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Crocodile Dundee/Crocodile Dundee II: Double Feature
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: (7th May 2014). |
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The Film
 Australia, the Land Down Under. It’s a former penal colony and home to koalas, vegemite, Aboriginal tribes, and great white sharks. Oh, and they’ve got that big opera house by the water, too. Chances are if you’ve never been to Australia, most of what you know is rooted in stereotypes, folklore and media representations. People have certain ideals and expectations about the country/continent that may not be entirely accurate, but it is what most would expect to see during a vacation. It was this train of thought that got actor Paul Hogan thinking about producing a film that utilized an outsider’s view of his country; something that felt patently Australian but attracted a Western audience. Hogan didn’t think Australia had ever produced a film with far-reaching appeal, nor did he think there were many true Australian folk heroes worth embracing. Armed with a strong concept and a legendary figure to loosely base his film off of (bushman Rodney Ansell, who led a colorful life that ended violently), Hogan wound up with a picture that no only spoke to audiences, but took theaters by storm, too. “”Crocodile” Dundee” (1986) – the quotes were added in America so audiences didn’t think it was a film about an anthropomorphic croc (which sounds awesome, btw) – ended up as the second-highest grossing movie of the year behind “Top Gun” (1986). Not bad for a guy who was up to that point best known for gifting pop culture with the phrase “shrimp on the barbie.” Sue Charlton (Linda Kozlowski) is a prominent journalist for Newsday who decides to visit Australia’s Walkabout Creek, a small town in the North, after learning of a legendary man named Mick “Crocodile” Dundee. He supposedly lost a leg to a croc and survived despite being lost out in the elements of the Australian outback. Sue arrives in the scarcely-populated community and eventually comes across Mick in a bar, where he’s acting a fool and clearly not missing a leg. A night of drinks with Dundee has Sue feeling dubious about his legend, but Mick begins to change her mind the following day when he subdues a water buffalo by rubbing its head. Slowly but surely, through his actions & laid back philosophy, Sue begins to see the real man behind the legend. Her interest soon turns to affection when Mick saves her from a crocodile. Under the guise of finishing her story, Sue invites Mick back to New York City. As expected, Mick is about as far removed from normalcy as he can get, which leads to a number of expectedly hilarious run-ins with the locals. A good example is when he meets a transvestite at a bar and, upon being told he’s a “Sheila”, Mick grabs her junk to confirm for himself. A better example brought the infamous “That’s a knife” line into our cultural lexicon. Sue finds herself truly falling for Mick, especially since her editor/boyfriend Richard (Mark Blum) is a total jerk. Richard proposes to Sue and acts insensitively toward Mick, causing him to decide he’ll “walkabout” in America for a while. But Sue doesn’t want Richard, and when she finds Mick in a subway station it leads to a damn charming ending for the two of them. Paul Hogan is unquestionably 100% responsible for the success of this film. Dundee is a fantastic character, perfectly tailored for cinemas. Hogan’s smiling, weathered face with its wide, pearly grin draws viewers in just as effectively as the people he meets on screen. He’s an enigmatic personality, living by his own code of morals and ethics, at peace with himself and the world. Not a thing bothers him. Yet he’s also down to earth, approachable, and willing to dispense with sage advice at a moment’s notice. When Dundee is first introduced we’re not sure what to make of him. He’s clearly a bit of a fibber, and he’s also accused of being a crocodile poacher. Our uncertainly is mirrored by Sue on screen. But the more time spent with Mick, the more he’s revealed to be a roughneck renaissance man who has a lasting effect on anyone he meets. The film does an excellent job of establishing Mick’s character when we meet him in Australia, then putting that character to the test when he’s exposed to the hustle and bustle of New York City. New Yorkers have traditionally been stereotyped as either rude & selfish or altruistic & unvarnished in speech. They’re mostly shown as the latter here. Everyone welcomes Mick with open arms wherever he goes, aside from the few times someone decides to mess with him and finds out he is not a man to mince words or act sheepish. The cultural differences are obvious and easy to play up, and the script handles it perfectly. Many of Mick’s mannerisms were taken whole cloth from Rodney Ansell, including his sleeping on the floor of the hotel and confusion over what a bidet does. It’s situational humor that never feels forced because it isn’t hard to imagine this is exactly how a native Australian bushman would react to big city living. “”Crocodile” Dundee” distilled the essence of all things stereotypically Australian and managed to produce a worldwide hit that generated far more business than Hogan had imagined. Audiences loved his character, and by making it one of the top-grossing films of the year all but guaranteed a sequel. One followed two years later, though the law of diminishing returns quickly reared its head to remind viewers why one trip to the outback is sometimes enough. “”Crocodile” Dundee II” (1988) picks up a year after the events of the first film. Mick is still his wily old self, blasting fish out of the water in Manhattan using dynamite. It’s cool, though, because the chief of police thinks he’s such a wild, awesome guy. Sue is still working at Newsday when her ex-husband Bob (Dennis Boutsikaris) calls to say he’s got pictures on the way that show a man being murdered by a South American drug cartel. The cartel listens in on his call and kills him before sending men to NYC to kidnap Sue. Turns out Mick has the letter from Bob, so the cartel demands he bring it to them and then they’ll release Sue. Mick isn’t a dumb man, though. He has his friend Leroy (Charles S. Dutton) organize a crowd of street thugs to create a diversion while he slips into the home and rescues Sue. It works, but the drug dealers, led by Rico (Hechter Ubarry), are still out there, looking for them. Mick & Sue decide Australia is the safest place to hide. The couple returns to Walkabout Creek, reuniting Mick with his old mates, including Walter (John Meillon), his longtime friend. But the cartel has tracked them there, too, and now Mick is forced to take up the fight in order to protect Sue. The cartel is out of their element here, but this is just the kind of territory Mick can fully utilize to gain the upper hand. “”Crocodile” Dundee II” is a fun movie. If you liked the first film, it’s reasonable to assume you would have a good time watching this sequel. Hogan hasn’t changed a thing about Mick Dundee, so he’s still the same loveable old bloke we saw last time. Where it loses footing is by forcing some of the previous entry’s more organic humor, and adding in a ridiculous subplot involving a South American drug cartel. Dundee’s fish out of water comedy worked like gangbusters the first time around, but it’s just not fresh anymore. What few bits they do milk in the film’s first half feel too scripted, like Mick’s absurd run-in with New York City’s chief of police. It’s established early on that Mick is something of a local celebrity thanks to Sue’s writing, so that does explain why he’s so well-known now. It doesn’t make the humor work any better, though. To be fair, there are still plenty of amusing moments scattered throughout to prevent the film from being utterly terrible. The plot is so cliché and predictable there’s never a moment we don’t know how it’ll play out in the end, so Hogan’s wit must be continually relied upon to make it all work. It also helps the sequel was produced so quickly after the first film, so goodwill for the series was running high. Despite being critically panned, “”Crocodile Dundee II” managed to be the sixth highest-grossing movie of 1988. Short gaps between films usually lead to higher returns, a fact made apparent when “Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles” opened in 2001 to horrid reviews and lackluster business. Not every franchise needs to be a trilogy. The first film is a classic, the second nothing more than a good time. Note: “”Crocodile Dundee” features the international version of the film, which runs six minutes shorter than the Australian version. The trims are mostly character building in the first half and some swear words removed for more sensitive U.S. audiences. “Crocodile” Dundee: B+ “Crocodile” Dundee II: B-
Video
Both films are presented in their original 2.35:1 aspect ratios, with 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfers that appear free of any digital manipulation. “”Crocodile” Dundee” looks the best of the two. There is still a moderate to heavy layer of grain present, but on the plus side it certainly adds to the film’s cinematic appearance. The master used for this Blu-ray release was likely created ages ago, which would explain the lack of any extensive restoration. Many shots in the outback feature strong definition and nice detailing, though overall the photography looks on the soft side. Colors appear slightly muted, lacking any real pop. Depth is very minimal, but still present. Night time scenes fare worse, with black levels stable but inconsistent and some crush present. The print isn’t in immaculate shape, showing off some specks and dirt often. What’s important is that the integrity of the image has been retained, and while it isn’t glossed up by any means it certainly looks age appropriate enough that fans will be pleased. “”Crocodile Dundee II” doesn’t look quite as good as the first. Grain appears heavier, occasionally bordering on noise. The opening optical credits are really rough. The locale jumps around from South America to New York to Australia, with different results depending on where it’s taking place. Other than the increase in grain, the picture is very much in line with the first film’s transfer – simple HD presentation, no restoration, generally flat, and good enough for a passing grade. “”Crocodile” Dundee: B “”Crocodile” Dundee II: B-
Audio
“”Crocodile” Dundee” features a strong English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo track (48kHz/24-bit). The fidelity is excellent, with clean dialogue levels that are strong in the mix. Sound effects work together to immerse viewers in either the outback’s abundance of nature or the crowded streets of the city. Even though this lacks a multi-channel presentation, the mix is so well done it’s able to be just as effective. Peter Best’s score is superb, mixing Aussie instrumentation with contemporary elements. The film’s main theme and recurring leitmotifs are particularly strong and memorable. French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, and Portuguese Dolby Digital 2.0 mono tracks are also included. “”Crocodile” Dundee II” gets an additional boost with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track (48kHz/24-bit) that is actually less effective than the first film’s stereo track. Best returns to scoring duties, though his efforts this time around feel more generic and less cultured and distinct. Dialogue is set a little too low, offering weak levels that require additional volume. Ambiance does kick in when the action moves to the outback, but this track never has an enveloping quality to draw in viewers. The rears are used so sparingly that this might as well have been stereo. A real opportunity was missed here to improve upon the more restricted sound field of the first film. French Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, and Portuguese Dolby Digital 2.0 mono tracks are also included. Both discs feature subtitles in English for the hearing impaired, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. “”Crocodile” Dundee: B+ “”Crocodile” Dundee II”: B-
Extras
Paramount managed to port over all of the previously existing bonus material found on the DVD's. The bad news is that only amounts to a trailers and brief EPK featurette. DISC ONE: “Crocodile” Dundee The film’s theatrical trailer (1080p) runs for 2 minutes and 40 seconds. DISC TWO: “Crocodile” Dundee II “Behind the Scenes” featurette (480p) runs for 5 minutes and 25 seconds. This vintage piece has quick interviews with both Hogan and Kozlowski, with most of the focus on Hogan as he talks making a sequel and his new found fame. The film’s theatrical trailer (1080p) runs for 1 minute and 55 seconds.
Packaging
The two-disc set comes housed in a Blu-ray keep case with each disc housed on a hub opposite the other. Paramount has wisely chosen to use original key art for the cover.
Overall
“”Crocodile” Dundee is a minor classic in its own right, with a solid lead character and some great situational humor that flows effortlessly. The sequel is a quintessential example of how to make a follow-up using rote plotting, but Hogan anchors it firmly in place with another great go-round as Mick Dundee. It’s not great, just good fun.
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