Buzzard Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Buzzard Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 14, 2021

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray courtesy of Powerhouse Films' Relaxer Limited Edition release, which also includes writer and director Joel Potrykus' earlier feature Buzzard on a bonus Blu-ray disc.

Those who have had a bit of "home alone time" lately (ahem) and may have explored various nooks and crannies of the world wide web may have gone down various rabbit holes on well trafficked internet sites like YouTube, finding all sorts of arcana in the process. Some lucky pioneers may therefore have stumbled across this hilarious video from the so-called “Onion News Network” detailing the (then) new arrival of a game supposedly called World of World of Warcraft, where players could play a player playing the game (just watch the video if it isn’t clear). The haplessness of some of the people ostensibly profiled in this short but funny piece might make them perfect characters to insert into either of the films by Joel Potrykus which Powerhouse Films has assembled in this Limited Edition release. If the gaming aspect of the Onion News parody might make the connection to Relaxer most secure, the same kind of “loser slacker” character at the center of that film is also part and parcel of Potrykus’ earlier Buzzard, also included in this release. Both films can be generally discomfiting, simply because the characters are so maladjusted, but each film also offers black humor in droves, and so may appeal to those who actually do peek out of their (parents’?) basements long enough to take a withering glance at the “real” world on occasion.

In a former life I first worked temp for, then actually managed, a so-called "temporary service". Years later when my wife and I were getting ready to sell our first house, we met a young couple interested in the house (they actually ended up buying it), and during the showing process, the guy suddenly blurted out, "Hey! You're Jeff from [name of temp service], aren't you?" He then went on to kind of hilariously describe a temp assignment I had sent him on years and years previously where he was tasked with rolling hundreds of posters and putting rubber bands around each one. On the second day of the assignment, he was asked to unroll everything, for reasons which were never explained, which he did. Returning on the third day, he discovered that the second day instructions had been incorrect, and so he got to reroll and rubber band everything. This kind of "Sisyphus-ian" labor, especially labor coming courtesy of a temporary service, is at the center of the bizarre and fitfully amusing Buzzard .

Marty Jackitansky (Joshua Burge) is a temp on one of those "assignments from hell", but he is perhaps slightly more mendacious and scheming than the typical temporary (at least one hopes so), and the story involves a kind of scam that Marty is pulling, albeit one that he soon comes to realize may be discovered, leading to a certain amount of panic. What ensues kind of reminded me in a way of the lesser remembered Martin Scorsese black comedy After Hours, with a hapless office worker suddenly embroiled in all sorts of weird "adventures".

There are both indie comedy staples, as in a supporting character with near OCD named Derek (Joel Potrykus), but also considerably more outré touches (emphasis on the touching part), as in a "slasher glove" a la Freddy Krueger that Marty fashions and which plays into the plot. The film might have delivered more consistent laughs had its narrative momentum been a bit more energetic. The film seems to revel in entropy, and as such viewing it can feel like a slog at times. My colleague Brian Orndorf may have liked Buzzard just a bit more than I did, and you can read Brian's thoughts here.

Buzzard Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Buzzard is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Powerhouse Films' Anti-Worlds imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The IMDb lists the Canon 5D Mark III as having captured the imagery, and I'm assuming things were finished at a 2K DI. This definitely has a kind of "HD video" look, flat and textureless, but with generally very good to excellent detail levels throughout. Scenes in the office underneath harsh lighting can look just slightly overly sharp and digital at times. The palette, while never mind blowingly vivid, looks natural and there are pops of color that occur. Some fine detail, as in a kind of gruesome hand injury Marty sustains, can be a little stomach churning. I noticed no compression anomalies.

Buzzard Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Buzzard features an LPCM 2.0 track that nicely supports the film's dialogue and some source cues that are more frequent than in Relaxer. Some of the outdoor material allows for ambient environmental effects, and even some of the office scenes are decently suffused with the clatter of background noise. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Buzzard Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Joel Potrykus

Buzzard: The Rehearsal Cut (HD; 1:04:35)

• Buzzard at Locarno International Film Festival (HD; 8:51)


• Behind the Scenes

  Behind the Scenes #1 (HD; 2:25)

  
  

  Behind the Scenes #2 (HD; 1:56)

  
  

  Derek Sucks (HD; 3:10)

• Deleted and Alternative Scenes (HD; 8:44)


• Hidden Buzzard (HD; 00:25)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:48)


• Festival Trailer (HD; 1:51)


• Image Gallery (HD)

Buzzard Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Buzzard actually appealed to me a bit more than Relaxer did, perhaps because of my own history with temp services. But this is another film that might have really knocked it out of the park with a bit more pacing. Burge is a really interesting actor, and he's great in this. Technical merits are generally solid, and the supplementary package enjoyable, for those who are considering a purchase.