Newcastle Australia Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Newcastle Australia Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 22, 2010

Screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, Aussie director Dan Castle's "Newcastle" (2008) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Peccadillo Pictures. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with director Dan Castle, director of photography Richard Michalak, sound designer Andrew Plain, and composer Michael Yezerski; making of featurette; picture galley; and trailer. In English, with optional English SDH and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Surfers

The small port town of Newcastle, Australia. Seventeen-year-old Jesse (Lachlan Buchanan, Arcadia Lost) lives in the shadow of his older brother Victor (Reshad Strik, The Hills Have Eyes II), who wants him to win the town’s annual surfing competition. Jesse is a good surfer but lacks the confidence the best surfers in town have. Fergus (Xavier Samuel, The Loved Ones), Jesse’s younger brother, isn’t interested in surfing. He is interested in one of Jesse’s surfing buddies, Andy (Kirk Jenkins).

To escape the pre-competition pressure, Jesse, Fergus and a few of their beach bum friends decide to spend a weekend away from Newcastle. They head to a remote beach where the waves are perfect. Out of nowhere, however, Victor and his buddies show up and crash the party. Then tragedy strikes and family bonds are tested.

Newcastle is a beautifully lensed Australian film that has a strong indie feel. Its narrative is fairly unoriginal but its cast is quite remarkable. Though the acting is rough, the actors are anything but shy; most of the time they are half-naked in front of the camera.

Newcastle also has a terrific energy. The overwhelming amount of the action moves at such an incredible pace that at times it is practically impossible to care about the main characters. As a result, occasionally portions of the film tend to look like elaborate exotic TV commercials.

The surfing footage, however, is gorgeous. The beaches, the surfers, the waves, everything is filmed incredibly well. The underwater footage, in particular, is quite remarkable (and as far as I could tell there are absolutely no special effects).

The editing is a bit choppy, particularly during the second half of the film. Some of the intimate scenes, for example, are quite hilarious yet they are clearly meant to be serious. There is quite a bit of improvising in Newcastle as well, and a good chunk of it isn’t terribly convincing.

The enthusiasm of the cast, however, is admirable – which is one of the key reasons why it is so easy to tolerate just about everything director Dan Castle has filmed. Apparently, everyone had a lot of fun shooting Newcastle, and it clearly shows.

Newcastle has a terrific music score courtesy of Michael Yezerski (The Black Balloon). The music is a mix of classic rock, ambient rock, electronica and donwntempo. During the surf footage, it is indeed very effective.

All in all, while Newcastle is not a profoundly original film, it is genuinely unpretentious, honest and beautiful to look at. It really is the perfect film to see during the summer, perhaps on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Note: Newcastle was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, the Seattle International Film Festival, and the Hawaii International Film Festival.

Newcastle Australia 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, Dan Castle's arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Peccadillo Pictures.

This is a strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is very good, clarity pleasing and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The color-scheme is wonderful; yellows, blues, greens, reds, brown, blacks and whites look rich and well saturated yet also natural. There is some extremely mild edge-enhancement popping up during a couple of scenes, but overall the image is very pleasing. Macroblocking, aliasing and banding are not a serious issues of concern. I also did not detect any serious stability issues to report in this review. Finally, while watching Newcastle I did not see any large cuts, scratches, marks or debris. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Newcastle Australia Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Peccadillo Pictures have provided optional English SDH and German subtitles for the main feature.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very strong. The bass is potent and punchy, the rear channels intelligently used, and the high-frequencies not overdone. There are some lovely surround effects during the surfing footage. The sound of the crashing waves is also excellent. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable and very easy to follow. There are no serious balance issues with Michael Yezerski's music score either. Finally, while viewing the film I did not hear any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review.

The English LPCM 2.0 track is also very good. However, a lot of the unique surround effects that can be heard with the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track are missing here. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable and easy to follow.

Newcastle Australia Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are perfectly playable on North American PS3s and SAs.

Commentary - an audio commentary with director Dan Castle, director of photography Richard Michalak, sound designer Andrew Plain, and composer Michael Yezerski. This is a very informative, factual commentary. The gentlemen discuss how many of the key scenes in the film were shot, what it was like to work with the cast (of mostly young, non-professional actors), the message of the film, etc.

Making of - a standard featurette containing raw footage from the shooting of the film and various interviews with cast and crew members. In English, not subtitled. (24 min, 480/60i).

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Australia. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080i).

Picture gallery - (1080p).

Newcastle Australia Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I probably enjoyed Aussie director Dan Castle's Newcastle a lot more than I should have. There are a couple of issues with it, but I really liked how raw it is. The surfing footage, in particular, is absolutely beautiful. If you like indie films, give Newcastle a chance; you might end up liking it as much as I did. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Peccadillo Pictures, looks and sounds very good. It is also Region-Free. RECOMMENDED.