Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Harry Brown Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 5, 2010

Nominated for Breakthrough British Filmmaker award by the London Critics Circle, Daniel Barber's "Harry Brown" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Lions Gate Home Entertainment UK. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with Michael Caine, director Daniel Barber and producer Kris Thykier; cast and crew interviews; extended and deleted scenes; and a music video by Chase & Status. With optional English SDH subtitles. Region-B "locked".

Have a pleasant trip!

Harry Brown (Michael Caine, The Italian Job) is an aging man who lives alone in a run-down council estate in London. He has a wife, but she is dying in a nearby hospital. He also has a friend, Leonard (David Bradley, I Know You Know), who is harassed by a group of local kids.

Harry and Leonard like to talk about the good old times. Every once in awhile they also like to have a drink, though none of them remembers when was the last time they got drunk. The two friends also like playing chess.

One day, while having a drink, Leonard tells Harry that he has had enough of the local kids. He has seen them beating up innocent people, selling drugs, carrying guns. They have even harassed him. He has tried talking to the Police about them, but they have ignored him and his concerns. So, since the Police does not care, it is time that he did something to teach the kids a lesson. What does Harry think?

Harry thinks that it is a bad idea. Leonard is not the man he used to be. He is old, sick and tired. He should try talking to the Police again and see if this time around they would listen to him. Shocked and angered by his friend’s advice, Leonard tells Harry that he has already made up his mind - he isn’t going back to the Police. Before Harry can talk to him some more, Leonard leaves.

On the following morning, DI Frampton (Emily Mortimer, Young Adam) informs Harry that Leonard has been brutally killed. A local kid, Noel (Ben Drew, Adulthood), is one of the suspects, but there isn’t enough evidence to press charges. Devastated by the terrible news, Harry goes to the pub where the previous night he and Leonard had a drink and gets wasted.

On the way back from the pub, Harry is attacked by one of Noel’s friends, Dean (Lee Oakes), an out of control junkie. He stabs Dean and then goes home. On the following day, Harry meets Stretch (Sean Harris), a drug dealer, and buys a gun from him. He kills him and then captures Marky (Jack O’Connell), another close friend of Noel, who has apparently recorded Leonard’s killing on his phone. The footage on Marky's phone clearly shows that Noel is the killer. Marky also ends up dead.

Meanwhile, DI Frampton begins suspecting that Harry might be behind all of the killings. She meets with her boss, S.I. Childs (Iain Glen, Silent Scream), who isn’t interested discussing what she has to say. Instead, he initiates a massive anti-crime operation in the same council estate where Leonard was killed, and all hell breaks loose.

This is the perfect time for Harry to go after Noel. He ends up in the pub where he had a drink with Leonard the night before he was killed and discovers that the owner, Sid (Liam Cunningham), is Noel’s uncle. A bloody shootout ensues.

Harry Brown is a bold and remarkably cold British gangster film that works rather well because of its main man - Michael Caine. But he isn’t exactly the "cool" type; he is old, disillusioned and fed up with his boring life. In fact, most of the time he looks boring. Yet there is something about his impressive violent outbursts that makes him difficult to figure out. I liked that.

What I was not overly impressed with was the film’s constant tiptoeing between being a thriller and serious social drama. During the first half it feels like Harry Brown is heading in one direction. Then, when Caine becomes a killing machine, things change dramatically; some very strange overtones about morality and social justice appear that simply do not belong in here. This film is dirty and quite obviously proud of it.

It is difficult to guess what type of an audience Harry Brown was made for. Despite some of its kitchen-sink flavor, it certainly does not rival the gritty intensity of Paul Andrew Williams’ London to Brighton. It has none of the dark humor from Nick Love’s The Business either. So? I’d say it was made for Caine fans.

Harry Brown Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Daniel Barber's Harry Brown arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Lions Gate Home Entertainment UK.

Contrast and clarity have been intentionally manipulated to achieve a cold and gritty look for this notably violent British film. Many of the nighttime scenes in it, for example, are incredibly dark and depressing. Early into the film, there is also some hand-held camera footage that looks truly bizarre - as it should, as we see how an ordinary woman is killed in the park. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are not a serious issue of concern. I also did not spot any heavy aliasing or ringing to report in this review. When blown through a digital projector, the film also looks pleasingly stable. There are a few scenes revealing that minor noise corrections have been applied, but overall the high-definition transfer looks healthy. For the record, I did not detect any disturbing scratches, cuts, stains, or debris to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Harry Brown Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Lions Gate Home Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is strong. The bass is potent and punchy, the rear channels not overly active but effective, and the high-frequencies not overdone. The dialog is crisp and clean, but I had to use the optional English SDH subtitles as some of the heavy accents in the film make it almost impossible to understand what is being said. There are no balance issues with Ruth Barrett and Martin Phipps' music score. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review. All in all, while the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track will not test the muscles of your audio system, it will allow you to experience the chaos and brutality during the film's second half in a very convincing fashion.

Harry Brown Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Commentary - an audio commentary with Michael Caine, director Daniel Barber and producer Kris Thykier. This is an informative and at the same time very entertaining commentary. Michael Caine is in a terrific mood and offers a number of insightful comments addressing the film, its story, the image contemporary British cinema has overseas, etc.

Extended and Deleted Scenes - a selection of extended and deleted scenes from the film. Not subtitled. (18 min).

Interviews - a gallery of interviews with Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Liam Cunningham, Ben Drew, Jack O'Connell and director Daniel Barber. In the these interviews, the actors and the director of Harry Brown address the film's disturbing story, the main characters, some of the technical difficulties that had to be addressed during the shooting process, etc. Not subtitled. (44 min).

Music Video - a Chase & Status video featuring Plan B. (4 min).

Harry Brown Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I enjoyed Daniel Barber's Harry Brown. Probably not as much as I wanted to, but seeing Michael Caine in action is always a treat. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Lions Gate Home Entertainment UK, looks and sounds good. Also, there is a hilarious audio commentary on it with Mr. Caine, director Barber and producer Kris Thykier. If you have the time, give it a chance. RECOMMENDED.