginger Fitzgerald starts experiencing heavy shit a couple of days after a hairy encounter with a savage dog, she automatically assumes it's related to menstruation. But her kid sister Brigitte realises the true nature of Ginger's lunar cycle, aghast as her former best friend in the whole world starts running wild with boys, staying out all night and leaving a trail of blood behind her. The film uncovers virgin territory in a genre we all thought had been flogged to death. It begins by establishing a bummed-out mood of suburban teen disaffection: Bailey Downs is a torpidly nondescript north American burg, hardly flattered by Fawcett's forceful low budget handiwork. Just as the Fitzgerald sisters get their kicks by photographing each other in staged suicide scenes, the movie gives off an exploitation movie buzz belied by its obvious intelligence. From Brigitte's 15-year-old perspective, lycanthropy is just a more extreme example of the gross hormonal hula hoops adolescence has in store; for Ginger, it's confusing - she feels she's grown a tail between her legs - but also liberating: 'I've got this ache, and I thought it was for sex, but it's to tear everything to fucking pieces.' With a trio of strong female performances (Isabelle is Ginger, Perkins her sister, Rogers her mom) and enough suspense to camouflage some dodgy special effects, this isn't just a good horror movie, it's a good movie. Period. Excerpt from TimeOut located HEREImage : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Ginger Snaps looks good on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory. The film isn't yet 15-years old and shows some depth and inventive shots from DoP Thom Best. The 1080P image quality supports the film's effects and art direction well. This is dual-layered with a high bitrate and aside from one short instance I saw the image got brittle (a smidgeon of edge-enhancement and some blockiness - background artifacts when zoomed-in) - it seems like a capable looking disc with adept contrast. Colors can look bolder rising above SD-capability, without looking unnatural. The visuals are fairly consistent and despite a lot of very dark scenes - I saw no obvious noise. Hopefully the screen grabs below with indicate the video quality.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :Shout! Factory give the option of a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround at a powerful 3793 kbps or a simpler 2.0 channel stereo - also in lossless. The surround has some seething depth augmented by the score by Mike Shields which helps establish suspense and buoy the conflicts. It sounds very... diverse in accordance with the narrative supporting both the horror elements and the film's emotional qualities. Quite impacting. There are optional English subtitles on the region 'A' Blu-ray disc.
Extras : Shout! Factory totally stack their release starting with two audio commentaries - the first with director John Fawcett, who tens to narrate a bit, and a second with writer Karen Walton (Ginger Snaps was her first produced screenplay.) Both are filled with production information as well as personal information and about their respective careers. Ginger Snaps - Blood, Teeth and Fur is a 2014 documentary, that runs over an hour, and has interviews with director John Fawcett, writer Karen Walton, actors Emily Perkins and Jesse Moss, Producer Steve Hoban, Make-up Effects artist Paul Jones, Composer Mike Shields and Editor Brett Sullivan, It extensively covers details of the production. Growing Pain: Puberty in Horror Films - Women in Horror is another new 2014, piece by Shout! Factory and consists of a 1/2 hour panel discussion of Ginger Snaps with Axelle Carolyn , Kristy Jett, Heidi Martinuzzi and Rebekah McKendry. There are 25-minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary by John Fawcett and Karen Walton, a short - older - Making of GINGER SNAPS featurette, Cast Auditions and Rehearsals run 18-minutes and piece on the creation of the beast effect, trailer, TV Spots and more.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze July 15th, 2014
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About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 5000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. 60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD
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