Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Ratcatcher Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 1, 2021

Lynne Ramsay's "Ratcatcher" (1999) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new interview with the director; audio interview with cinematographer Alwin Kuchler; short films; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

At the canal

Lynne Ramsay’s Ratcatcher is the antidote to all of the funny and heartwarming films Bill Forsyth directed in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. It is the kind of dark and depressing drama that can quite easily turn into an endurance test if you approach it with the wrong mindset.

The events that are seen in Ratcatcher take place in a working-class area of Glasgow after the local garbage collectors have gone on strike. Massive piles of dirty plastic bags have transformed the streets and brought out hundreds of thousands of big fat rats. Some residents have attempted to be creative and minimize the disastrous effects of the onslaught, but most have ignored it and moved on with their lives. Seen from above, the city appears to be on the verge of rediscovering the bubonic plague.

At a nearby canal with garbage, twelve-year-old James (William Eadie) witnesses how another boy drowns. The tragic event rocks his neighborhood, but then everything goes back to normal and he resumes his regular trips to the canal. Even though everyone knows him, James does not have any real friends, which is why most of the time he wanders around alone.

When he is alone James frequently dreams. He imagines how much happier he would be in a better part of the city, or maybe even outside of the city limits, where there is still plenty of undeveloped, clean land. He visits one such place and even enters a half-finished house that will soon welcome its new owners. Could his Da (Tommy Flanagan) and Ma (Mandy Matthews) ever figure out how to move the family to one of these houses?

Probably not. Da has a lousy job and spends most of his in the local pub drinking with his equally miserable pals. Ma is unemployed and given up on Da. She still loves him, but has come to terms with the fact that he is a drunkard that will never be able to lift the family out of poverty.

There isn’t an obvious thread that links the events that are chronicled in Ratcatcher. They are just slices of a grim reality that has entrapped all kinds of different people that appear to have accepted their fate. These people have daily habits and routines, but they are so simple and so repetitive that in this part of the city it feels like time has almost come to a standstill.

Eventually, this is the impression that Ratcatcher gives as well -- the misery overwhelms it so much that it begins to look like it is either unwilling or incapable of perking up and revealing something new. Even when James encounters Margaret (Leanne Mullen), a livelier young girl who has become quite popular with the local boys, their relationship immediately begins to fall apart and the film abandons it. Needless to say, this makes for a very, very difficult and obviously quite challenging viewing experience.

The cinematography appears to have been at least partially inspired by the look of Ken Loach’s Kes, but the depressing urban environment in which James is placed has a different, much more unpleasant vibe. Indeed, the only other film that manages to see the city of Glasgow as an even darker and more miserable place to live is Peter Mullan’s Neds.

*This recent release of Ratcatcher is sourced from an exclusive new 4K master that was supervised and approved by cinematographer Alwin Kuchler and director Ramsay.

Ratcatcher 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, Ratcatcher arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new 4K restoration was undertaken by the Criterion Collection in collaboration with Pathe. The 35mm original camera negative was scanned in 16-bit 4K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner at Silver Salt Restoration in London. The original 2.0 surround soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic track. Please be sure to enable Dolby Pro Logic decoding on your receiver to properly play the Dolby 2.0 surround soundtrack.

Transfer supervisors: Alwin Kuchler, Lynne Ramsay.
Colorist: Lee Kline."

I have the very old DVD release of Ratcatcher that Criterion produced way back in 2002, so it was very easy for me to run some quick tests and determine what type of upgrade the new Blu-ray release offers.

In terms of delineation and depth the difference is so big that on my system all of the wider panoramic shots revealed entirely new ranges of details and nuances. (I specifically chose screencapture #4 to demonstrate just how good some of these shots can look now). Additionally, when upscaled to 1080p the visuals from the DVD release barely hold up, so density is another area that is vastly superior on the Blu-ray release. Rather predictably, grain exposure is outstanding, so fluidity immediately benefits as well. In fact, I think that the density levels are so good that a possible bump to 4K is unlikely to produce any meaningful improvements. The entire film is very beautifully graded. The overall color balance is very slightly different, with notable changes in some daylight footage, but primaries and nuances are not destabilized to alter the temperature of the visuals. Darker areas look very solid, so expect to see excellent shadow nuances and varied blacks. Image stability is outstanding. Lastly, the entire film looks incredibly healthy. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Ratcatcher Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very healthy. The dialog is clear, sharp, and stable. However, I personally find it absolutely impossible to view this film without the optional subtitles being turned on because the overwhelming majority of the time I just don't understand what is being said. Dynamic intensity is quite good, but you should expect to hear more subtle nuances rather than impressive spikes in dynamic activity. There are no encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Ratcatcher Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Ratcatcher. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Lynne Ramsay - presented here are two interviews with Lynne Ramsay that focus on the production of Ratcatcher and its visual style. Also, there are some interesting comments about some of the classics films that have had an impact on the director.
  
  1. Interview One (2002). In English, not subtitled. (23 min).
  2. Interview Two (2021). In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Alwin Kuchler - in this audio interview, cinematographer Alwin Kuchler recalls his contribution to Ratcatcher and relationship with Lynne Ramsay. The interview was conducted by cinematographer Christopher Ross in November 2020. In English, not subtitled. (66 min).

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Ratcatcher. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Short Films - presented here are three short films that Lynne Ramsay directed before Ratcatcher.
  
  1. Small Deaths (1995). In English, not subtitled. (12 min).
  2. Kill the Day (1996). In English, not subtitled. (19 min).
  3. Gasman (1997). In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring essays by critic Girish Shambu and filmmaker Barry Jenkins, as well as technical credits.

Ratcatcher Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lynne Ramsay's Ratcatcher may very well be the strongest antidote to all of the funny and heartwarming films Bill Forsyth directed in the late '70s and early '80s. It has an interesting, rather poetic visual style, but it is the type of miserabilist drama that some viewers usually find extremely difficult to endure. This Blu-ray release is sourced from an outstanding new 4K master that was supervised and approved by cinematographer Alwin Kuchler and director Ramsay. RECOMMENDED.