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Specs |
- Widescreen 1.78:1
- 16:9 Enhanced
- Dual Layer (RSDL 82.49)
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Languages |
- English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
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Subtitles |
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Extras |
- 2 Deleted scenes - with director and editor commentaries
- Theatrical trailer
- Audio commentary - Robert Connolly
- Cast/crew biographies
- 2 Featurette - short films by Robert Connolly
- Photo gallery
- Animated menus
- 4 TV spot
- Interviews
- Storyboards
- 5 Documentaries
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The Bank |
Madman Entertainment/AV Channel .
R4 . COLOR . 100 mins .
M15+ . PAL |
Feature |
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Contract |
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Banks. There’s something about them that triggers the Rant Mode in people. If you’re over 30 years old, you can probably recall a time long, long ago when your local bank begged for your business from the time you were at primary school, encouraging you to open an account in which to store your meagre savings - and that money, if you left it there, would grow at the rate of 9% a year, your reward for letting the bank borrow your money to lend it to somebody else. Those borrowers - usually at a major life moment such as buying their first house or first car - were treated fairly by the banks, their friendly and understanding local bank manager there to help if things went awry. Then, slowly but surely, it all went to hell as the multitude of banks merged into four shareholder-hugging conglomerates. The convenience of the auto teller - originally claimed as a device that would save banks money - became a convenient excuse to lower interest rates and raise fees on accounts held by ordinary people, close branches, massively cut staff, and generally shaft anyone who didn’t have a six-figure income and a holiday home at Port Douglas. Leave your money in the bank now, and it’ll cost you at least $60 a year just for the privilege of having an account that pays 0.1% interest, and that doesn’t include the myriad other fees and charges just to make use of a facility that for many is the only way to get paid their wages. Needless to say, quite a lot of people are quite a lot angry at the banks, and are very vocal about it. The banks, of course, happily ignore them, fondle their billion-dollar profits and think of new ways to convince their newly created customer underclass they’re being treated with respect. An established independent film producer (most recently on The Boys and The Monkey’s Mask) and live theatre producer/director, Robert Connolly was finding himself rather disillusioned with the banks as well. But rather than complain to a brick wall of voice menus and scripted droids, he wrote a screenplay. Called The Bank, it would become his cinema directorial debut and later win the AFI award for Best Original Screenplay. The story is fictional, of course, but it’s going to click with anyone who’s ever fantasised about turning the tables on their bank. Jim Doyle (Wenham) is a rather brilliant mathematician who has, with the help of Japanese colleague Toshio, developed a computer program that puts into practice a complex mathematical formula - once it’s perfected it will essentially be able to predict the rise and fall of the stock market. Enticed by the possibilities of such a money-making tool, ruthless Centabank boss Simon O’Reilly (LaPaglia) puts Jim on the payroll and gives him the staff and facilities he needs to perfect his formula. And though O’Reilly claims that the work is being done to improve the bank’s bottom line, it starts to become apparent that his plans are even more extravagant. Meanwhile, a battling couple are about to lose their property and business to the bank, which has foreclosed on an unfair loan; events lead to a tragedy that will eventually have an impact on the lives of both Jim Doyle and Simon O’Reilly. By Connolly’s own admission a genre thriller, The Bank is a crowd-pleasing but often restrained thriller/drama that doesn’t make the mistake of taking itself too seriously. That’s not to say Connolly is flippant with his characters or his subject matter, but you get the impression he’s rather enjoying this slap in the face to big banks everywhere. Extremely well designed and directed, The Bank boasts some impressive cinematography (by Tristan Milani) that makes the most of the visual differences between the corporate world and the “real” world. Acting is generally first-rate (though curiously, Anthony LaPaglia’s American accent still sounds oddly unconvincing, even though the actor lives in the US and has appeared in many American films) and television junkies will quickly spot Secret Life Of Us star Sybilla Budd in her role as bank teller and Official Romantic Interest Michelle Roberts (her first film role, it was shot before Secret Life). With a nice balance between humanity, technology and business nastiness maintained throughout, Connolly has crafted a kinetic, clever story with The Bank. It’s not perfect, sporting one subplot too many (the romance angle, which is too hasty to be convincing), but it’s a hugely enjoyable 100 minutes that’s best watched just after reading your bank statement.
Video |
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Contract |
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The Bank on DVD is presented in a clean, nicely-balanced 16:9 transfer that represents the intended look of the film extremely well. With an aspect ratio of 1.77:1 it opens the matte slightly compared to the 1.85:1 theatrical version, but Connolly has taken this into account (the transfer is director-approved). Looking perhaps a tad “softer” than many recent big-studio transfers (are we getting that used to edge enhancement?) it nevertheless represents this often moodily-dark film extremely well, the muted blues and greys of the bank’s world strongly contrasting with the bright earthy colours of the outside world. The source print used is nearly pristine - clean enough for a brief bit of stock footage used early on to be easily identifiable thanks to its graininess. Black levels are perhaps just a little too high throughout, which does lessen shadow detail in extremely underlit scenes; this, however, is how the film was intended to look. The layer change appears very late in the film and is beautifully placed in a moment of blackout; most viewers won’t even notice it’s there.
Audio |
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Contract |
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The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track for The Bank is wonderfully crisp and detailed, with Sam Petty’s intricate sound design shown off to full effect. This isn’t one of those soundtracks where you impress visitors with audio flying around the room; surround effects are used subtly and unobtrusively, adding both space and atmosphere without ever attracting too much attention. Quite the opposite could be said for Alan John’s music score, which is deliciously over-the-top - complete with choirs, searing violins and menacing thriller-style piano. It enhances every scene it’s used in, and fits in with the on-screen action as though it was an unseen additional actor. It’s great stuff, and sounds vibrant and exciting on this disc. There’s more tape hiss than usual throughout (not a major problem); other than that, glitches are confined to some unwanted electronic clicks in a climactic scene and a very brief audio dropout around the 65 minute mark.
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Overall |
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A solid, very entertaining drama of intrigue, greed and good old-fashioned bank-bashing (is that loud cheering from the gallery that we’re hearing?!), The Bank is a good example of solid Australian cinema made to a world standard, a film that never once tries to be parochial (it may have been shot in Melbourne, but even Melbourne people won’t recognise most of the locations here) but does have a sense of the right balance between drama and fun. It may not be Cannes-winning material, but then, this one’s supposed to be entertainment, pure and simple. Madman’s DVD is authored to their usual high standard and comes loaded with special features that make this a must for those who are curious about how an independent film comes together. (Note: The Bank DVD is rental-only at the time of writing; it’s expected to be available to buy in June 2002).
LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=1198
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And I quote... |
"...a hugely enjoyable 100 minutes that’s best watched just after reading your bank statement." - Anthony Horan |
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Review Equipment |
- DVD Player:
Sony DVP-NS300
- Receiver:
Sony STR-AV1020
- Speakers:
Klipsch Tangent 500
- Surrounds:
Jamo
- Audio Cables:
Standard RCA
- Video Cables:
Monster s-video
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