Bad Boy Bubby Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Bad Boy Bubby Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 23, 2009

Weird yet fascinating, Dutch director Rolf de Heer's "Bad Boy Bubby" arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. In 1993, the film won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. A year later, the film won the Best Director, Best Actor in a Lead Role, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Achievement in Editing awards granted by the Australian Film Institute. Amongst the supplemental features on the disc are a commentary with director Rolf de Heer and actor Ncholas Hope, an interview, and a theatrical trailer for the film. Eureka Entertainment have also provided a twenty-page color booklet. Region-Free.

Bad, very 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 its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Rolf de Heer's Bad Boy Bubby arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

There are only a few things that I do not like about this transfer. Allow me to address them quickly: First, I noticed quite a few tiny flecks that pop up throughout the film. None are overly disturbing, but some of you may find them annoying. Second, around the edges, the transfer occasionally looks a bit rough. Third, I noticed at least two frame transitions that are somewhat unstable.

Here's everything else that I like about Eureka Entertainment's release: The Blu-ray transfer is unfiltered. As a result, the healthy film grain is prominent, though admittedly quite inconsistent. Obviously, detail and clarity are very good. Contrast is equally impressive – even the low-light footage from the opening twenty or so minutes looks good. The color-scheme is also strong. Blues, grays, greens, reds, blacks and whites are never lush or "popping" – as intended by director de Heer – but are certainly natural looking. Additionally, neither edge-enhancement nor macroblocking plague the transfer. To sum it all up, this Blu-ray release offers a very serious upgrade over previous SDVD (Blue Underground) releases of the film. (Note: This is a Region-Free 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 PAL or 1080i/50 content preceding the main menu).

Bad Boy Bubby Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four different tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2.0, and Binaural Headphone track. I opted for the English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the other tracks for the purpose of this review.

There are no serious issues to report with the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The dialog is crisp, clear and easy to follow. The bass is not overly active and there is a limited amount of activity in the rear channels. Additionally, the high-frequencies are not overdone. For the record, I did not detect any disturbing cracks, pops, hissings, or dropouts. All in all, the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track gives the film as much depth and fluidity as it possibly could.

As expected, the English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track sounds identical to the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. I tested a number of different scenes and most definitely did not detect any significant differences to report in this review. The dialog is also equally crisp, clear and easy to follow with the English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track on.

The English Dolby Digital 2.0 track is fairly good, but not as fluid as the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 tracks. The Binaural Headphone track is intriguing. It introduces some interesting audio effects that supposedly replicate what the main protagonist hears. Director de Heer and his team experimented with it while shooting the film. It is great to see that Eureka Entertainment have added the track on this disc.

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

Booklet – a twenty-page booklet containing two letters, one from director Rolf de Heer, and another from actress Claire Benito, that were sent to the Italian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Australian Embassy in Rome after the film was screened at the Venice International Film Festival.

Commentary with Rolf de Heer and Ncholas Hope - a great commentary, very informative and entertaining. 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. Highly Recommended.

Christ Kid, You're a Weirdo - an interview with director Rolf de Heer. The gentleman talks about the history of the film, the shooting process, the cast, etc. There is plenty of good information in it about the director's intent to introduce shifting aspect ratios, the binaural audio track, etc. (24 min).

Original theatrical trailer -

Digital Copy -

SDVD copy - the film and all the extras presented on SDVD.

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

I cannot recommend Bad Boy Bubby highly enough. It is one of those truly unique films that you won't discover on the shelves of your local video store (of course, if you still have one). Someone would have to mention it so that you could actually learn that it exists. Well, I hope that this review would convince you to get a copy of Bad Boy Bubby and see it. I cannot guarantee that you would like it, but I can assure you that you have not seen anything like it. Highly Recommended.