Tideland Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Tideland Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 24, 2010

Based on Mitch Cullin's novel, Terry Gilliam's "Tideland" (2005) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of German distributors Concorde Video. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with Terry Gilliam and screenwriter Tony Grisoni; making of; a gallery of deleted scenes; B-rolls; "Getting Gilliam", a Vincenzo Natali film focusing on Terry Gilliam's career as a filmmaker; cast and crew interviews, and trailers. With optional German and German SDH subtitles. Region-Free.

I see you!

The main protagonist in Terry Gilliam’s Tideland is a little girl, Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland, Case 39), who spends her time in two different worlds. One is bizarre, the other...very bizarre. In the first, she is forced to endure her addicted to chocolate mother, Queen Gunhilda (Jennifer Tilly, Seed of Chucky), who treats her as if she is a giant plastic doll. Jeliza-Rose also must put up with her father, Noah (Jeff Bridges, The Fisher King), an ex- rock-star and hardcore heroin addict, who loves it when she gets his fix ready for him.

In the second, Jeliza-Rose has friends - not real but reliable. They are headless dolls, invisible guests, and other imaginary creatures who like talking to her whenever she feels lonely. Jeliza-Rose likes talking to them, too. In fact, she prefers spending her time with them, not with her parents.

The two worlds become one when Jeliza-Rose's mother dies from an overdose and her father takes her to an abandoned farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. He tells her that it is her grandmother’s house, and that many years ago he spent some time in it, perhaps hiding from someone or something. Before her father could clearly remember, however, he also dies from an overdose.

Jeliza-Rose quickly befriends one of her neighbors, Dickens (Brendan Fletcher, Paper Moon Affair), a brain-damaged epileptic, who thinks that he is the captain of an invisible submarine, and the two begin exploring the area. Later on, she also befriends Dickens’ one-eyed sister, Dell (Janet McTeer, Tumbleweeds), who is delighted to meet her father’s corpse.

Gilliam’s Tideland has some interesting similarities with Spanish director Victor Erice’s The Spirit of the Beehive, which also tells the story of a young girl who imagines things and often spends time in a world populated with strange creatures. While The Spirit of the Beehive is a smart condemnation of General Franco’s regime, however, Tideland is just an odd film.

Gilliam’s shocking flirtations with pedophilia and necrophilia in Tideland are quite scary. They serve no particular purpose other than perhaps to test the audience’s tolerance level in digesting them within the context of the story. If they were to expose a serious issue which Gilliam was concerned with, then their presence would have been welcomed. As it is, however, they are nothing more than tasteless embellishments in a purely voyeuristic affair, one that was meant to please no one else but its creator.

The acting is excellent. Jodelle Ferland’s monologues feel fresh and genuinely unpretentious, but at the same time terribly misplaced. A film centered entirely on her improvisations would have been a very special treat.

Brendan Fletcher is also convincing as the kind simpleton who accidentally encounters the friend he always wanted to have. His obsession with the invisible submarine, however, eventually gets pretty boring - like everything else in the film.

Jeff Bridges has a small but important role in Tideland, which brings him very close to his now marquee incarnation of Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski. Again, he mumbles most of the time, but his facial expressions are excellent. His corpse, though, looks terrible.

The elegant Janet McTeer is simply unrecognizable as the freaky and promiscuous taxidermist, and so is the sultry Jennifer Tilly as the whacked-out and dysfunctional mother who likes to call her daughter "bitch".

In 2005, Tideland won the FIPRESCI Prize (Best Director) at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. In 2007, the film was nominated for Saturn Award (Best Performance by a Younger Actor) by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA.

Tideland Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Terry Gilliam's Tideland arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of German distributors Concorde Video.

This is a strong high-definition transfer. Fine object details is pleasing, clarity good and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The color-scheme is very unique, with yellows, blues, browns and black being intentionally manipulated by the creators of the film. Considering the strange aura of the film, they look convincing.

Mild edge-enhancement is noticeable during selected scenes. Macroblocking, however, is nowhere to be seen. Some minor denoising has been performed, but film grain is still present. Some of the indoor scenes reveal light digital noise, but I did not find it distracting at all. On the other hand, I did not detect any serious stability issues to report in this review. Finally, the high-definition transfer is free of large debris, warps, cuts, dirt, or stains. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA. For the record, there is no PAL or 1080/50i content preceding its main menu).

Tideland Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Concorde Video have provided optional German and German SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is pleasing, boasting a strong bass and good surround activity. A direct comparison between the German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, however, reveals that the mid-range dynamics on the German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track are stronger (you could test the scenes with the incoming trains to hear the difference). The dialog is clean, stable and easy to follow on both tracks, though the German dub sounds quite sterile. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hiss on the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track.

Tideland Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are encoded in 480/60i. Therefore, they are perfectly playable on Region-A PS3s and Blu-ray players.

Trailers - two theatrical trailers for the film. One n English, without optional subtitles (2 min, 480/60i) and one in German, without optional subtitles. (2 min, 480/60i).

Getting Gilliam - a Vincenzo Natali film focusing on Terry Gilliam's career as a filmmaker. The film contains extracts from the director's early works. In English, with optional German subtitles. (43 min, 480/60i).

Making of - a short featurette containing raw footage from the shooting of the film, as well as comments by the cast and crew. In English, with optional German subtitles. (6 min, 480/60i).

Deleted Scenes - with a commentary by director Terry Gilliam. In English, with optional German subtitles. (7 min, 480/60i).

Green Screen - Aufnahmen - director Terry Gilliam discusses the special effects in the film. In English, with optional German subtitles. (4 min, 480/60i).

Interviews - a gallery of short interviews with director Terry Gilliam, Jeremy Thomas, Jodelle Ferland, Jeff Bridges, and Jennifer Tilly. The director and the actors discuss their work on the film, its story, unique characters, etc. In English, with optional German subtitles. (15 min, 480/60i).

B-roll - raw footage from the shooting of the film. In English, without optional German subtitles. (21 min, 480/60i).

Stills gallery - (1080p).

Trailers - trailers for Alpha Dog, Black Christmas, and Sterben fur Anfanger.

Commentary - in this audio commentary director Terry Gilliam and screenwriter Tony Grisoni talk extensively about the unique relationships in the film, its story, how specific scenes were shot, etc.

Tideland Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I did not particularly enjoy Terry Gilliam's Tideland. There are certain themes in it that simply did not resonate well with me. I also had a very difficult time figuring out what the film's message was. Perhaps your experience with it would be better than mine. RENT IT.