7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
FUTURE SHOCK! The Story of 2000 AD charts the story of how the multi-award winning comic came to be, how it has survived for 37 years, and how it continues to be an innovator and game-changer in both comics and the wider cultural world beyond. This feature documentary is a funny, moving and passionate chronicle of how a band of talented eccentrics came together to create something both visionary and extraordinary.
Starring: Pat Hill, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, Brian Bolland, Dave GibbonsDocumentary | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: LPCM 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Severin Films released a really interesting DVD some time ago entitled Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide which was followed by the even more exhaustive Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide Part 2, both of which documented the frenzy surrounding supposedly objectionable videos that (again supposedly) threatened the moral fiber of Britain’s youth. The “video nasty” era is most associated with the 1980s, but kind of interestingly something somewhat analogous in another medium had already occurred in England a few years prior to this outbreak of moral outrage. As is documented in the appealing if not exactly revelatory Future Shock! The Story of 2000 AD, a comic book called Action! got itself banned in the late seventies after a short and tumultuous run of issues that saw the magazine run afoul of so-called arbiters of decency, including the now infamous Mary Whitehouse, a right leaning activist who (rather hilariously) complained about everything from Benny Hill to Doctor Who over the course of several decades of policing what other people should be able to view, read and/or listen to. Action was the brainchild of Pat Mills, a guy who kind of reinvigorated some of the same graphic content and looney tunes (no pun intended) ambience that had gotten American publisher EC Comics in hot water way back in the 1950s, in the process helping to similarly revitalize a subgenre that was known as “boys comics”. Just as Action was encountering increasing difficulties in its short and tempestuous life, Mills was alerted to what some presciently foresaw as a turning point in modern media, a little film that was then just on the cusp of being released, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. Mills was encouraged to develop a science fiction book to capitalize on what was seen as a burgeoning genre, and 2000 AD was the result.
Future Shock! The Story of 2000 AD is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a nicely sharp and generally well detailed documentary, one helped by the fact that aside from brief archival video at the beginning showing the raucous punk fueled environment of the UK in the seventies, the documentary is made up largely of contemporary interview segments and some fun (at times animated) line drawings. The talking head segments boast very good to excellent fine detail (depending on the closeness of the coverage), and while the palette isn't exactly mind blowing, it appears natural. The line drawings are very nice and precise looking, with at times very beautiful contrast between the black "ink" and white backgrounds.
Future Shock! The Story of 2000 AD's LPCM 2.0 mix is perhaps a bit more boisterous than one might expect from "only" a documentary, given the fact that so much source music (including quite a bit of punk material) is utilized. The music, along with occasional sound effects in some of the animated material, give the documentary a little sonic flourish at times. Otherwise, this is a fine sounding if unremarkable (in terms of pure sonics) accounting that features a clear representation of all the interviews.
- 2000 AD vs. the USA (1080p; 15:11)
- Dredd 2012 — True in Spirit (1080p; 13:05)
- Judge Dredd Extended Sequence (1080p; 13:52)
- Cheap Entertainment — The Appeal of Comics (1080p; 9:00)
- Art Blast — Jock & Henry Flint (1080p; 4:03)
- Blooper Reel (1080p; 2:04)
- Pat Mills Visits Kings Reach Tower (1080p; 5:55)
- Soundtrack — Behind the Scenes (1080p; 3:47)
- Festival Teaser Trailer (1080p; 2:06)
- UK Release Trailer (1080p; 2:04)
- Bad Company — Peter Milligan (1080p; 2:50)
- Future Shocks (1080p; 8:01)
- Rogue Trooper — Dave Gibbons & Cam Kennedy (1080p; 7:30)
- Slaine — Pat Mills (1080p; 11:28)
- Strontium Dog — Carlos Ezquerra (1080p; 5:22)
- Grant Morrison (1080p; 34:14)
- Karen Berger (1080p; 34:50)
- Pat Mills (1080p; 1:27:13)
- Neil Gaiman (1080p; 17:35)
- Dave Gibbons (1080p; 48:31)
I frankly am one of those guys who, while generally aware of comics culture, isn't a huge fan of comic books themselves (this despite the fact that some of my friends make their living at Portland's Dark Horse Comics). But perhaps that's an even better indication of how winning Future Shock! The Story of 2000 AD actually is, for I found it not just informative on a baseline level, but really rather captivating in terms of both the history relayed and some of the more purely technical aspects covered. Technical merits are fine, and Severin has assembled a nice supplementary package. Recommended.
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