Kenny - Avoid!

[deado]

I just got Kenny (from the JB sale).... and wow does this release have bad PQ! It's up there with 28 Days Later in having the worst PQ I think I've seen on a Blu-ray title. This thing seriously looks like it was recorded on SD cams (looking on IMDB it says it was), and it's quite pixellated, looks like a poor DVD. I wouldn't even know I was watching a Blu-ray if I was in a blind test. What's funny is the bitrate is very high - 35-40MBps, just like 28 Days Later actually

Why Madman decided to release this on Blu-ray has me puzzled. Why don't they release something that can actually take advantage of Blu-ray, like Van Diemen's Land (2009).

[joseph_m]

Haha the guys who created Kenny use to live 3 houses up from mine.. even part of the movie was filmed in my street! When he goes to pick up his son at his wife's house (I think.. I haven't watched it since it came out). Random but yeah, the only reason my family went to go see it.

Shit movie.. Literally.

[Cevolution]

Originally Posted by deado

I just got Kenny (from the JB sale).... and wow does this release have bad PQ! It's up there with 28 Days Later in having the worst PQ I think I've seen on a Blu-ray title. This thing seriously looks like it was recorded on SD cams (looking on IMDB it says it was), and it's quite pixellated, looks like a poor DVD. I wouldn't even know I was watching a Blu-ray if I was in a blind test. What's funny is the bitrate is very high - 35-40MBps, just like 28 Days Later actually

Why Madman decided to release this on Blu-ray has me puzzled. Why don't they release something that can actually take advantage of Blu-ray, like Van Diemen's Land (2009).

I don't know what u were expecting from it, but it looks exactly as it's supposed to on blu-ray, that's the look they were going for when they made it.

[deado]

Originally Posted by Cevolution

I don't know what u were expecting, but it looks exactly as it's supposed to, that's the look they were going for when they made it.

Yeh I should have looked on imdb BEFORE I bought it.... I just thought it would have been shot on 16mm or something, not SD video cameras.

[LordCrumb]

Yeah its a shame there isn't any warning or notification on the back regarding its source. Wouldn't be that hard, and people wouldn't be mislead or confused about the product.

Example: "This feature was filmed in Standard Definition"

[Cevolution]

My old man owns it on dvd, and I own it on blu-ray, but the blu-ray still looks quite a bit better than the dvd version, regardless of how it was shot.

[Shemp]

As much as I love blu ray, re-releases of movies like this in the format don't excite me and I don't see any point in upgrading from the DVD.

[nitin]

Blu Ray looks better than the dvd but as people have said, there are source limitations given it was shot on SD video.

The main reason for getting the blu is for the wonderful extras not on the dvd.

[DawnShadow]

If any of you guys really hate this Blu-ray and want it out of your collection, I'm looking to buy it

[SillyG]

I find it bizarre that they would shoot a feature film on videotape. Did they not consider how bad it would look in the theatre?

[bwatt99]

I was just curious how you can tell from a bad copy of a movie compared to another made elsewhere or another that came out later. What do you look for, been buying a load of stuff lately and who knows some might be just awful like the poster mentioned in this post, obviously 4k can be an improvement and im not into 4k yet but just was not sure what to look for etc.

[StrayButler91]

Originally Posted by SillyG

I find it bizarre that they would shoot a feature film on videotape. Did they not consider how bad it would look in the theatre?

I’m sure the Blair Witch creators had similar thoughts.

[Aunt Peg]

Originally Posted by SillyG

I find it bizarre that they would shoot a feature film on videotape. Did they not consider how bad it would look in the theatre?

Aside from the cost savings in making the film I think given its a 'mockumentary' that the choice was suitable for the style of the film.

I've only seen it on the big screen when it was first released and it looked fine.

[PT Ryan]

Originally Posted by StrayButler91

I’m sure the Blair Witch creators had similar thoughts.

Fairly certain the roughness is the point. See also Dogme 95 films, cinema verite, most documentaries, etc.

[SillyG]

Originally Posted by Aunt Peg

Aside from the cost savings in making the film I think given its a 'mockumentary' that the choice was suitable for the style of the film.

I've only seen it on the big screen when it was first released and it looked fine.

I'll take your word for it. Had it been a TV movie, sure, videotape would certainly have sufficed, but I just find it a strange choice for a feature film.

I recall watching bits of it on TV years ago (I may have even watched the entirety of it, though I can't remember it well as it was completely forgettable, and I also recall watching bits of Kenny's World, the short-run TV series). I don't recall it being particularly funny or clever at all.

Incidentally, like Russell Coight before it (I wasn't familiar with Glenn Robbins at the time of its release), I believe I may have also thought that Kenny was a documentary at first. With the late Steve Irwin making the rounds as The Crocodile Hunter and his silly, farcical treatment of the documentary genre, I assumed that Russell Coight and Kenny were cut from the same cloth, which is an easy mistake to make. I daresay that Steve Irwin was a lot more entertaining and observant than most mockumentaries produced in this country. I was really disappointed with how bland and derivative Working Dog's Utopia was considering how brilliant Frontline was (and still is!).

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by SillyG

I find it bizarre that they would shoot a feature film on videotape. Did they not consider how bad it would look in the theatre?

You obviously haven't seen any of the films shot the same way. There's quite a few. Maybe you've heard of Lars Von Trier?

[StrayButler91]

Originally Posted by PT Ryan

Fairly certain the roughness is the point. See also Dogme 95 films, cinema verite, most documentaries, etc.

Pretty much.

Originally Posted by SillyG

I'll take your word for it. Had it been a TV movie, sure, videotape would certainly have sufficed, but I just find it a strange choice for a feature film.

1) Videotape is not strictly the correct terminology here. It was filmed with digital camcorders on mini DV tapes. Videotape implies it was shot with an '80s VHS camcorder.
2) It started life as a short movie, back in 2003/2004. Consumer HD was still a while away, and it wasn't even accepted/prevalent until the 2010s. Thus, they used the camera they could afford within their budget. Big-screen digital movies were still in their infancy. In short, digital HD wasn't affordable or even essential, so digital SD was the answer. Remember, when they started, they didn't even think it'd be shown in cinemas.
3) They couldn't film the movie on celluloid, because it's meant to look like a documentary, and film would ruin the illusion. It's meant to look like a home movie/verite mockumentary.

That covers it.

[newgen2005]

Originally Posted by nitin

Blu Ray looks better than the dvd but as people have said, there are source limitations given it was shot on SD video.

The main reason for getting the blu is for the wonderful extras not on the dvd.

Just got this, out of interest what extras are on this that are not included on the DVD?

[DawnShadow]

Where on earth did you manage to find a copy??

[TrentW1982]

Originally Posted by SillyG

I'll take your word for it. Had it been a TV movie, sure, videotape would certainly have sufficed, but I just find it a strange choice for a feature film.

I recall watching bits of it on TV years ago (I may have even watched the entirety of it, though I can't remember it well as it was completely forgettable, and I also recall watching bits of Kenny's World, the short-run TV series). I don't recall it being particularly funny or clever at all.

Incidentally, like Russell Coight before it (I wasn't familiar with Glenn Robbins at the time of its release), I believe I may have also thought that Kenny was a documentary at first. With the late Steve Irwin making the rounds as The Crocodile Hunter and his silly, farcical treatment of the documentary genre, I assumed that Russell Coight and Kenny were cut from the same cloth, which is an easy mistake to make. I daresay that Steve Irwin was a lot more entertaining and observant than most mockumentaries produced in this country. I was really disappointed with how bland and derivative Working Dog's Utopia was considering how brilliant Frontline was (and still is!).

I didn't have my TV connected to an antenna for about 10 years and when I had heard people mention Russell Coight, I thought they were talking about a legitimate Crocodile Hunter type show too.

Then the first time I ever saw an ad for Russell Coight, I said to my wife "God he looks like Glenn Robbins!" And she still doesn't let me live that down to this day!