HOME   News   Reviews   Adv Search   Features   My DVD   About   Apps   Stats     Search:
  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.85:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer (RSDL )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • French: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  Subtitles
    English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish - Hearing Impaired
  Extras

    Powder

    Buena Vista/Buena Vista . R4 . COLOR . 107 mins . M15+ . PAL

      Feature
    Contract

    I know that at times I can be a little non-politically correct and perhaps a bit aggressive in pursuit of truth and honesty in my reviews. I use bad language, rude ideas, offensive terms and shoddy grammar. It’s the only way I know how, and I only do this to bring you the most honest and truthful reviews I possibly can. If that requires me to call the director a talentless pile of sick, then so be it. I stand by my judgements. But at the same time it also means that if a film moves me emotionally and makes me shed a tear, then that’s exactly what I’ll tell you. That’s what makes DVDnet the review site of choice for two out of three real men and four out of five single women looking for a stud.

    You see, at the end of the day, I’m just a normal guy. Not your new-age hippy limp type of guy, not one of those idiotic metrosexual guys overpowered by feelings they should be more feminine, just a real good old fashioned guy. That means that I’m comfortable with cricketers patting each other on the arse after taking a wicket, I’m comfortable with mates saying “I looove YOU!” when they're pissed at the pub and I’m comfortable when a film makes me cry like a frigging baby. Along with a well done steak, cold beer and the ability to change a cracked head on an ’81 Ford Fairmont, these are just some of the things that define a real man.

    If you want to question this, send your home address to Iwant_myteeth_kickedin_byvince@dvd.net.au and I’ll happily pay you a visit to discuss it personally. Then we’ll share a beer, swap wives and discuss where our friendship went wrong.

    Click here to enlarge and send to a friend
    Jeff Goldblum is a goose.

    So, it’s just like when Holden beats Ford, one of my power tools break or my little boy destroys yet another DVD from my collection, Powder is one of those things in life that has the uncanny ability to unclog my tear glands every time I watch it. And I’ve watched it many a time since 1995, let me tell you. Granted, it’s not for everyone. The themes of alienation, peer pressure, racism and other nasty shit people inflict upon each other for no damn good reason might be handled with a little too much levity to be considered provoking, but it still manages to stir up the right number of emotions resulting in salty cheeks on my behalf. And I really do mean every single bloody time. Proof? I even fast forwarded to the ‘powerful’ scenes when I first got this review copy, the bits where everyone was acting the shit out of themselves, and I tell ya, just watching those isolated minutes made me cry like I was three years old. Why? How the f*ck should I know? I just write reviews, I’m not a psychiatrist. Maybe I’m just f*cked up or something.

    Click here to enlarge and send to a friend
    "C'mere boy! I need a cue ball for mah pool table!"

    Putting that aside for now (as possible as it is that it’s the actual reason), on the face of it I would have to say that they put in such good, solid, believable performances that I empathise with them, their heartbreak, their elation, their isolation, and that the story itself isn’t half interesting either. It concerns the discovery of a teenage super-genius albino with no body hair. Jeremy Reed (Sean Patrick Flanery), or Powder, as his grandparents called him, is discovered hiding in a farmhouse basement when his grandfather is found dead. Powder has lived his life on the farm, never been to school, never been out in public and was brought up by his late grandparents when his mother died during his birth and his father abandoned him soon after. Not a nice start to life, you’ll agree. The film mostly follows the attempts of the head of the local boys' home (Mary Steenburgen) and a science teacher (Jeff Goldblum) to integrate him into a society that spurns freaks. And as far as freaks go, Powder takes the biscuit. Not only does he look bizarre with white hairless skin and a dress sense right out of the ‘40s, he also has the ability to move things with his thoughts, attract electricity and see into peoples' minds. He should be embraced by the townsfolk, but being a small town with small minds they see him and his abilities as a threat to their status quo. His attempts to ingratiate himself with the toughboy clique at the school fails, his attempts at friendship with a girl is met by disgust and condemnation by her father, and the authorities doubt his genuine intellectual capability because he has tested completely off the chart so they accuse him of cheating.

    Powder, as Goldblum guesses, is advanced to a stage of evolution that man probably won’t achieve for thousands of years, yet inside is still an undeveloped child emotionally and socially. Unable to deal with the hostility shown, he just seeks to return to the safety of his farmhouse home, unfortunately now owned by the bank.

    Click here to enlarge and send to a friend
    Powder suffered from severe static electricity when he wore gumboots.
    Sometimes if a film works you just have to accept it for what it is, not question why it is like it is, or how it might be doing it. Certainly I wouldn’t go about saying this is a fantastic film worthy of Oscars for this reason alone. No, I’m more conscious of the actual worth of a film than that. But if it moves me, it moves me, and there’s no getting around that simple fact. I guess all the angles came together at the right time and place. Jerry Goldsmith’s score heightens and manipulates every moment just like he’s paid to do. The music stirs and climbs and sweetens and peaks and BAM! I’m crying. The actors, Lance Henriksen and Sean Patrick Flannery in particular, just hit their marks every single time and stir up that old misty feeling right on cue. Pausing and staring and grimacing, they emote the heck out of their lines, and then BAM! again they get me. The bastards shouldn’t be allowed to, but they do, and I love them for it.

    And yes, Mr. Critical and Serious Reviewer, the themes and conflicts are sometimes handled poorly, with the impression that they only wanted to appeal to teenagers who harboured similar feelings of alienation, or at least teens that felt it was cool to feel like an outsider. That’s undoubtedly their target mob. Why not? Those little shits have money to burn on movie tickets, they’ve got major personality/identity issues, they feel misunderstood, screw ‘em, why not milk them for all they're worth? If it just so happens that I was feeling a little out of sorts myself when I first saw Powder then I’m happy to have found something to relate to. It doesn’t always have to be heavy going shit to make it good, you know, or to make you feel a little bit more normal than usual.

      Video
    Contract

    Well, my well-worn VHS copy, panned and scanned as it is, had certainly kept a nice looking picture from me for all these years. Granted it’s not as sharp and detailed as more recent transfers, but if you like the film you’ll find more than enough on show here to keep you satisfied through yet another few years of repeated viewing. The picture is framed at 1.85:1 and comes with a frog wearing pants. You thought I was going to say it came with 16:9 enhancement, didn’t you? Well it does, but I don’t like being predictable, okay? It’s not perfectly clean, with the odd appearance of nicks etc from time to time, and there’s a varying level of grain that never gets too heavy. I’m more than happy with this

      Audio
    Contract

    Well, I wasn’t expecting miracles with this, seeing as it doesn’t really call for anything other than some clarity to breathe new life into the score, dialogue and ambience. The DD 5.1 track does all that within reason, and I’m happy with it. It has a better dynamic range that what I’ve heard from the film previously (naturally, seeing as it was a video I’m comparing to, but you catch my drift). The few moments when Powder calls up an energy ‘burst’ or the audio is punctuated by an explosive lightning strike carries far more intensity and drives home the significance and power of what is shown. Dialogue is spot on, with not a word passing you by. Feel free to switch over to the French and Spanish tracks, they’re both in DD 5.1 as well. A warning though: If you don’t speak French or Spanish you might have a hard time understanding what everyone is saying. I speak a little Italian, and I couldn’t understand a thing.

      Extras
    Contract

    Nothing. Static menus, basic design, not even a trailer. What a shame. Still, I’m happy just to have this on DVD anyway. Slowly but surely the films I really want on DVD are making it out. Jacob’s Ladder next, anyone?

      Overall  
    Contract

    I think I’ve said enough about this film. It’s pretty obvious that I count myself as a fan of it, and I know a few people who like it as well. Then again, I know a few who don’t. Life’s like that. Check it out for yourself when your viewing schedule isn’t so crammed up with weighty epics and bum-achingly stupid comedies. Exercise your democratic right and make up your own mind.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=3212
  • Send to a friend.

    Cast your vote here: You must enable cookies to vote.
  •   
      And I quote...
    "This is one of my favourite films, and it manages to make me cry every time I watch it. Stupid manipulative film."
    - Vince Carrozza
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Sony DVP-NS730P
    • TV:
          Philips 55PP8620
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-DB1070
    • Speakers:
          Wharfedale s500
    • Centre Speaker:
          Polk Audio CS245
    • Surrounds:
          Wharfedale WH-2
    • Subwoofer:
          DB Dynamics TITAN
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard Optical
    • Video Cables:
          Standard Component RCA
      Recent Reviews:
    by Vince Carrozza

    20 Million Miles to Earth
    "THRILLS! CHILLS! PLASTICINE!"

    Earth Vs The Flying Saucers
    "The people of Earth face their ultimate threat – not from the DEVIOUS COMMUNISTS! Not from the WILEY CHINESE! Not even from the sinister ROTARIANS!"

    City Under the Sea
    "What, indeed, was the point of this film, and why did they write a part for a bloody rooster?"

    Santana - Down Under Live at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion
    "Fans can look beyond the flaws though and just revel in the Gold FM hits without the annoying ads."

    Phantom of the Opera (1925)
    "It’s your typical ‘lovesick masked psycho meets girl, girl unmasks psycho, psycho goes on rampage” story."

      Related Links
      None listed

     

    Search for Title/Actor/Director:
    Google Web dvd.net.au
       Copyright DVDnet. All rights reserved. Site Design by RED 5   
    rss