6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
When three redneck brothers agree to help a woman save her son from an abusive father, they become targets on the run from an odd cast of characters.
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Eva Longoria, Zoë Bell, Paul Wesley (II), Natalie MartinezCrime | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
If there’s one thing Quentin Tarantino has taught the generation of fawning acolytes who have followed in his rather considerable wake, it’s that more is—well, more. Tarantino introduced the world to oversized characters spouting incredibly florid language (often about life’s minutiae) in hyperbolic events that careened through what seemed at times a completely formless, chaotic universe. That impression of chaos is misleading, of course, for Tarantino, for all his perceived excesses, is one tightly controlled writer and filmmaker. You may not agree with his writing or direction, but it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing. Unfortunately, a lot of Tarantino wannabes have come down the pike over the past couple of decades, aping Tarantino’s showy dialogue, near camptastic characters and overly arch plot machinations, emulators who often get the trappings down if not the foundation holding them up. The good news is that in this ever widening subgenre, co-writer and director Barry Battles surges to the head of this perhaps questionable class, delivering in The Baytown Outlaws a film that is much better than it has any right to be. The salient question will still remain for many: is that enough to make it any good? The film is provocatively in your face, decidedly un-PC, full of cartoonish characters and events, and so would seem perfectly prized to be a paradigmatic example of “Tarantino: The Next Generation”, but there are still signs that Battles hasn’t quite learned all of the Quentin-esque tricks he’ll need to master to assume the throne from the master. But that said, for all the squalid B-movie grindhouse efforts that have trundled down the pike over the past several years, there’s something to be said for a film as resolutely sure of itself—even if it really shouldn’t be all of the time—as The Baytown Outlaws is.
The Baytown Outlaws is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Phase 4 Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. If the film's overall generally surprising amount of vigor isn't enough for you, this high definition presentation is uncharacteristically crisp and well defined for such a low budget affair. Though Battles and his DP Dave McFarland have intentionally radically color graded much of this film, to the point where asphalt roads are blue and skies are gray, even on the sunniest and clearest of days. A lot of the film is bathed in an ugly yellow hue which nonetheless serves the subject matter quite well. Fine object detail pops very well throughout the film, and while colors can't really be called "accurate", they're often quite robust and well saturated. The film tends to look a bit soft in some of the dimmest interior sequences, but the bulk of this high definition presentation is unexpectedly sharp.
Well, folks, we evidently have a new audio codec to contend with, if we're to believe the keepcase and slipcover of The Baytown Outlaws, for according to those sources of information this film features a Dolby 5.1 DTS track. It never ceases to amaze me that there aren't better copy editors at several of these smaller labels (I regularly see even major star named misspelled, as well as embarrassing grammatical errors sprinkled throughout the plot summaries). That said, what's actually here is a standard lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. It's perfectly serviceable, and in fact rather boisterous almost all of the time, but Blu-ray consumers are going to be pretty disappointed that a film this stuffed with outrageous sound effects and LFE hasn't been granted a lossless audio option. Dialogue is fairly clear (though some of the "good ol' boy" accents get a bit thick, and unfortunately there are no subtitles to help decipher what's bein said), the rock 'em, sock 'em score sounds fine and the mix is well prioritized within its lossy context.
Color me absolutely shocked: when I saw the cover of this Blu-ray and read the plot summary, I kind of groaned internally and thought I was in for yet another "Tarantino lite" outing. Well, this is indeed "Tarantino light" in any number of ways, but the fact is I greatly enjoyed The Baytown Outlaws for about 7/8 of its running time. The film makes a few stunning missteps along the way, but overall this is rather smartly written, well performed and really well directed by Barry Battles, who is a talent to watch. This Blu-ray offers excellent video, though most will probably be upset that there's only lossy audio on this release. Still, against all odds, The Baytown Outlaws comes Recommended.
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