Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Who Is Bill Rebane? Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 15, 2021

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection.

Somewhat hilariously considering the geographical focus of this collection, I have previously disclosed that I discovered some time ago that undeniably weird Wisconsin is evidently the presumed center of the universe. That is a conclusion I not so coincidentally came to after I married a woman from that state, but it's a sentiment which has been regularly reinforced by a truly gobsmacking number of Wisconsin set films that have crossed my path in various ways in the time since I said "I do". There have also been an unusually high number of Wisconsin-centered or actually filmed titles that have as a matter of fact entered my queue to write about over the years, and though not part of my official reviewing duties, two wildly disparate films, American Movie and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox, actually have a more or less direct connection to the tiny town my wife grew up in, Menomonee Falls. As if to make the circle complete, one of American Movie's aspiring filmmakers shows up as a talking head in the documentary about Bill Rebane included in this set. That documentary starts off with a kind of joke where a critic is asked to sum up the impact of "someone like Bill Rebane", to which the critic may understandably respond, "Who is Bill Rebane?" For those who are either unacquainted with this kind of delirious "regional" filmmaker, or in fact for those who have already fallen under the sway of "classics" (?) like Monster A Go-Go!, this new collection from Arrow provides a nice selection of Rebane's work, with the typically broad and deep assortment of supplementary material that has become Arrow's stock in trade.

This is a kind of love letter to Bill Rebane in documentary form which was assembled by David Cairns, who obviously has a soft spot for the would be auteur, though who is not completely immune to the fact that many people will not have heard of him, as evidenced by the documentary's double edged title. Featuring a wonderful overview of Rebane's life and work, and filled with some fantastic and often very funny interviews with a number of people who have known and worked with Rebane through the years, Who is Bill Rebane? manages to give a deft look at Rebane's life and work. Even though there might be some ostensible "spoiler" material at least alluded to at times, this is probably the place for newcomers to Rebane's work to start with in this set, and it offers both insight into and context for Rebane's, um, oeuvre.

Who Is Bill Rebane? Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Who is Bill Rebane? is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in a variety of aspect ratios, but will the bulk of the contemporary interview segments being in 1.78:1. Perhaps because this was a newly commissioned piece, there's no information on the transfer included in Arrow's hardback book which comes with this set. While this has the typical variances in clarity, detail and (when appropriate) grain structure that is often seen in documentaries cobbled together from a variety of sources, its overall quality is perhaps just a bit more ragged than usual due to the fact that most (all?) of the contemporary interview segments look like they were done via Zoom or Skype or somesuch technology, and there are some noticeable resolution differences along with occasional "internet anomalies". It's notable in that regard that the unedited interview with Stephen R. Bissette included as a supplement on this disc comes with an opening text disclaimer mentioning that video quality isn't always optimal. All of this said, there's nothing major to worry about, and the general look of this piece will most likely pass muster with understanding fans.

Who Is Bill Rebane? Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Who is Bill Rebane? is the rare Arrow release I've personally reviewed with only one lossy audio option, in this case a Dolby Digital 2.0 track. Longtime readers of my reviews know I'm something of an audiophile and think that Blu-ray discs should come equipped with at least one lossless track, but since this is in essence a talking head situation, there's arguably less to be upset about. All of the interview segments offer decent fidelity, while the clips display the same general audio anomalies that are experienced in the actual films. There are no subtitles available.

Who Is Bill Rebane? Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• King of the Wild Frontier (HD; 1:33:39) is the complete unedited conversation between historian and filmmaker David Cairns and critic Stephen R. Bissette that is excerpted in the documentary.


• Outtakes

  Invasion from Inner Earth (HD; 16:42)

  
  

  The Demons of Ludlow (HD; 11:12)

  
  

  The Alpha Incident (HD; 9:41)

  
  Note: All of the above outtakes are silent.

• The Giant Spider Invasion Trailer (HD; 3:55)


• Image Galleries

  A Rebane Miscellany (HD; 5:10)

  
  

  The Giant Spider Invasion (HD; 5:40)

  
  

  The Capture of Bigfoot (HD; 1:10)

  
  

  Rana the Legend of Shadow Lake (HD; 1:00)

  
  

  Blood Harvest (HD; 1:30)

  
  

  From the Collection of Stephen R. Bissette, SpiderBaby Archives (HD; 4:00)

Who Is Bill Rebane? Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A lot of the people interviewed for this documentary seem to be in accord with Rebane's evident "hey, I have a camera, let's make a movie" attitude, and the result is a freewheeling, often quite funny, exercise in anecdotes and memory. That uppity guy seen first in the piece asking who Rebane is might not know, but the rest of the talking heads certainly do, and they make this a most enjoyable way to get to know Rebane. Technical merits are a little iffy at times, but with caveats noted, Who is Bill Rebane? comes Recommended.