|
|
 |
Cry Baby Killer (The)
R1 - America - Buena Vista Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (8th December 2006). |
|
The Film
 If you've ever seen a Roger Corman produced film then you'll know not to expect too much. The so-called "Reigning King of Independent Films" has made a career (and a lot of money) on quickie low budget drive-in films. Occasionally reusing sets, costumes and actors in several productions, Corman was a master at making the most of next to nothing. Over the years he's even started the careers of some of Hollywood's biggest stars such as Jack Nicholson, Ron Howard, Sylvester Stallone and many others. This film "The Cry Baby Killer" is Jack Nicholson's silver screen debut as a fresh faced 21-year-old kid. In his introduction to the film Corman comments on seeing Jack in an acting class and was hired for the film because he was the best one one there, his instincts were right as Nicholson has carved an impressive career with some of cinema's most exciting performances yet you wouldn't know it by seeing his straight-forward performance in this film. "The Cry Baby Killer" tells the story of Jimmy Wallace (Jack Nicholson,) a kid whose been beat up by local thug and no-good teen Manny Cole (Brett Halsey) and his group of friends. Manny has taken Jimmy's girlfriend Carol (Carolyn Mitchell) away from him and turned her into a bad girl. When Jimmy seeks revenge he gets into a tussle with Manny and his boys, when Jimmy gets his hands on a gun that belongs to one of Manny's boys things get ugly. A shot is fired and suddenly Jimmy is caught in the middle when the cops arrive. He takes a man, woman and child hostage in a storeroom as the tension builds and the crowds and media rush to see whats happening. Before we move forward I must comment on the film's title, although the film is called "The Cry Baby Killer" no baby gets killed in the film, in fact no one actually gets shot or dies, it's obvious the title was meant to shock. For a film that runs just over an hour there isn't a lot to say about it, the script is fundamentally paint-by-numbers, the acting is TV-quality at best, in fact the entire film has a 'made-for-TV after school special' feel to it. At the end of the day it's a cautionary tale aimed towards teenagers about the risks of delinquency (a popular topic in 50's films) and pecks at the heels of much superior films that deal with juvenile delinquency such as "Rebel Without A Cause" (1955). As far as this film goes there's nothing special here other than the fact that Nicholson is in it and for curiosity value it's worth the price of admission, but had Jack faded into obscurity instead of being the star he is today this film would have been long forgotten.
Video
Presented in 1.33:1 full screen, which is not the film's original theatrical ratio (it's closer to 1.85:1) so this supposedly new digital transfer is already a huge disappointment, although it's still in its original black and white. I found that the image was too dark and some scenes lacked detail, especially exterior shots, while interior shots were considerably sharper but not as sharp as today's standard. The print did have some flaws such as the occasional line through the frame and I also noticed some minor compression artefacts as well as moire patterns appearing. Overall this is a very poor effort from Buena Vista.
Audio
A single Enflish Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track is included, which was up-mixed from the film's original mono track. As a result the track sounds hollow and empty with little to no depth. The film's opening theme music sounds like it was recorded in a tin can, while dialogue is clear just about everything else is a dissapointment. It would have been a much better idea to restored the original mono track track up-mix it into a hollow 5.1 track. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired and French.
Extras
Buena Vista Home Entertainment has included on a tiny smathering of extras on this disc, they include two introductions plus a bonus film. Below is a closer look at these supplements. The film includes a brief video introduction by Executive Producer Roger Corman that runs for 38 seconds, he comments on the film, the discovery of Jack and the cameos in the film. Also included is a bonus film, a colorized version of "The Little Shop Of Horrors" (1960) which also includes a video introduction by director Roger Corman that runs for 37 seconds, in his intro he comments on making a feature in the shortest possible time, the film was shot in just two days and a night! The film itself is presented terribly, the color version looks like someone painted over an old VHS release, the the image is soft, occasionally fuzzy in parts and lacks any depth and character. Why not include the original black and white version? Rounding out the extras are a series of bonus trailers, these are all start-up previews and play before the menu. They can be skipped easily. The trailers included are for: - "Apocalypto" which runs for 1 minute 50 seconds and plays out like a mini-featurette. - "The Roger Corman Collection" which runs for 1 minute 17 seconds. - "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" which runs for 2 minutes 14 seconds. - "Anti-Piracy" spot which runs for 48 seconds.
Packaging
This DVD is packaged in an amaray case that is housed in a cardboard slip-case.
Overall
|
|||||
|