Days of the Bagnold Summer Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Days of the Bagnold Summer Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 1, 2022

Simon Bird's "Days of the Bagnold Summer" (2019) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Anti-Worlds. The supplemental features on the release include video essay by Simon Bird; deleted scenes; making of featurette; interviews; short films; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Public records indicate that Simon Bird was born in 1984, which means that he could not have seen Todd Solondz’ Welcome to the Dollhouse when it opened theatrically in 1995. It is quite possible that Welcome to the Dollhouse did not even open theatrically in Bird’s neck of the woods. However, I guarantee that Bird has seen Welcome to the Dollhouse on VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray and likes it a lot. Also, I am one hundred percent certain that Bird has seen Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World and is a big fan of it as well. How do I know all of this? Well, if you take Welcome to the Dollhouse and Ghost World and put them in a cinematic blender, you will end up with a fine new film called Days of the Bagnold Summer.

Teenager Daniel (Earl Cave) lives with his divorced mother Sue (Monica Dolan) in a large house somewhere in England. He is a heavy metal fan who does not have a girlfriend and secretly dreams of being the frontman of a band that is as big as Metallica. But this summer Daniel has put his dreams on hold because in a couple of days he will be heading to Florida to visit his father, whose new and much younger wife is about to become a mother for the first time. Sue has booked him a plane ticket, his father has promised to pay for it, and he has already mentally prepared for the long flight. With just hours left before Daniel is to board the plane that will take him to Florida, however, his father phones and politely declares that it would be best if they cancel the trip because his heavily pregnant new wife needs peace and quiet to deliver their child.

Sue is employed at the local library. When Sue is at work, she sits behind a giant desk, checks each visitor’s library card, and loans books. It is a simple, often unbearably dull job, but Sue is happy to have it because she makes enough to take care of Daniel, the dog, and the house. Unlike Daniel’s father, Sue is now single and has not even thought of reentering the dating scene. Why would she? What man would want to date her? But, believe it or not, Douglas Porter (Rob Brydon), one of Daniel’s supposedly most unpopular teachers, has just asked if she would be interested in having dinner with him. What a surprise, every bit as exciting as winning at bingo. It sounds like he is asking her out on a date, so what should she do? He seems like a nice guy so she’ll probably go out with him, but not before she shares the news with Daniel. It will be awkward, even a bit embarrassing, but it has to be done.

In the days ahead, despite using plenty of words to reveal what is on their minds, Daniel and Sue very rarely connect. They can't tell why. It is almost as if it takes too much time for the words to travel from Daniel’s reality to Sue’s reality and vice versa. Or could it be that their minds are simply operating on different frequencies, which would explain why they have been having such an awful time grasping what their words were meant to convey?

Bird keeps his directorial debut so casual that at times it looks like it operates on autopilot, but this is unquestionably the right appearance for it. Why? Because it is obvious that it has been conceived to function as an intimate time capsule, which can appear authentic only if it is very unpretentious and fluid. Yes, the broken connection between Daniel and Sue produces plenty of hilarious situations that could be right in a conventional comedy, but the humor is just one piece of the big picture Days of the Bagnold Summer is focused on, which is the unique zeitgeist of the transition from the 1990s to the 2000s.

Unlike Welcome to the Dollhouse and Ghost World, Days of the Bagnold Summer does not produce any overly-dramatic contrasts to make the obvious point that family dysfunction is creating legions of social outcasts painfully obvious. And guess what? This is precisely why there is so much more material in it with contemporary relevance. Indeed, in the present, the realities of social outcasts are a lot like the realities of Daniel and Sue, repetitive and dull, sterile and incredibly depressing. Some of these social outcasts just happen to be better at hiding their incompatibility with the environment in which they must exist.

Days of the Bagnold Summer 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, Days of the Bagnold Summer arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Anti-Worlds.

Days of the Bagnold Summer looks incredible on Blu-ray. To be honest, there are certain areas of it that look almost as good as some of the visuals that I have seen on recent 4K Blu-ray releases. To be honest, I expected it to look good because it is a very recent film, but I did not expect it to look so impressive. There are different types of good looking content, too. Some of it is from indoor footage, some of it is from outdoor footage, and some features various close-ups. Colors are very natural, lush, and wonderfully balanced. Image stability is immaculate. The fluidity of the visuals is enormously impressive as well, which is why so many of them can compete with native 4K content. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review. Fantastic presentation. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Days of the Bagnold Summer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

Belle & Sebastian's tunes and the powerful heavy metal/death metal tracks -- Autopsy of all bands pop up in Days of the Bagnold Summer -- sounded great on my system. However, the film's sound design isn't very imaginative, so do not expect to hear any unforgettable dynamic contrasts. The dialog is very clear, clean, and easy to follow. I did not encounter any encoding issues to report in our review.

Days of the Bagnold Summer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - an original trailer for Days of the Bagnold Summer. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Making of Featurette - this program examines the genesis of Days of the Bagnold Summer and the key themes that define it. Included in it are clips from interviews with Simon Bird, writer Lisa Owens, producer Mathew James Wilkinson, Monica Dolan (Sue Bagnold), and Rob Brydon (Douglas Porter), amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (32 min).

• Deleted Scenes - a collection of deleted scenes. In English, not subtitled. (6 min). 1. Judas Chair
  2. Condom
  3. Sunbathing
  4. Daniel and Ky Reconciliation

• Influences and Inspirations - presented here is a video essay by Simon Bird. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Trailer - an origin trailer for Days of the Bagnold Summer. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Monica Dolan and Earl Cave Screen Test - In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• The World of Joff Winterheart - Joff Winterheart is an illustrator, writer, and songwriter, and has written and drawn two graphic novels, one of which is Days of the Bagnold Summer. Presented here are three short films by Winterheart. In English, not subtitled. (27 min).
  
  1. Violet and Turquoise
  2. Two Guys I Know
  3. Dog Diary

• Interview with Joff Winterheart - in English, not subtitled. (28 min).

• Booklet - limited edition exclusive 28-page booklet containing new writing on the film by director Simon Bird, screen writer Lisa Owens, film critic Leigh Singer, and unseen stills, film credits and technical details.

Days of the Bagnold Summer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Simon Bird's directorial debut, Days of the Bagnold Summer, is a young British relative of Welcome to the Dollhouse and Ghost World. Bird names various directors whose work apparently inspired him, like Hal Ashby (The Last Detail) and Roy Andersson (Songs From the Second Floor), and even some recent films like Magic Mike, but I think that most people will recognize the other connection. I quite liked the simplicity of Days of the Bagnold Summer and think that it captures the zeitgeist of the transition from the 1990s to the 2000s pretty well. This recent release from Anti-Worlds offers an outstanding technical presentation of the film and good selection of bonus features. If you decide to pick it up for your collection, please keep in mind that it is Region-B "locked". RECOMMENDED.