Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Looking for Eric Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 5, 2009

Nominated for Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, British director Ken Loach's "Looking for Eric" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of UK-based distributors Icon Home Entertainment. Legendary Manchester United F.C. footballer Eric Cantona has a significant cameo performance in the film. Amongst the supplemental features on the disc are the documentary "United We Stand" (with a special appearance by current Manchester United F.C. manager Sir Alex Ferguson); "Another City", a short by director Ken Loach on Bath City Football Club; a 40-minute Q&A at the BFI featuring director Ken Loach, actor Steve Evets, and Eric Cantona; music video; deleted scenes; and more. Subtitled in English. Region-Free.

In trouble

A few words about Eric Cantona, who some readers on this side of the Atlantic may not be familiar with: Frenchman Eric Cantona is widely regarded by fans of Manchester United F.C. as one of the best to ever wear their team’s red jersey. For many, he is an iconic figure; hence, why he is still referred to as "King Eric". Cantona joined the Red Devils in 1992 and helped them win four Premier League titles in five years, in addition to two League and FA "doubles". In 1995, Cantona became involved in a serious incident - in a match against Crystal Palace, the Frenchman was sent off by the referee; on his way to the locker room, Cantona did a vicious "Kung Fu" kick attempting to hurt a fan that apparently provoked him - that led to a prison sentence, which was consequently reversed to 120 hours of community service. Later on, the FA also sanctioned the Frenchman with a nine-month ban from world football. In 2001, Cantona was voted as the Red Devil of the century.

In Ken Loach's Looking for Eric, the enigmatic Frenchman helps a disillusioned postman, also named Eric (Steve Evets, Summer), get back on his feet after he finds himself in the middle of a giant mess which he has no idea how to deal with. Eric, who has left his wife, Lily (Stephanie Bishop), is encouraged by the Frenchman to always fight for his dreams, trust his friends and stay positive.

Eric admires the Frenchman, but it takes awhile before he begins to trust him. The two spend plenty of time talking about his career at Manchester United F.C., his triumphs and disappointments, as well as the lessons he learned from them. Eventually, Eric realizes that he could turn his life around - so long as he believes that it can be done.

Nominated for Palme d'Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Looking for Eric is a heartfelt, warm and incredibly well acted film. It blends humor with drama in a manner that reminds about director Loach's early films (Riff-Raff, Raining Stones).

There are two very different stories in Looking for Eric. The easier to follow one is about the working-class character and his personal dilemmas. There are no surprises with it - it is mostly downbeat, with a few unique splashes of humor that accentuate it rather well. The second story is about a living legend whose rise to glory and eventual collapse are still discussed by many.

Cantona's words in Looking for Eric feel a lot like those Jean-Claude Van Damme uttered in JCVD - they are honest and real. I would not be surprised at all if many of them weren’t part of Paul Laverty's original screenplay. While Cantona does not dig as deep into his past as the Belgian star did, those who still remember him vividly would be quite surprised by many of his revelations.

Cantona fans would be delighted to know that there is archival footage in the film showing some of the notorious footballer’s greatest goals - perhaps his best against Sunderland, the last minute "killer" against bitter rivals Liverpool at the FA Cup Final, the "beautiful" one against Wimbledon.

Technically, Looking for Eric is everything we have come to expect from director Loach's films - simple but effective photography taking full advantage of natural light, plain color-scheme, an unpretentious music score. As usual, the dialog is full of colorful, though far from offensive, expressions. Finally, the cast is comprised of both professional and non-professional actors.

Disclaimer: this reviewer is a lifelong AC Milan fan.

Looking for Eric Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ken Loach's Looking for Eric arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of UK-based distributors Icon Home Entertainment.

This is a lovely transfer! As intended by director Loach, many of the indoor scenes have a distinctively warm look, with natural light playing a very important part in them. Contrast varies but detail is consistent. The outdoor scenes are much more vibrant, though still having that typical for director Loach's films raw look. The color-scheme is also rather unique - soft browns, greens, blues, reds and blacks are prominent throughout the film. Additionally, edge enhancement and macroblocking are not an issue of concern. The film's grain structure is also fully intact. Aside from a few flecks, the transfer looks very healthy - there are no large debris, scratches, dirt, or stains. Finally, when blown through a digital projector, Looking for Eric remains pleasingly stable. All in all, I don't have any serious reservations with Icon Home Entertainment's disc - it looks good, and I have absolutely no problem recommending it to you. (Note: Even though this Blu-ray disc is marketed as being Region-B, it is in fact Region-Free. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. Please note that there is no PAL or 1080i/50 content preceding the main menu).

Looking for Eric Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 5.1 (a descriptive audio track is included as well). I opted for the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the English Dolby Digital 5.1 track for the purpose of this review.

Looking for Eric is primarily a dialog-driven feature, which is one of the key reasons why you would not detect a great deal of activity in your surround speakers. The sub only occasionally comes to life as well. On the other hand, the dialog is crisp, clear and very easy to follow. The discrete music score blends quite well with it. For example, there are a few key scenes during the second half of the film where the background music serves the story remarkably well. For the record, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track lacks the depth, crispness and clarity of the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Even during casual conversations, it is fairly easy to notice that the Dolby Digital 5.1 track is inferior. Finally, I did not detect any serious technical issues with it to report in this review. For the record, Icon Home Entertainment have provided English HOH subtitles for the main feature.

Looking for Eric Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this disc are in PAL. Therefore, if you reside in North America, or another region where PAL is not supported, you must have a Region-Free player capable of converting PAL to NTSC, or a TV set capable of receiving native PAL data, in order to view them.

United We Stand - an informative documentary in which director Ken Loach talks about what it means to be a fan of the beautiful game. Current Manchester United F.C. manager Sir Alex Ferguson also shares his thoughts on the appeal of the great game, what it means for ordinary people, etc. Ordinary football fans also talk about Eric Cantona's move from Leeds to Manchester United F.C., the impact it had on their lives. The documentary also touches upon the Heysel and Hillsborough tragedies, the profitable businesses football has become in recent years, etc. Not subtitled. (29 min).

Another City - a short by director Ken Loach on Bath City Football Club. Not subtitled. (26 min).

Happy Ending - a lovely short about a father and his son trying to decide what film to see at their local cinema. Not subtitled. (4 min).

Music Video - the main theme from the film. (4 min).

Deleted Scenes - a gallery of deleted scenes. Not subtitled. (12 min).

Directors selected shots - a selection of hilarious clips from the film. Not subtitled. (12 min).

Q and A - 40 min of questions and answers at the BFI featuring director Ken Loach, Steve Evets, and Eric Cantona. The gentlemen cover a variety of topics ranging from their work on the film, its message, to the similarity between "playing" football and "playing" in a film, etc. Fantastic! (49 min).

Theatrical Trailer- Not subtitled. (1 min).

Looking for Eric Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

British director Ken Loach's Looking for Eric is a warm, hilarious yet genuinely sad film about a man trying to get back on his feet. The film harbors a few of the director's favored social overtones, but it is undoubtedly one of his least controversial works. Legendary footballer Eric Cantona has a key part in the film. Icon Home Entertainment's Blu-ray treatment of Looking for Eric is solid. Their disc also arrives with a number of terrific supplemental features. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.