Bad Boy Bubby Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Bad Boy Bubby Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 4, 2012

Winner of the Grand Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and four Australian Film Institute Awards, including Best Director and Best Actor in a Leading Role, Rolf de Heer's "Bad Boy Bubby" (1993) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian distributors Umbrella Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with director Rolf de Heer and actor Ncholas Hope; video interview with Nicholas Hope; the short film "Confessor Caressor"; Q & A with Nicholas Hope; and an original theatrical trailer. In English, without optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The Bad Boy

Bad Boy Bubby is a weird, hilarious, sad, offensive and somewhat explicit film. It is directed by Rolf de Heer, a Dutchman who grew up in Australia. In 1993, the film won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival.

Bad Boy Bubby follows the deeds of a 30-something man, Bubby (Nicholas Hope, The Goddess of 1967), who has spent his entire life locked in a tiny, windowless room. Mom (Claire Benito), a religious fanatic, takes good care of Bubby – she cooks for him, bathes him, and even has sex with him whenever she feels like it. When she goes out shopping, she wears an old gas mask.

Bubby does not have any friends. When Mom is not around, he plays with his cat. He also talks to her whenever she does not listen to him. When the cat upsets Bubby, he likes to wrap her in cellophane and teach her how to behave properly.

One day, Pop (Ralph Cotterill, The Chain Reaction) appears. He is a priest with a sharp tongue. Bubby does not know how to react to Pop, so when he takes his mother out on a date, and later on attempts to have a good time with her, he attacks him. Then, he ends up teaching Mom and Pop a lesson – while they are asleep, he suffocates them. Shortly after, Bubby puts Mom’s gas mask on and for the first time in his life leaves his home.

Out on the streets, Bubby has a difficult time. He sees things he has never before seen. Cars, food, neon lights and music make an enormous impression on him. So do the women – apparently, they come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. They are short, tall, quiet, bubbly, friendly and not so friendly.

When Bubby befriends a group of traveling musicians, his life suddenly changes dramatically. He is invited to “sing” for them – Bubby basically screams and shouts words and phrases he memorized during the years - after he accidentally impresses a crowd of drunks. He also befriends an overweight nurse, Angel (Carmel Johnson, Angela’s Decision), who eventually marries him.

Bad Boy Bubby is an incredibly original film. It blends humor with drama in such a unique fashion that many of the key scenes in it are worth watching two, even three times in a row. The main protagonist is nothing short of brilliant; his face unveils a sea of emotions that every aspiring young actor should study how to replicate.

There is a rather long interview with director de Heer that Eureka Entertainment have included on this Blu-ray disc. In it, he talks about the production history of his film, its reception at the Venice International Film Festival and all the controversy that surrounded it. Half way through the interview, director de Heer mentions that it took him over ten years to complete Bad Boy Bubby. I believe him. There isn’t a single scene in his film like the one preceding it. From the camerawork, to the lighting, to the experimental binaural headphone track director de Heer and his team recorded, Bad Boy Bubby is as original of a film as you would ever see.

A few words about the message of Bad Boy Bubby - it is about being able to tolerate. Director de Heer and his team make a very convincing case that no matter how different we, the human beings, look on the outside, on the inside, we are all the same. We all need love and someone to share our lives with.

Bad Boy Bubby Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Rolf de Heer's Bad Boy Bubby arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian distributors Umbrella Entertainment.

The high-definition transfer has the same qualities as the supervised by Rolf de Heer high-definition transfer Eureka Entertainment used for their Blu-ray release of Bad Boy Bubby in the United Kingdom.
Portions of this low-budget film look quite soft. The indoor footage from the first half of the film also has the contrast levels toned down. The color scheme is also quite uneven - there is a very specific set of prominent grays, blacks, and browns until Bubby escapes his cell, but during the second half of the film there are entirely different variations of these prominent colors. The first half of the film looks raw and gritty and has low contrast - presumably because it was meant to be shown in TV format - like a strange documentary which might have been shot with an old camera. Later on, as more light and a greater variety of colors are introduced, the visuals stabilize. Grain is present but not consistent, most likely because all sorts of different stylistic manipulations have been performed to make the film look raw and gritty. Still, there is definitely room for improvement, as there are various flecks popping up here and there, and around the edges the film occasionally also looks a bit rough. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Bad Boy Bubby Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 2.0 (Binaural Headphone track). For the record, Umbrella Entertainment have not provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless track opens up the film very well during specific sequences, but its dynamic amplitude is quite limited. In fact, there are only a couple of scenes where the surround channels get some effective movement. However, the dialog is relatively clean and stable. (The optional English subtitles could be helpful at times). As I noted in our review of the UK release by Eureka Entertainment, the Binaural Headphone track is quite intriguing as it apparently recreates what Bubby hears.

Bad Boy Bubby Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: Some of the supplemental features on this release are encoded in PAL. Therefore, if you reside in North America, or another region where PAL is not supported, you need to have a player capable of converting PAL to NTSC in order to view them.

• Commentary - a very informative audio commentary with Rolf de Heer and Nicholas Hope. I would say that the wealth of information the two gentlemen offer is at times a lot more interesting than the actual film. Some of the more controversial scenes in Bad Boy Bubby are effectively deconstructed.

• Christ Kid, You're a Weirdo - in this interview, director Rolf de Heer discusses the production history of Bad Boy Bubby, the shooting process, the cast, etc. There is plenty of good information about the director's intent to introduce shifting aspect ratios and the binaural audio track as well. In English, not subtitled. (24 min, PAL).

• Being Bubby - in this video interview, actor Nicholas Hope recalls his collaboration with director Rolf de Heer, his initial impressions of the film's script, the unique qualities of the man he was asked to play, etc. In English, not subtitled. (15 min, PAL).

• Confessor Caressor - Short Film - a truly bizarre short film about a retarded killer played by Nicholas Hope. Director Rolf de Heer had seen this film and liked Nicholas Hope so much that he decided to invite him to play Bubby. In English, not subtitled. (20 min, PAL).

• Popcorn Taxi Q & A with Nicholas Hope - actor Nicholas Hope discusses how the film was shot, and specifically some of the technical experiments, the funding, whether any animals were hurt during the shooting, his working relationship with director Rolf de Heer, etc. In English, not subtitled. (26 min, PAL).

• Stills Gallery - a gallery of stills from the shooting of Bad Boy Bubby. (1080p).

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Bad Boy Bubby. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, PAL).

• Trailers - trailers for other Umbrella Entertainment releases.

Bad Boy Bubby Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This Australian release of Rolf de Heer's Bad Boy Bubby appears to be the most complete Blu-ray package currently on the market - it uses the same approved by the director high-definition transfer the UK release does, but has a better selection of supplemental features. My only criticism has to do with the fact that it does not come with optional English subtitles. Nevertheless, it is very easy to recommend. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.