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Syriana
R4 - Australia - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak and Jarrod Baker (31st July 2006). |
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The Film
 Eerily topical given the events of the past few weeks, Syriana paints a dark and cynical picture of American machinations in the Middle East. The central theme of the film is that the United States, via its military and intelligence services, actively works on behalf of corporate interests to ensure that liberal democracies do NOT spring up in the oil-rich Gulf States - because regional stability would have a negative effect on oil company profits. Syriana is already uncomfortable viewing, as it makes the Western audience complicit in the deliberate manipulation of Middle-Eastern politics. This is made even more uncomfortable given the context and the setting - much of the film takes place in Lebanon, specifically in Beirut and in "Hezbollah controlled areas". It's hard not to be continuously aware of the destruction being dealt to (and from) those areas right now. Languidly paced and narrative-rich, Syriana requires some dedication to watch. If you've got a short attention span, or are after a quick action fix, this is not the film for you. For although the film is often excruciatingly tense, and while it is often brutally violent, it takes great care not to stylise or glamorise that violence, always depicting it as horrific and shocking. Three major plot threads drive the film forward. The first follows Bob Barnes (George Clooney) an aging CIA operative, who is left by the Agency to be the scapegoat for a failed mission in Lebanon - a mission which failed through no fault of his. The second features Bennett Holiday (Jeffrey Wright) a scheming oil company lawyer who is working to ensure that a merger between to oil companies is successful, while fending off questioning from the Department of Justice regarding the propriety of the deal. In the third, Bryan Woodman (Matt Damon) an American economist, working for a Swiss firm which becomes the financial advisor to the pro-reform heir apparent to an unnamed Emirate - but only after his eldest son dies in a freak accident at the Emirate embassy. Each of these plot threads is gripping and intense - and intensely detailed, with enough narrative packed in each one for a film of its own. Syriana gives the audience a lot more credit than your typical Hollywood thriller - but that's probably because it's anything but typical. There is no black and white - most of the characters operate in an amoral grey area. And rather than endless explaining the plot points, much of the film is left opaque, even after the credits roll. There's some stuff in there you're just not supposed to understand - certainly none of the characters have the full picture of what is going on. Syriana is superbly cast, scripted and directed. If you like your films to be smart and to pull no punches, then this is the movie for you. Highly recommended.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.40:1 this anamorphic transfer is a stunner. The image is sharp and clear, I could not see any flaws within this print. The colors are rendered well, especially skin tones; blacks are bold and show a balanced amount of detail. Shadow detail is also consistently good throughout the film. This is yet another brilliant transfer from Warner Brothers.
Audio
This film includes three audio tracks, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround as well as an English Descriptive Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround track for the visually impaired. I viewed the film with the standard 5.1 track, I found it very good considering this is a dialogue heavy film, which by the way is clear and distortion free. The track does feature some subtle directional and environmental surrounds but all are blended in so they appear natural. It would be nice to hear what a DTS upgrade could do to this track, perhaps add some more depth but at this stage this is only recommendation I can make. As a Dolby Digital track it holds up very well. The film includes some scenes spoken in different languages, predominantly Arabic. These scenes all include subtitles in English. These are player generated, appear to be grammatically correct and don’t flash by too quickly. Additionally the disc also features optional subtitles in English, English for the hearing impaired, Hewbrew, Arabic and Icelandic.
Extras
First we have "A Conversation with George Clooney" this featurette runs for 9 minutes 12 seconds. Clooney discusses various aspects of the film, mainly focusing on the script and the people involved. He also covers working with the writer/director Stephen Gaghan, the importance of location shooting and how that helps actors get into the mindset of the characters, he also comments on former CIA agent Robert Baer, whose book this film was the template for and how that was translated for the screen by Gaghan among others topics relating to his character. The clip features some behind-the-scenes footage from the filming as well as the occasional clip from the finished film. Next up is the "Make a change, make a difference" featurette which runs for 11 minutes 20 seconds. In this piece the main cast and crew all discuss the importance of the film and its message it send about the energy business and the multiple layers that it encompasses. They stress the concept of the western world’s addiction to oil and what measures that are taken to ensure that addiction is continually fed, and how those actions effect everyone. Much like the previous featurette these interviews with cast and crew are inter-cut with behind-the-scenes footage and makes for interesting viewing. A collection of 3 deleted scenes are included, these can be viewed individually or with the Play All option. The scenes included are: - Scene #8: Bob, Margaret And Robbie At The Cafe runs for 2 minutes 14 seconds, in this scene Bob’s wife Margaret expresses her frustration at how Bob’s job and position in Iran is effecting their family. - Scene #58: Bob And Fred Walk And Talk runs for 1 minute 25 seconds, Bob’s boss Fred asks how he’s finding intelligence work, Bob’s is frank with this answer. - Scene #123: Margaret Visits Bob runs for 2 minutes 21 seconds, after his brutal beating in Beirut, Margaret visits Bob in the hospital and Bob tells her what he’s been doing for the CIA. Rounding out the disc’s extras is the film’s original theatrical trailer which runs for 2 minutes 13 seconds. While there is some substance among these extras I couldn’t help but think they were entirely too brief, a film such as Syriana deserves a better release with at the very least some audio commentaries from the cast and crew.
Overall
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