Shopping Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		1.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		1.5

Shopping Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 21, 2015

Paul W.S. Anderson's "Shopping" (1994) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Fabulous Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; cast and crew interviews; and unedited B-roll footage. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The shoppers

The film is set in an unnamed big British city where gangs of young thieves are repeatedly ram-raiding the most expensive shops. The majority of the time the place looks very dirty and wet. It is not quite as unfriendly and depressing as the futuristic version of London seen in Split Second, but it has the same industrial vibe.

Jude Law is Billy, a young and handsome thief who has just been released from prison. Sadie Frost is Jo, Billy’s on-again, off-again, on-again girlfriend from Belfast who is tired of the scene and wants a new start. Billy wants Jo next to him, but needs the thrill of ram-raiding and joyriding even more. He is addicted to it and he can’t get enough of it.

Jo isn’t immune to it either. When she is with Billy and the police are chasing them, she feels alive and free. But when the thrill is gone she feels like she is wasting the best years of her life playing a dangerous game that could send her behind bars. It is why she wants to end it and move on with her life, but only if Billy once again has a part in it.

Tommy (Sean Pertwee, Event Horizon, Dog Soldiers), another thief with an attitude, wants to see Billy gone. Billy has been his main rival for years and he has lost big money because of him. He would not mind keeping Jo for himself, but if the two disappeared together he would be just as pleased. When they ram-raid a large department store he has been planning to rob, he decides that the time to force them out of the game has finally come. Meanwhile, Detective Conway (Jonathan Pryce, Brazil) gets tipped that Billy and his boys are planning a new job, possibly their biggest one yet.

The film may look dated, even naive now, but that is because it did capture the pulse of a generation that was heading fast nowhere. It has a rebellious spirit, but it isn’t entirely clear what is it that it wants to rebel against. During the early 1990s when the film came out, a lot of kids felt exactly like Billy does after he is released from prison: Here I am, supposedly in charge with my life, and I don’t think that it makes sense to try and do anything with it. This was the time when a lot of kids started taking a lot of drugs and the rave culture exploded. They became part of something big that in a way mimicked the hippie movement their parents initiated. Only this time there was no political awareness to speak of. What mattered is that the drugs made them feel good and temporarily forget about what was ahead of them -- controlled lives in which they will always be followers.

For Billy the drug of choice is speed. It is why he drives fast cars and enjoys the thrill of being chased by the police. The money and the material possessions are worthless to him. It is also why he does not want to leave with Jo: Why grow up when what’s to come isn’t worth the effort?

The film stutters a bit in the middle after Tommy vows to destroy Billy. Anderson, who also wrote the script for it, plays it safe here and the film loses some of the edge that gives it its identity. The script should have been a lot more nihilistic.

The soundtrack features original music by Barrington Pheloung and classic tracks by Utah Saints (“Highlander”), Perfecto/Paul Oakenfold (“Rise”), Orbital (“The Meet”), One Dove (“Fallen”), and The Sabres of Paradise (“The Theme”), amongst others.

Shopping Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Paul W.S. Anderson's Shopping arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Fabulous Films.

Shopping looks every bit as disappointing as Killing Zoe. It is difficult to tell exactly what type of master was used, but all of the key areas that we address in our reviews are very problematic. Depth is virtually non-existent. During the darker/nighttime footage, in particular, there is no decent shadow definition to speak of and as a result at times it feels like one is viewing a poorly mastered DVD release (see screencaptures #13 and 14). Contrast levels are also all over the place and there are some incredibly awkward anomalies that emerge as soon as opening credits disappear. Entire color tonalities are missing. There is no proper grain structure. Finally, image stability is good, some minor transition issues are present. All in all, this is one of the poorest technical presentations that I have seen this year. The Blu-ray should have never been pressed and sent to retailers. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Shopping Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the 2.0 track and was quite pleased with it. Clarity is good, there is nice depth, and balance is solid. It is easy to tell, however, that the audio has not been fully remastered as the high-frequencies could be a bit uneven (see the raid around the 17-minute mark). The dialog is easy to follow, but optional English SDH subtitles should have been provided as some of the accents could be rather thick. There are no pops or audio dropouts to report in our review.

Shopping Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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

• Unedited B-roll - unedited footage from the shooting of a key sequences from the film. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Cast and Crew Interviews - director Paul W.S. Anderson, producer Jeremy Bolt, stunt coordinator Jim Dowdall, DJ Tim (Utah Saints), and actors Danny Newman (Monkey), Jude Law, and Sadie Frost quickly address the plot of Shopping, some of the unique qualities of the main protagonists, the film's soundtrack, etc. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

Shopping Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Shopping is one of the most problematic Blu-ray releases to reach my desk this year. I don't know what master was used to produce it, but the film looks simply terrible in high-definition. The Blu-ray should have never been pressed and sent to retailers. If you are interested in the film, I encourage you to consider the U.S. release from Severin Films. AVOID.