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Title: Angela's Ashes
Region: One
Genre: Drama
Stars: Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle, Ciaran Owens, and Michael Legge
Writers: Laura Jones and Alan Parker
Based On The Book By: Frank McCourt
Director: Alan Parker
Feature length: 145 minutes
Extras: Theatrical Teaser, Theatrical Trailer, Feature Length Audio Commentary By Author Frank McCourt, Feature Length Audio Commentary By Director Alan Parker
Languages: English Dolby Digital 5.1 and English and French Dolby Surround 2.0
Subtitles: English Captions
Packaging: Amaray Keep Case
Chapter Stops: 30
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Stereo Surround Sound
Year of Theatrical Release: 1999/DVD Release: 2000
Theatrical Distributor: Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures International
Home Video Distributor: Paramount Home Video
MPAA Rating: R
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Angela's Ashes the movie shares much in common with some of the old black and white classics and even looks black and white despite the fact that this film is in color. I could not help, but be reminded of the film "How Green Was My Valley" in spirit while watching "Angela's Ashes" despite the differences in the stories. Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning memoir of former schoolteacher Frank McCourt, the Author himself felt that the realization of his book was perfectly captured in Alan Parker's film.
In 1935, the impoverished McCourt family return to pre-war Limrick, Ireland where Angela McCourt struggles to raise her hungry children while her husband suffers from chronic unemployment, alcoholism, and eventual family desertion. Determined to survive, this is the story of Frank's battle from childhood through young adulthood against misfortune to realize his dream and ultimately return to the United States.
The author vividly describes the intense toil and horror of being impoverished in Depression-era Ireland and in his feature length commentary quite emotionally describes the intolerable conditions he grew up in. Homes that would be flooded with sewage in the rain and without a lavatory in a place where the church and even one's own family members can be just as vile as the many diseases that wiped out the young and old alike indiscriminately, including some of Frank's siblings.
Alan Parker describes how he had to restore the now rapidly disappearing look of the era that McCourt's book takes place in his commentary and how he cast from the middle on out to get the three actors to play young Frank McCourt in the three ages we see him in the film. The film purposely has a monochromic look that is consistent to the time period depicted in the book. As he describes it, "It is a black and white film trying to break out," and that is exactly what this pristine anamorphic DVD transfer captures from the original big screen presentation.
Presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ration, "Angela's Ashes" manages to captures the subtle tones of gray, black, and white while filtering in the occasional colors of blue and red to create an effect of another time and place that just looks marvelous on DVD. This is a great DVD transfer from Paramount. The Teaser and Theatrical Trailers share the same picture quality as the film's transfer on DVD as well.
The sound quality captures the rains, slum sounds, and dialogue along with John Williams' musical score with a wonderful ambience on both the English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Surround Sound Tracks. A French Dolby Surround Sound Track and English Caption Options are also encoded into the DVD.
There are a set of post production interviews that support the two feature length commentary tracks that runs about sixteen and a half minutes and are exclusive to the DVD on video interviews with Author Frank McCourt, Director Alan Parker, Actor Robert Carlyle, and Actress Emily Watson as well as on screen interviews with other cast members in the film inter-cut with scenes from the film.
The documentary, "Ashes To Ashes" runs about 26 minutes long and also features on screen interviews from the cast and crew from the set. In both the documentary and during the interviews portion of this extras presented on this DVD, Robert Carlyle gives quite an interesting insight into the challenge of performing the role of young Frank McCourt's father with a sense of sympathy and understanding for who he was while avoiding the clichés normally associated with the cinematic roles of an alcoholic parent.
"Angela's Ashes" is a moving and bleak film that ultimately reveals an uplifting catharsis that has been wonderfully captured in a special edition quality DVD, even though the DVD's packaging does not state it as one and the retail price is thankfully comparable to other Paramount DVD releases. Definitely see this film and if you have and loved it, then definitely buy this DVD. "Angela's Ashes" will be available day and date on VHS and DVD July 18, 2000.
© Copyright 2000 By Mark A. Rivera