Review:
film & DVD "The Sum Of Us" (1994)
By John
Frame, November 2001.
Also see my comments on
The Sum Of Us as jvframe
on http://us.imdb.com/CommentsShow?111309
DVD review:
The Australian-made region
4 DVD
of The Sum Of Us was released in November 2001
after weeks of delay. It was one of the first DVD’s to be manufactured locally
by Shock Record’s "Kaleidoscope" video branch and its technical
quality matches their very poor promotional performance as a company.
-
For starters they got the left and right audio channels reversed
– which is just careless, and the "extra feature" interview with
actor Jack Thompson has very poor audio and unnecessary film inserts. It’s also
disappointing that they offered a "pan & scan" only version. The Sum Of Us is a fine film which
deserves to be seen at its best, so it’s well worth waiting to see what quality
of product is offered by the MGM USA
region 1 version (stated to be 1.85:1 widescreen anamorphic)
which has a release date of early June 2003 as per http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/dvd/B00008R9KG/tech-info/102-4824775-1324968
.
The MGM
-
much better picture quality in both definition and
contrast (making you wonder if Shock hadn't just used a videotape source. Check
out the attached sample image I've made with grabs from the same scene side by
side.
-
the audio is very much cleaner - with no sign of
the slight buzz that is on the Shock version. AND the MGM version has the left
and right channels in the correct order.
-
it's a double-sided disc with one being a full
screen 4:3 (like the Shock version) and the other a tastefully 16:9
enhanced version. Though neither one of these is the original aspect ratio apparently,
I think the original film format was a standard 35mm and so it would not be far
from 4:3 anyway.
-
the scene chapter marks are much more carefully
placed.
-
So all in all they've done very well and it was worth the wait.
Hopefully someone at Shock Video gets to see how a DVD SHOULD be mastered.
Review of film itself:
The Sum Of Us was groundbreaking in that it achieved what the writer hoped, in becoming a financially successful bigger-budget comedy/romance, in which the audience (whether straight or gay) decidedly "wants the boy to get the boy".
I interviewed David Stevens in Brisbane in July '94. David says he wrote the screenplay as a dedication to the tolerance he experienced and admired in Australian society. (He lived here for several years, but now resides in Hollywood.)
David said he was enormously pleased with the casting of Australian acting icon Jack Thompson as "Dad" - describing Jack's performance as "a triumph". He also believed Russell Crowe to be a rising Australian acting icon, who turned in the best "Jeff" performance he'd witnessed. David thought it very important that these actors are able to present the dialogue in its native Australian tongue "with all of its natural rhythms and natural attitudes".
He defends the use of the "asides" to the audience as being more than a mere hangover from the play, saying that they are necessary to allow "Dad" to communicate his thoughts to the audience, when he is physically incapable of doing so with the film's characters.
Some gay critics objected to its highlighting of "straight-acting" gayness, but I don't see the film saying anything less than that being honest and self-accepting is vital to expecting acceptance from others - and that everyone is capable of real and passionate love, provided they are willing to make an effort and can accept that it's not likely to be all "sunshine and lollipops".
The film's look, feel, language, sound and music are all genuine Australiana. I also found the slightly surreal moments to be a pure joy on the big screen and believe that there's not a wasted word or image throughout.
I've enjoyed rewatching The Sum Of Us many times. Its genuine humour and warm romance is the big reward. It makes me totally proud to be a gay Australian with parents who are every bit as supportive as Jeff's Dad - but part of that process included taking my mum to see The Sum Of Us at the cinema in '94. In the lobby of the Village Twin she gave me a big hug and a kiss and told me that she is very proud of her openly gay son.