Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Red Hill Blu-ray Movie Review

A fantastic little Western earns another good technical presentation from Sony.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 28, 2011

Be careful, cowboy.

Watch out for Australia. The past few years have seen the island-nation release some of the best in Crime and Western, beginning with the magnificent The Proposition and, just this past year, the Oscar-nominated Animal Kingdom, both pictures proving the country's film industry is not only alive and well, but capable of producing some great movies that best most of what comes out of Hollywood anymore. Another recent release that combines both Crime and Western elements is the wonderful under-the-radar Red Hill, a combination modern-day Western/Thriller/Drama/Action movie that's tough as nails but playful and relaxed under the rough-and-tumble façade. A movie that hearkens back to the old style Westerns with a few modern twists, a fantastic ending, and a polished veneer, Director Patrick Hughes's picture is a beacon of filmmaking that proves the worth of meshing a few new ideas in with a tried-and-true genre. Plenty of action, well-developed characters, solid acting, and even an ending that might bring a few tears audiences's eyes, Red Hill is a highly watchable and re-watchable little gem that should be at the top of every Action/Western fan's must-see list.

Showdown.

Shane Cooper (Ryan Kwanten) and his pregnant wife Alice (Claire van der Boom) have just relocated to the small frontier town of Red Hill. Per doctor's orders, Alice was to escape the noise and pressures of city life so as to avoid a second miscarriage and lose the baby boy she's carrying. Shane's first day on the job will be one he'll never forget. He immediately finds himself on the bad side of the local inspector and the town's top law enforcement officer, Old Bill (Steve Bisley), for failing to bring his gun with him. That's about to be the least of Shane's worries; word reaches town that, following a deadly explosion at a nearby maximum security prison, the notorious and badly disfigured criminal Jimmy Conway (Tom E. Lewis) has escaped and is on his way to Red Hill. Old Bill knows his small department isn't enough to stop him, so he recruits several locals and forms a posse aimed at stopping Jimmy at all costs. Their only order: shoot to kill. Shane is assigned the dangerous task of standing post on the entrance into town through which Jimmy is expected to come, and it's not long before the new officer faces off with the hardened criminal. Shane survives the altercation, and as Jimmy wreaks havoc on the town of Red Hill, its officers, and armed citizens, Shane pieces together a puzzle that reveals Jimmy's true intentions behind the bloody night that's fallen on Red Hill.

Red Hill's greatest success comes from the complexity of its characters and the way the film weaves the story around the specifics of their lives. They're not dynamically original, but they've been carefully crafted and acted just as well to create several memorable figures who will have their realities and personalities questioned and altered by film's end. Their histories and present lives alike are critical to the way the film ultimately plays out; the screenplay carefully brings them together and, while there's certainly a little bit of cinematic convenience at work, the characters work within the context of the richly-realized corner of the world in which they live and operate. Rookie feature-length Director Patrick Hughes makes Red Hill more than a simple shoot-em-up Western; not only are his characters excellent, but he shapes the movie into form by crafting a seamless environment where the viewer seems like part of the town and the surrounding areas from the start. The film's lavish cinematography is also a primary factor in the movie's success as the sprawling landscapes and tight downtown locales alike pull the audience in with no effort. Hughes manages to give his film a deadly serious and gritty front, but underneath there's a playful feeling, like he's a big kid realizing his dreams of crafting a big, fun, and adventurous movie like those, maybe, he grew up watching. The lighter notes -- evident in style, music, and pace -- manage to play surprisingly well alongside the film's violence and story, not to mention its borderline tearjerking finale.

Still, Red Hill seems to relish genre cliché: there's a new cop -- his first day on the job, at least in Red Hill -- with a pregnant wife back home, a dangerous criminal is on the loose, and there's even a storm rolling in for good measure. The backdrop is certainly enough to make seasoned genre fans think twice before giving it a shot, but Red Hill is a rare film that takes cliché and makes it work -- improves on it, even -- for a surprisingly rich experience that's also emotionally rewarding. There's an overriding tension to the whole thing; Red Hill keeps audiences on their toes, and there are several gut-wrenchingly intense scenes from several different perspectives that give the movie more depth than its genre and cliché would normally allow. The acting is magnificent; the real treasure here is Tom E. Lewis's performance as the disfigured escaped convict Jimmy Conway. He does more with his menacing stare, matter-of-fact walk, unforgiving demeanor, and precision handling of his weapons that, along with the impressive makeup work, make him one of the best characters in recent Western memory. Ryan Kwanten is also excellent as the new-in-town officer who, along with his wife, has moved to Red Hill hoping to escape the noise and pressures of city life but finds himself in the noisiest and most dangerous day of his life, anyway. The film moves along at breakneck pace with action scenes most similar films will envy and a story that's rich and satisfying even if it is built around some very basic storytelling principles.

Red Hill Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Red Hill sports a fairly gritty but nevertheless handsome 1080p Blu-ray transfer. Through the film's grainy façade lies not only a solid film-like texture but exemplary detailing and color reproduction. Whether well-defined trees or close-ups of a horse's mane, whether cloth textures or the wear-and-tear evident on an old leather jacket, Sony's 1080p transfer is film-accurate and full of strong detailing throughout. Depth of field is generally strong, and clarity is consistently excellent. Colors are natural and well-balanced, with a slight warm tint only visible on rare occasions. Black levels usually appear a bit too dark and damaging to foreground details as evidenced during several nighttime exteriors, but flesh tones appear natural in shading. The print also contains the odd white speckle and human faces occasionally have a slightly pasty appearance. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the image is quite good, cinematic for sure and demanding a large screen to allow all of the fantastic locales and excellent textures to really stand out. This is another solid Blu-ray transfer from Sony.

Red Hill Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Red Hill's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack is the perfect compliment to a tough but amicable genre picture. Surrounds are used to full effect throughout; the film opens with wind gusting through the listening area, bringing with it grains of sand and debris that seem to smash straight into the listening area. Birds scatter and screech around the soundstage, distant thunder realistically and ominously booms, a truck muscles its way across the soundstage, and the stage is set for a full-featured soundtrack that's as rough-and-tumble strong as it is elegant and clear. Music enjoys pinpoint clarity and spacing across the front; whether down home guitar strums or heavier rock tunes, every note is handled smoothly and with much precision. Imaging is fantastic, too; whether gunfire that erupts from a specific part of the soundstage or the slight background chatter of a police radio that's heard off to the side of the soundstage in chapter three, the track proves capable of placing its audio sources anywhere and everywhere with great accuracy. Shotguns blasts are accompanied by a fair amount of power, and bullets zipping out of the barrel of high-powered scoped rifles are a pleasure to behold. Dialogue is smooth and accurate as it flows from the center speaker. Red Hill delivers another winner of a soundtrack from Sony.

Red Hill Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Red Hill features only BD-Live connectivity and previews for additional Sony titles. No film-specific extras are included.

Red Hill Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Red Hill is a fantastic little movie that has it all. Though its basics may scream out "cliché!," Director Patrick Hughes's picture is actually a fairly original and invigorating experience. Well paced, well played, packed with several great characters, set in a lifelike locale, sporting great action, built around a surprising amount of emotion, and featuring a superb twist ending, Red Hill needs to shoot straight to the top of Western/Action fans's must-see list. It's too bad the movie is absent even a whiff of special features; Sony's Blu-ray release is otherwise excellent per the studio's norm, and despite the lack of extras, Red Hill comes heartily recommended.