Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Selfish Giant Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 10, 2014

Winner of Label Europa Cinemas Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Clio Barnard's "The Selfish Giant" (2013) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; alternative ending; an video interview with director Clio Barnard, Conner Chapman and Shaun Thomas. In English, without optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Arbor

Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s story of the same name, Clio Barnard’s latest film, The Selfish Giant, follows closely two teenage boys living in Bradford, England. Arbor (Conner Chapman), the shorter and more energetic boy, curses a lot and prefers to stay as far away from school as possible. Swifty (Shaun Thomas) is bigger and more relaxed, but he also does not like going to school because he tends to get in trouble with the local bullies. Both come from families that are so poor that most of the time they eat only cheap canned food.

After a big brawl, the boys are officially kicked out of school. Teachers and administrators agree that this was the right thing to do because Arbor and Swifty are misfits who have been given too many second chances to change their behavior. The boys don’t care - and neither do their parents. But local thief, gambler and scrapyard owner Kitten (Sean Gilder, Gangs of New York, King Arthur) does, because he understands that poor souls like Arbor and Swifty are easy to manipulate.

Soon after, the boys begin collecting scrap metal to help their families pay their bills. Swifty then convinces Kitten that he is good enough to help him win a trap race which means a lot to him. Sensing that his best friend is slowly drifting away from him, Arbor comes up with a dangerous business plan that changes his life forever.

There has been a lot of praise for The Selfish Giant on the other side of the Atlantic and most of it is well deserved. This is a gritty and uncompromising film which in a lot of ways reminds of the many great films Ken Loach directed during the years (Kes, Raining Stones, Sweet Sixteen). Cinematographer Mike Eley’s lensing also makes it easy to compare the visual style of The Selfish Giant to that of Andrea Arnold’s terrific Fish Tank and Red Road.

These obvious similarities, however, also create the impression that The Selfish Giant enters a familiar territory without having anything new or important to say about the subjects it is passionate about –unemployment and the economic and social decline of northern England. In other words, the film essentially serves just another dose of social realism which rehashes old truths and half-truths about Thatcherism and its impact on the country.

Still, the film is very powerful and truly incredibly well acted. The two boys’ struggle to maintain some balance in their lives while the world around them becomes more and more dangerous is absolutely fascinating to behold. The raw emotions on display, some of which are so intense that it is difficult to believe that the boys are actually acting in front of the camera, are also quite remarkable.

Editor Nick Fenton (Submarine, The Arbor) deserves a lot of credit for the excellent transitions between the different episodes. Indeed, the film has a unique but consistent rhythm that works wonderfully well with Eley’s gloomy photography.

Note: North American viewers who are planning to see The Selfish Giant should try to see a version of the film with English subtitles because the majority of the accents in it are very thick. As a result, the dialog is often quite difficult to follow.

The Selfish Giant 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, Clio Barnard's The Selfish Giant arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.

Shot with the Arri Alexa camera, The Selfish Giant looks very impressive in high-definition. The film has the appropriate clean and smooth look and detail is simply terrific. Contrast and sharpness levels remain stable. There is a wide range of subdued, frequently rather cold but natural colors. Color stability is outstanding. Additionally, there are no stability issues to report in this review. The encoding and compression are also excellent. To sum it all up, The Selfish Giant looks fantastic on Blu-ray, and I am convinced that its fans will be very pleased with the technical presentation once the get a chance to experience it at home. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

The Selfish Giant 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 LPCM 2.0. For the record, Artificial Eye have not provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the lossless 5.1 track but later on did some random comparisons with the 2.0 track and in my opinion the difference between the two is very small. The film has a very organic sound design and in terms of dynamic intensity there aren't any serious discrepancies. Also, with the 5.1 track you should not expect to hear any serious surround movement. This being said, the dialog is exceptionally crisp and stable. However, optional English SDH subtitles should have been included because the majority of the accents in the film are very thick.

The Selfish Giant Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for The Selfish Giant. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Alternative Ending - in English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Interview - in this video interview, director Clio Barnard explains how The Selfish Giant came to exist and discusses the film's unique qualities (and specifically the film's realist fable structure). Conner Chapman and Shaun Thomas also talk about their interactions with Clio Barnard before and during the shooting of the film. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Deleted Scenes -

The Selfish Giant Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I liked Clio Barnard's The Selfish Giant quite a lot, but there is a part of me that also wants to see young British directors move away from the canons of social realism Ken Loach introduced years ago. This is probably not an easy thing to do because Loach's style is so effective, but I feel that a new vision is needed. Artificial Eye's technical presentation of The Selfish Giant is excellent. However, I think that without optional subtitles some North American viewers might have a difficult time following and understanding what is said in the film. RECOMMENDED.