Once Were Warriors

[pro-bassoonist]

Lee Tamahori's Once Were Warriors (1994) is set to be released in Australia on November 4th. Winner of the Anicaflash Prize at the Venice Film Festival.

Roger Ebert:

Jake Heke is a man with a hair-trigger temper, and its unpredictability is the most frightening thing about him. He likes to play the role of the genial, beer-swilling host, playing his guitar, singing songs, beloved by all, especially late at night by his drunken buddies. But let someone cross him, and he can lash out in the blink of an eye, the rage boiling over.

Jake and his wife, Beth, are Maoris, living in a housing development in New Zealand. They're both good-looking people, and Jake, with his sunny, sleepy-eyed, self-satisfied smile, seems like he's brimming with confidence. He is not. Beer fuels his resentments and insecurities, and masks his strength.

There is a scene early in "Once Were Warriors" where he gets into a fight in a bar and inflicts incredible damage on a muscle-bound thug who seemed, until he met Jake, able to whip anybody in sight. This is a key scene because it establishes what Jake is capable of; all through the movie, we are waiting for that violence to be unleashed again.

"Once Were Warriors" shows Jake and Beth in good times and bad.

They flirt, they sing boozy duets, they make love. But Jake is also capable of turning in a flash into a brutal monster, and Beth wakes up one morning with her face a bloody mass of bruises. "It's the same old story," she tells a friend. "I've got to learn to keep my mouth shut." During the course of "Once Were Warriors," she will slowly learn to stop blaming herself when she gets beaten.

Beth has a temper, too. Booze is the problem in the household, triggering terrifying personality changes. The kids learn to stay out of the way, especially the older ones: Boogie, the boy, who joins a gang, and Grace, a beautiful teenager, who retreats into her journal and into a friendship with a spaced-out boyfriend who lives with his drugs in an abandoned car. Huddled in their room one night with the sounds of anger crashing through the walls, Grace explains to her brother: "People show their true feelings when they're drunk." The movie has carved a reputation for itself on the festival circuit, leaving audiences shaken and silent at Telluride, Toronto, Honolulu and Park City. It is powerful and chilling, and directed by Lee Tamahori with such narrative momentum that we are swept along in the enveloping tragedy of the family's life.

In Temuera Morrison, as Jake, the movie finds a leading actor as elemental, charismatic and brutal as the young Marlon Brando; he has instinctive star power, and it's his likability that makes the violence of his character so shocking. Rena Owen, as Beth, supplies the moral center of the film, as a woman who finally calls a halt to the spiral of pain in her family.

The director's key achievement is creating a convincing sense of daily life in the household and neighborhood. This is not a narrow drama that focuses on a few themes; it paints a whole style of life, the good times with the bad, and perhaps no scene is more sad than the one in which the family rents a car and sets off on a picnic, happy and in good spirits, only to have everything go wrong when Jake decides to stop for just one drink.

Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, as Grace, the pretty teenager, is also important to the film; she reflects a hope and optimism that somehow shines even on the family's cloudiest days, and although her runaway boyfriend's hideout under an expressway seems grim, they are able to make it into a refuge where laughter and dreams are possible.

Then everything goes bad for them, too.

"Once Were Warriors" has been praised as an attack on domestic violence and abuse. So it is. But I am not sure anyone needs to see this film to discover that such brutality is bad. We know that. I value it for two other reasons: its perception in showing the way alcohol triggers sudden personality shifts, and its power in presenting two great performances by Morrison and Owen. You don't often see acting like this in the movies. They bring the Academy Awards into perspective.

Pro-B

[LordCrumb]

cool. The Remastered DVD looks great, so if its done right, the BD will look stunning.

[scottneumyer]

One of my favorite films of all time. Anyone know what the features on the Blu-ray are? Anything good supplements-wise?

[LordCrumb]

Heres whats on the Collectors Edition (Remastered) DVD:

Audio commentary by director Lee Tamahori
Conversations with Rena Owen and Temuera Morrison
"Once Were Warriors theme, Hendrix instrumental style" music video
"What's the Time, Mr Wolf?" music video
"Ragga Girl" music video
"Tahi" music video
"Kia the Mahea" music video
"U Know (I LIke It)" music video
Theatrical trailer (music only)
International trailer

[LordCrumb]

I went to the Warehouse today to get Fight Club and had a look at Once Were Warriors... the back said *Not all Special Features in 1080i , but didnt mention what the feature film was in, im guessing its 1080i, as the disclaimer would have probably said *Not all Special Features in 1080p.

[LordCrumb]

Just a note, im probably buying this title today regardless if its 1080i or not. Maybe it was originally filmed at 25fps. Pitty you cant just email the directors lol. Maybe the film comission will know.

[Yautja]

Great film & a must in your Blu library

[LordCrumb]

Details:

Region: ABC
DTS HD MA 5.1
Dolby Digital 5.1
1080i 25fps
18,119,190,528 bytes

Three random shots: I dont have a good method for taking screenshots (PM me with details if you know of one). so these images do have compression.

[Yautja]

Originally Posted by KaiGusto

Details:

Region: ABC
DTS HD MA 5.1
Dolby Digital 5.1
1080i 25fps
18,119,190,528 bytes

Three random shots: I dont have a good method for taking screenshots (PM me with details if you know of one). so these images do have compression.

Thanks for that !
Love the quote y the way

[LordCrumb]

No worries. Not sure why the captures are different sizes, re-uploading elsewhere.

I emailed the NZ Film Comm to ask if it was originally filmed in 25fps or 24fps. Which would make the 1080i make sense i guess.

[LordCrumb]

I was going to take a comparison shot from my DVD of the third image, but its missing... aspect ratio for the blu-ray is 1.78:1, and imdb lists it at 1.85:1

[LordCrumb]

NZ Film Comm got back to me and said it was filmed on 35mm at 24fps. They also mentioned that if it has been mastered correctly it should look fine, which it does.

Just a slight shame though, as undoubtedly a overseas release will be 1080p 24fps.

*Update 2: Just got another email when I mentioned about possible international releases being 1080p; "International distributors will use our master, If it’s interlace they will all go out in 1080i.". Thats interesting... so they should all be 1080i unless it gets converted to 1080p by other companies, which, you would think, would reduce image quality..

[HumanMedia]

Originally Posted by KaiGusto

NZ Film Comm got back to me and said it was filmed on 35mm at 24fps. They also mentioned that if it has been mastered correctly it should look fine, which it does.

Just a slight shame though, as undoubtedly a overseas release will be 1080p 24fps.

*Update 2: Just got another email when I mentioned about possible international releases being 1080p; "International distributors will use our master, If it’s interlace they will all go out in 1080i.". Thats interesting... so they should all be 1080i unless it gets converted to 1080p by other companies, which, you would think, would reduce image quality..

I dont think any international distributor distributing to 60hz countries would ever use a 1080i50 master. Although it has been known to happen - the USA release of Wallace and Grommit collection converted a 1080i50 master of some of the shorts and released it. However it looks terrible and is full of jaggies from the conversion.

Unless actually filmed at 25fps (like Wallace and Grommit, the first two seasons of Farscape, Tiesto concert BD etc) people should veto any 1080i50 releases as they were only created for broadcast in PAL countries NOT for Blu-ray. (No one should pay money for a BD with interlacing and 4% pitched up audio)

[domma]

Hi guys,

Great work. This is one of my favourite movies.

I just bought this Blu-Ray today from JB, and want to add it to my online collection.

Can someone please add this Blu-Ray to the database on this site?

I'd do it myself, but I don't know how.

Cheers
Dom

[hok007]

Originally Posted by HumanMedia

I dont think any international distributor distributing to 60hz countries would ever use a 1080i50 master. Although it has been known to happen - the USA release of Wallace and Grommit collection converted a 1080i50 master of some of the shorts and released it. However it looks terrible and is full of jaggies from the conversion.

That's the first I've heard of any complaints about the US version of Wallace and Grommit. Can you direct me to a place where this issue is discussed in greater detail?

Still, I agree with you main point.

[sejanus]

this won't work on my usa ps3 unfortunately, i think it doesn't like the 1080i transfer

a bugger as it's one of my fave ever movies

[The Driver]

1080p mentioned @ http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/Reviews...ws.asp?ID=8957

I'd be tempted if it were.

[LordCrumb]

Originally Posted by The Driver

1080p mentioned @ http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/Reviews...ws.asp?ID=8957

I'd be tempted if it were.

Crazy how they got 1080p, maybe he got a re-issue, but I doubt it.

[LordCrumb]

Finally got around to taking more Screencaps (13):

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=1739

I still have not quite mastered the screenshot technique, but these are pretty good (uncompressed PNG).

I have also submitted a scan of the back cover to the database.

Originally Posted by KaiGusto

Crazy how they got 1080p, maybe he got a re-issue, but I doubt it.

They updated their review to say 1080i.

[KnucklesTwelve]

I finally bit the bullet and ordered this, even if it's 50hz 1080i. I can't see this being released elsewhere for the time being.