Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is an alternative rock musical that simply stuns the screen. Originally starting out as a drag act, and then progressing to an off-Broadway performance, Hedwig had a rocky start, but now is one of the most successful off-Broadway productions, receiving critical acclaim worldwide.

Hedwig (John Cameron Mitchell), formerly Hansel, of East Berlin is a rock songstress touring the Bilgewater Taverns of the United States with her group, The Angry Inch. This is the catalyst for the story, with everything branching out from here. We have a character called Tommy Gnosis (Michael Pitt) – a world-famous rock musician who has made it big by stealing Hedwig’s songs, who also shares a past with Hedwig. We have Phyllis Stein, played superbly by Andrea Martin (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), as the manager who is a telecommunications nut, sporting a new phone in each scene. There is also Yitzhak (played by Miriam Shor, originally from the production too), a band member who desperately wants to be with Hedwig and who craves some recognition too. We have Sgt. Luther Robinson – a black sugar daddy in the Second World War who marries Hansel (to make him Hedwig) to get him... no her... out of Germany. This colourful collaboration of characters, as well as musical talents of the indie-rock variety, thrust this film through its brief 89-minute duration. But why drag out something that is already so complete with such a relatively short running time?

The soundtrack, composed by Stephen Trask, crosses many musical boundaries. The ballads are there, and so are the pulsing grunge rock pieces as well as the musical numbers too. One piece, The Origins of Love, is vaguely reminiscent of Rusted Root’s Cruel Sun (by sound that is), and tells such a great story. Animations by Emily Hubley accompany the film along the way and melt together with the real-life action. Hubley’s creativity in the Origins of Love sequence tells the story of the song so well, and holds the heart of the film.

"It is clear that I must find my other half. But is it a he or a she? What does this person look like, identical to me? Or somehow complimentary? Can two people really become one?"

This heart can also be found at 59:09, in a scene with Tommy Gnosis, where stunning cinematography can be seen that holds the essence of both The Origins of Love and Hedwig’s story too.

Throughout the film you are taken to a series of Bilgewaters across America, all of which are located right next door to where Tommy Gnosis is playing (funnily enough). Hedwig’s search for the elusive soul mate starts early in the film, and carries through until the final sequence where all the loose ends in the film (and Hedwig’s life) are tied up in a fancy knot and then sent out of the cinema back to the real world. By the final sequence, the film has really hit home hard with a solid message and complete idea that really makes you feel on top of the world. The subject matter may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but this film is one that you can sit down and watch again and again without losing focus of the ideals of the film. John Cameron Mitchell directs with such skill and poise that it feels like his umpteenth film rather than his debut. His vision of Hedwig is clear and evident throughout the film, and his cinematic style fills the screen with awe and beauty.

The video is presented in a widescreen aspect of 1.85:1, and is 16x9 enhanced.

To start with, we have the colours - this transfer simply does them justice. All of the film's stunning hues emit a rich luminosity that never gives up. They're solid, bright, vibrant and any other similar adjective you can come up with. The whites are stunningly bright, and the blacks are deep and solid. The pastel colours in the East Berlin bomb crater at 24:50 are simply stunning. Shadow detail is mediocre, and not as good as it could have been. On the blacks, there are one or two cases of minor low-level noise, but nothing distracting. The largest case is at 76:50, where the entire black background is shimmering with the slight noise.

One small problem with the colours is some slight MPEG blocking. One such case is at 17:41–17:50, on the animations, and another is at 63:59 on the red background. During the Tommy Gnosis version of Wicked Little Town, many artefacts can be seen, primarily with the blue around Tommy’s head at 74:18–74:50. These are not terribly distracting, but they are apparent and in prominent positions on screen.

The odd one or two film artefacts can be seen occasionally throughout the film, but there's nothing terribly distracting. Some minor aliasing can be seen at 41:18, but nothing overly annoying. At 20:37 there is a slight case of telecine wobble, during the dancing on the bed sequence. During the East Berlin scenes, grain is a slight problem, but this has been done artistically and purposely. The rest of the print is clean and sharp. The clarity is so crisp that you feel like you’re watching some supreme world.

The film is presented on a dual-layered disc, but no layer change is visible during the feature. Subtitles are available with three options – English for the Hearing Impaired, English Subtitles and Greek. The English Subtitles are the location names that appear every once in a while (and should be embedded in the print rather than as subtitles) as well as the English translation of German dialogue. The English for the Hearing Impaired allows full script subtitles as well as place names, and the Greek ones are unintelligible for non-Greek speaking (or reading) folk.

Roadshow have been kind enough to offer a selection for audio tracks. These include English 5.1 in both Dolby Digital and DTS, as well as Dolby Digital 2.0 English.

The best listening options are easily the 5.1 tracks, with the DTS and Dolby Digital sounding so similar its almost funny. Well, not really but you know... All up the DTS track is superior though, with a much clearer and crisper sound. Apart from this added clarity, the audio tracks are identical.

The surrounds are used efficiently, effectively and suitably, with some busy action during appropriate and stylistic moments as well as a more subdued effect for the more sentimental sequences. At 20:53, loud surrounds kick in during the oven sequence, similar to the effect used in Being John Malkovich when people became John Malkovich. The subwoofer kicks in quite heavily at appropriate moments to support the music, as well as the occasional effect. It’s not too heavy, and not too light – it’s just right. The bass riffs are mastered with a rich precision and tear open the bass end of your front speakers with an angry attack. This sounds simply stunning and grabs your attention and doesn’t let go.

At 44:04–44:27, there is great use of the left and right channels in the front end of the soundstage, with clear and defined direction. Dialogue is crisp and clear throughout with no audio synch problems at all. The soundstage is large and deep, with a great live music environment.

The Dolby Digital 2.0 track offers a good rendition of the soundtrack. It is faithful to all of the good points mentioned above, but is obviously lacking the depth of the 5.1 mixes.

A real treat of extra features can be found on this disc, with quality easily outweighing quantity.

The Audio Commentary features the writer/director and star John Cameron Mitchell, as well as the director of photography Frank DeMarco. This is an interesting and busy commentary with no awkward silences. Little titbits are revealed which give you an understanding of the making of the film, and how things changed during production and post-production.

Whether You Like It Or Not: The Story of Hedwig is a documentary which runs for 85:20. Yes, that's correct, 85:20. This feature-length documentary is great to watch, but obviously quite long, especially compared to the six-minute behind-the-scenes featurettes on other discs. It traces the entire story of Hedwig from its early drag days to the off-Broadway production to the making of the film and then to the awards at Sundance and Cannes. It features interviews from many cast and crew members, as well as those involved with the creation of Hedwig through the years. It is presented in a widescreen aspect of 1.85:1 and is 16x9 enhanced with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio. Thankfully, this documentary has been divided into chapters for easy navigation.

The Filmographies are very brief and offer a list of movies that the following actors have been involved in: Stephen Trask (Skszp), Rob Campbell (Krzysztof), Michael Aranov (Schlatko), Theodore Liscinski (Jacek), Miriam Shor (Yitzhak), John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig/Hansel), Andrea Martin (Phyllis Stein), Alberta Watson (Hansel’s Mum), Michael Pitt (Tommy Gnosis), Maurice Dean Wint (Sgt. Luther Robinson) and Gene Pyrz (Hansel’s Dad).

The Deleted Scenes consist of two sequences – one is an alternate version of a sequence in the film, and the other is another take of Young Hansel dancing on the bed. The first runs for 10:28 and explains portions of the story not described in the final cut, as well as showcasing a superb performance by Andrea Martin with more telecommunications mayhem. The second runs for 1:38 and is just two takes of Hedwig dancing. Both can be listened to with an optional audio commentary. The video for these is presented in the widescreen aspect of 1.85:1 and is 16x9 enhanced with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio. The commentary tracks are interesting as they explain why the cuts were made for the final edit.

The Select a Song function allows you to watch a song in any of the audio formats for the film (excluding the commentary) and with or without subtitles. The songs are Tear Me Down (3:49), The Origins Of Love (5:20), Sugar Daddy (2:05), Angry Inch (3:38), Wig in a Box (5:02), Wicked Little Town (3:59), Hedwig’s Lament/Exquisite Corpse (3:37), Wicked Little Town (Tommy Gnosis version) (3:18) and Midnight Radio (5:31). The numbers in brackets are the running times of the tracks. These are all presented in a 16x9 enhanced widescreen aspect of 1.85:1 and have three possible audio tracks for each song. You also have the option to watch them all uninterrupted, or one-by-one.

The Theatrical Trailer is, as you would expect, just a trailer for the film. Running for 2:15 and presented in a 1.85:1 aspect with 16x9 enhancement, it tells the story of the film very well, yet leaves enough material un-revealed to keep you entertained during the actual movie. Or in other words, not too much is given away.

While there may not be as many as other discs have to offer, this is one jam-packed disc that has features that have to be seen.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a beautifully made piece of art-house cinema that is represented on a pounding and pulsating DVD. The extra features add to the quality of the package, and simply must be seen. The content may not be to everyone’s taste, but if you look beyond the surface you will see the deeper message that is conveyed.