Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Take Out Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 3, 2023

Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou's "Take Out" (2004) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include new program with Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou, Charles Jang, Wang-Thye Lee, and Jeng-Hua Yu; archival audio commentary; archival making of featurette; original trailer; and more. In Mandarin, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Somewhere in New York City. The debt collectors rush into the crowded apartment and quickly identify their target. It is a Chinese man (Charles Jang), like them, in his late twenties, possibly early thirties, skinny, overworked. They ask him if he has the money to pay back their boss, a prominent loan shark. The visibly shaken man replies that he has some money hidden in the refrigerator, but not the entire amount the debt collectors are looking for. After the money is located and taken out of the refrigerator, one of the debt collectors angrily announces that the man has until nightfall to produce $800,00 to earn a new payment plan. If the man fails to produce the money, what he owes will be doubled, and if he attempts to run away, they will find him and do something bad to him. The same debt collector then gives the man a sample of the bad -- he pulls out a hammer and smashes his back, instantly taking his breath away and leaving him almost paralyzed.

Not too long after the debt collectors disappear, the man slowly dresses up and leaves the apartment. He rides his bike to reach a tiny Chinese restaurant where he makes ends meet as a delivery guy. Before the food is cooked and orders start coming in, the man is able to borrow some money from friends without telling them the real reason he needs it, but it is not enough. It was drizzling when the man left the apartment and now it is pouring, so if the weather stays the same there will be plenty of work and by nightfall he could make the difference in tips. Later, when the only other delivery guy learns about the man’s predicament, he instantly offers him his deliveries. It is the least he could do to help. Plus, he could use an ‘easy day’, especially one that is this gloomy and wet.

The desperate man spends the entire day delivering orders to hungry New Yorkers. Because he understands only a few words of English and does not speak any, the man is unable to greet them and tell them what they owe. He hands them their receipt, they pay him and leave him a tip. It is the simplest job in the world. A few times the man is sent back empty-handed, but he does not get angry. It is pointless. The faster he gets back to the restaurant, the faster he will pick up another order that could make up for the lost tip.

During a rare break, while the man chats with the other delivery guy, it is revealed exactly why he owes a lot of money. He does not have a gambling problem and is not addicted to drugs. He had to borrow money to pay the men who six months ago smuggled him into the United States. He has worked hard and sent money back home to his wife, too. He has a son now, but he has never seen him.

At the end of a long and very wet day, the man agrees to do one last delivery. It is just a few blocks away but in a shady area where he rarely delivers. He has already collected his earnings so whatever the customer gives him will be a bonus.

Shot with a MiniDV camera and without a proper budget by Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou, Take Out is a very close relative of Ramin Bahrani’s Man Push Cart. It is a minimalist slice of NYC reality, extracted raw and unmanipulated, presented with as little conventional cinematic editing as possible. There is some conventional acting in it, but the overwhelming majority of what the Mini DV camera was used to preserve is not staged.

In one of the bonus features that is included on this release, the directors reveal that capturing the identity of the buildings that define the areas where the deliveries are made was crucial. Like the workers in the restaurant and the customers visiting it, they would reveal different anxieties and tensions, styles, and personalities. Understanding them, or at least interpreting parts of them right, would be to grasp the nature of existence in NYC.

Take Out accomplishes its goal(s). However, it could have done so in a much more exciting, even significantly more illuminating manner. Its middle section, for instance, rehashes a lot of the same material and eventually becomes rather tedious. Also, at least one of the breaks could have been used to address in greater detail the various ways in which illegal aliens outsmart the system that makes much of their misery possible.

Take Out 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, Take Out arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

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

"This new digital transfer was created from the original MiniDV camera master tapes, output to a digital intermediate, and scanned in 4K resolution. The soundtrack was remastered from the MiniDV camera masters and remixed in stereo by editor Eric Marks, recording mixer Rob Marshall, and dialogue editor Ryan Vaughan for Transported Audio.

Transfer supervisor: Sean Baker.
Restoration producer: Alex Coco.
Colorist: Alastro Pan Arnold/FotoKem Creative Services, Los Angeles."

The current presentation retains all of the native limitations of the original material that was captured by the MiniDV camera. It is why the visuals have a video-esque quality. While pleasing, depth, clarity, and sharpness can often fluctuate quite a bit, with indoor and nighttime footage producing the greatest fluctuations. Colors are natural but also reveal video-esque qualities. Highlights in particular can be rather exaggerated and occasionally unstable. Image stability is very good. All in all, the Blu-ray release offers a very solid presentation of Take Out, but you have to keep in mind that it is a presentation that replicates very particular qualities. In other words, when evaluating the presentation, you must do so with proper adjustments. (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).

Take Out Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Mandarin LPCM 2.0 (with small portions of English). Optional English and English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The dialog is usually clear and easy to follow. However, it could be quite uneven because there the soundtrack incorporates various organic sounds and noises. Dynamic intensity is modest, but given the low-budget nature of the production, this is hardly surprising. There are no encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Take Out Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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

• Charles Jang Screen Test - in Mandarin, with English subtitles. (2 min).

• Deleted Scenes - a couple of deleted scenes. In Mandarin, with English subtitles. (7 min).

• Reflecting on "Take Out" - in this new program, directors Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou and actors Charles Jang, Wang-Thye Lee, and Jeng-Hua Yu discuss the making of Take Out and the impact it had on their lives. The program was produced for Criterion in 2022. In English and Mandarin, with English subtitles where necessary. (29 min).

• The Making of "Take Out" - in this archival program, Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou discuss the making of Take Out. The program was produced by Baker in 2006. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou, and Charles Jang in 2006.

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic and author J.J. Murphy's essay "Off the Books" as well as technical credits.

Take Out Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is pretty clear that Take Out was conceived to resemble the various Dogme 95 films that were made on the other side of the Atlantic. Is it as good as some of the Dogme 95 films? I do not think so. I found its middle section where the different buildings are supposed to reveal plenty about the nature of existence in NYC underdeveloped and too repetitive. Also, at least one of the breaks could have been transformed into an honest, longer discussion of the ways in which illegal aliens outsmart the system that makes much of their misery possible. Even though it was shot with a MiniDV camera, Take Out has been fully remastered in 4K so that it looks as good as possible on Blu-ray. RECOMMENDED only to the fans.