7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The film tells the story of a young offender named Carlin as he arrives at the institution, and his rise through violence and self-protection to the top of the inmates' pecking order, purely as a tool to survive.
Starring: Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Julian Firth, Phil Daniels, Philip Jackson (II)Foreign | 100% |
Drama | 62% |
Crime | 4% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
British cinema's social realism movement got a firm punch in the kidney with the 1979 release of Alan Clarke's Scum, a harsh indictment of the country's corrupt borstal reformatory system for delinquent youths. Two years prior, Clarke—primarily a teleplay director—made the film for BBC broadcast, but the powers that were banned it before it ever aired on the grounds of it being too violent and thematically controversial. So, what did Clarke do? He scraped together the funds to remake Scum as a theatrical feature, and made it even more violent and culturally incisive, laying out the explicit charge that borstal "schools" are fundamentally dehumanizing institutions, not just for the inmates, but also their just- as-troubled wardens. There are shades of A Clockwork Orange here, and more than a little of Lindsay Anderson's If..., but Scum is its own cult classic entity, a sinewy bit of low-budget filmmaking that uses graphic depictions of rape and suicide to shock viewers into social awareness. Though the government ultimately abolished the borstal model in 1982—to what extent the film affected this decision is up for debate—Scum is still compelling today as an illustration of the hypocrisy and abuses of power that occur inside any punitive system.
Many Kino-Lorber releases get the "as is" treatment—with little-to-no significant cleanup work—but Scum arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p/AVC- encoded transfer that's nearly pristine, remastered from the original 35mm negative in 2012 by Pinewood Studio's restoration team. They've done terrific work, removing scratches, spots, and bits of debris without compromising the integrity of the image or its inherent grain structure, which is untouched by digital noise reduction and edge enhancement. The picture looks warm and organic—like a film print, not some over-digitized bastardization—and the lone distractions are a few errant white specks missed in the cleaning pass. (Compared to a lot of Kino's recent Redemption Films-label releases—which are typically scratched and dotted throughout—Scum is a revelation.) Clarity seems true to source and drastically improved—if you've seen standard definition versions of the film—with cleaner lines and more finely resolved textures in faces, hair, and clothing. Color is balanced and consistent too, with good density/saturation and stable contrast. If only all of Kino's classic titles could look this good.
There are two audio options on the disc, a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track and an uncompressed Linear PCM 2.0 mono mix. Since the film was originally mixed monaurally, purists will prefer the latter, but the default multi-channel remaster certainly isn't obtrusive. The expanded sound design is limited to some light ambience and effects in the rear speakers—footsteps, cafeteria clamor, etc.—and you rarely even notice it. Both mixes have a decent sense of clarity for a film of this age and genre, although there are a few scenes where it's obvious that the actors' voices have been ADR'd in. Still, dialogue is clear and understandable, and there are no major hisses, pops, or crackles. Sound plays a minimal role in Scum—you'll quickly notice that there's no score—so these two tracks gets high marks just for doing exactly what they need to do.The only shortcoming here is that Kino hasn't included any subtitle options, which would be helpful for following some of the more unusual anglo slang.
It may not be as celebrated as the social realist films of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, but Alan Clarke's Scum was and is just as vital, a gritty juvie drama that set out to expose the cruelty and dehumanizing effect of Britain's borstal rehabilitation system. Though the borstal days are long gone, the film is still a powerful experience—shocking, uncomfortable, and thought-provoking. It's a shame that Kino couldn't have included the original BBC teleplay version of Scum here too, but otherwise, this is a fantastic Blu-ray release, with a restored and remastered transfer, an audio commentary with star Ray Winstone, and several interviews with the cast and crew. Highly recommended!
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