Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Tyrannosaur Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 12, 2012

Winner of Best Best British Independent Film, Best Debut Director, and Best Actress Awards at the British Independent Film Awards, Paddy Considine's "Tyrannosaur" (2011) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Studio Canal. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; an audio commentary by writer/director Paddy Considine and producer Diarmid Scrimshaw; deleted scenes; and a gallery of stills. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

One broken man

Joseph (Peter Mullan, The Escort, NEDS), has two friends. The first is slowly dying from cancer. The second is a dog that follows him around on the dirty streets of Leeds. After a brawl in a bar, he kicks his dog in the ribs and kills it.

A couple of days later Joseph enters a small charity shop and hides behind a coat rack even though no one is chasing him. Immediately realizing that he is seriously disturbed, the volunteer clerk, Hannah (Olivia Colman, TV’s Peep Show: Series 1), offers to pray for him, but he snubs her.

On the following day, Joseph returns to Hannah’s shop and they talk. Like razorblades, the words he utters slice her life into pieces. She is stunned to hear that a man who knows nothing about her could see so well what she has been trying to hide.

After the conversation, Hannah’s life begins to spiral out of control. For a while she tries to cope with it but eventually gives up and goes to Joseph looking for peace, not help. He allows her to stay with him until she gets back on her feet. Then he tells her that she must leave because with her in the house he can’t turn his life around.

British director Paddy Considine’s debut feature film has won various big awards already and it is easy to see why – it hits hard and with an authority. If the film is a sign of things to come, then Shane Meadows and Andrea Arnold will most certainly have a formidable competitor in the United Kingdom.

The film is essentially about two broken people – one trying desperately not to be the violent monster he has become, the other trying to survive what few people could. When they meet, their lives take unusual turns which first confuse them and then weaken their ability to absorb the humiliation and misery they face each day.

Despite the bleak narrative and strong language, the film is not completely drained of beauty (there are a couple of sequences towards the end that look wonderful). The cold colors and plain lighting, however, constantly suppress it.

Peter Mullan’s performance is electrifying. For the majority of the film he really does look like a man whose heart and soul are completely consumed by evil. There is a scene in which he does something terrible and then sits in a chair holding a large hammer that is genuinely disturbing. Olivia Colman looks brittle and weak, but there is plenty of anger in her as well. With the sizeable transformation her character undergoes, she essentially plays two entirely different people.

Tyrannosaur was lensed by cinematographer Erik Wilson, who also collaborated with director Richard Ayoade on the British hit Submarine. The editing was done by Pia Di Ciaula (Hideous Kinky, Best Laid Plans).

The film is complimented by a beautiful soundtrack, featuring songs by The Leisure Society. Years ago, the lead singer of The Leisure Society, Paddy Considine, and Shane Meadows had their own band.

Note: In 2011, Tyrannosaur won Best Debut Director and Best Actress Awards at the British Independent Film Awards. The film also won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Tyrannosaur Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Paddy Considine's Tyrannosaur arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Studio Canal.

The high-definition transfer is excellent. I was able to attend a festival screening of Tyrannosaur not too long ago and Studio Canal's presentation certainly replicates everything that impressed me about the film. The cold colors and natural light, for example, are as important as the main protagonists and their lines because there is a lot they reveal in a number of key sequences where not a single word is uttered. These sequences look as striking in 1080p as they did in the theater. The various close-ups where the camera studies Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman's faces also look great - detail and depth are often incredibly impressive. There is some softness that emerges during a few of the indoor sequences (see screencaptures #7 and 19), but the effect is actually caused by the restricted natural light. There are no traces of severe denoising or problematic post production sharpening. I also did not see any banding patterns or compression anomalies to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Tyrannosaur Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0 (a separate descriptive audio track is included as well). For the record, Studio Canal have provided optional English 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 opens up the film in all the right places quite well, but overall surround activity is fairly limited. The bass also rarely comes alive. But this is how the film was shot - with certain limitations in place to enhance its gritty atmosphere. The dialog is crisp, clean, and stable.

Tyrannosaur Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Dog Altogether (2007) - director Paddy Considine's short film won Silver Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival in 2007. Tyrannosaur is essentially a much more elaborate, and slightly altered, version of Dog Altogether. Also with Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman. In English, not subtitled. (17 min, 1080p).

• Deleted Scenes - a gallery of deleted scenes with optional commentary by writer/director Paddy Considine. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).

• Stills Gallery - a gallery of stills from the film and the shooting of the film.

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Tyrannosaur. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - an audio commentary by writer/director Paddy Considine and producer Diarmid Scrimshaw. This is a very detailed commentary with an enormous amount of factual information about the production of Tyrannosaur. Paddy Considine discusses at great length the complex characters Peter Mullan and Olivia Coman play, the unique atmosphere in the film, the songs used in the film, etc. There is some good information about Dog Altogether as well. Indeed, a terrific commentary.

Tyrannosaur Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Paddy Considine's Tyrannosaur clearly was the best British film in 2011. Profoundly moving and thought-provoking, it is also one of the most impressive directorial debuts I've seen in years. It would be a crime to miss it. Studio Canal's presentation of the film is excellent. The distributors have also included a fantastic audio commentary by director Paddy Considine and producer Diarmid Scrimshaw. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.