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| The Singing Detective DVD Review |
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Order this DVD from Amazon.com
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The Singing Detective
(Paramount Home Entertainment)
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| DVD Release Date:
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March 23, 2004
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| Length:
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108 mins.
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| Rated:
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18A
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| Format:
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Widescreen (1.85:1)
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| Audio:
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English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround
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| Subtitles:
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English, Closed Captioned
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| Extras:
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Commentary by Director Keith Gordon
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One of the great things about DVD is being able to revisit movies. You may want to revisit a movie that you loved. You may want to revisit a movie to give it a second chance. Or, in the case of The Singing Detective, you may want to revisit because you had no idea what was going on the first time you saw it. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed it. It's just that I left the theater scratching my head - and I've never really stopped. Now for the bad part. After revisiting the movie, I still have no idea what happened there. But this still isn't a bad thing.
In The Singing Detective, Robert Downey Jr. stars as novelist Dan Dark. Dark is crippled by a skin disease that makes him as ugly as he is bitter (if not uglier). So, in his crippled state, Dark drifts between the real world and the world created in his psyche. This world is a cross between his novel (titled The Singing Detective) and the psychological torment he was subjected to as a child at the hands of his mother. His mother (played by Carla Gugino) really wasn't that bad - she just made wrong choices. Basically, if you were as messed up as this guy, you'd be bitter too. And the key to Dark seeing the light? A psychiatrist, played convincibly (and almost unrecognizably) by Mel Gibson, who helps unlock Dan's dark past. Or does he? This is the question I'm still asking.
Are you looking for some insight? Do you think the special features might help? Think again. The only special feature you get here is a feature-length commentary by director Keith Gordon. Although the commentary is entertaining, and Gordon does give some of insight, in the end I was left asking more questions. Instead, it's suggested that nothing is what it seems. I guess that really doesn't surprise me. And, apparently that's the way author Dennis Potter wanted it - at least according to the commentary. I can't really say more without giving too much away, but this one is still worth a listen.
So did revisiting the movie on DVD help? In the spirit of the confusion the movie creates, the answer is yes and no. The movie was still pretty entertaining. The music numbers were great. The acting was better. But, I still have no idea what was going on. In the end, this one made me want more. I feel I need to see the original BBC production, which has been called the greatest production in the history of television. This version was good, but I certainly wouldn't call it the greatest production in the history of DVD.
| The Movie: |
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7/10 |
| The Extras: |
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3/10 |
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Liam Cullin - Editor
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