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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.85:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer ( )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • English: Dolby Digital Stereo
  • Commentary - English: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
    English
  Extras
  • 4 Deleted scenes
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Audio commentary
  • Cast/crew biographies
  • 2 Featurette
  • Photo gallery
  • 2 Music video
  • 5 TV spot
  • 4 Interviews

Gettin' Square: CE

Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 98 mins . M15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Barry Wirth (Sam Worthington) has spent eight years in prison for murder, a crime he didn’t commit. His main aim in life now is to get parole, keep his nose clean and get square, a term meaning to go straight as opposed to getting even with someone. His best friend Johnny Spiteri (David Wenham) has also just been paroled and has the same intention as Barry, but due to a demanding drug habit, he is finding it much tougher. The man responsible for Barry’s imprisonment, Chicka Martin (Gary Sweet), is keen to thank Barry for taking the blame but Barry is not interested. They were close before the crime that saw Barry committed but Barry has seen the evil ways of Chicka and he is now happy to keep his distance.

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Do yous likes me mullet?

Barry spent his time in jail as a cook so now sees that as an opportunity to find a decent job. Interviews for jobs go well until they discover he has spent the last eight years in jail, but then one day he happens upon Darren Barrington (Timothy Spall), an ex-con himself trying to get square. He offers Barry a job in his themed restaurant and Barry can finally see a way of avoiding a life of crime and earning an honest dollar. There are a couple of minor problems. however. Barry’s young brother has become involved with Chicka, seeing him. as Barry had many years earlier, as someone to look up to. Barry’s best friend Johnny is also getting himself into trouble, this time it is with the new Criminal Investigation Commission who seem hell bent on not only putting Johnny behind bars but also Barry. Barry is also having trouble from the bent cop that sent him to prison. So many things happening to poor old Barry, perhaps a life of crime is the only option?

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Great name for a boat!

Classed as Australia’s own Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the screenplay of criminal lawyer Chris Nyst has been skilfully brought to life by director Jonathon Teplitsky. Teplitsky first came to prominence with his film Better Than Sex of which he was also the writer. For this project he has again teamed up with David Wenham, who really steals the spotlight and won an AFI Award for his performance as the bumbling drug dependant, thong wearing and mullet sporting criminal Johnny Spiteri. Teplitsky is a talented director who delivers this story of the criminal world of the Gold Coast with terrific humour and class.

The cast are all well suited with many recognisable faces such as English actor Timothy Spall (Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Vanilla Sky, The Last Samurai), Aussie icon Gary Sweet (Alexandra’s Project, Stingers) along with Aussie Joe Bugner and comedian Ugly Dave Gray. Sam Worthington Bootmen, Dirty Deeds) is well cast in the lead role, but it is David Wenham (The Lord of the Rings, Better Than Sex) who steals the show here. He is so convincing in his role that many will think he is just some guy that the producers have picked up from a local methadone clinic. Not bad for a guy that began his acting career on Sons and Daughters.

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We'll call him Bob!

The highlight of this film is the humour. Sure there are jokes, but the more humorous moments come from the natural behaviour of some of the characters, especially Johnny in his courtroom appearance where he seems more worried about getting his bus money for appearing than the possibility that he could be sent to jail. This is a truly hysterical scene and along with other scenes such as several characters facing the parole board, this film is well worth seeing. Many may argue that it is just another Aussie film in the criminal comedy genre and that this genre has been done to death in recent years in Australian cinema but Gettin’ Square offers more than enough to make it worth seeing. If you like this genre and in particular films with a truly Australian feel, then give this one a go.

  Video
Contract

Columbia has supplied a very nice transfer for this film with a very crisp image throughout. The aspect ratio is 1.85:1 and this is 16:9 enhanced for those with widescreen capabilities. Sharpness is excellent with strong shadow detail and vibrant colours. Aliasing, film artefacts and the usual nasties are for the most part absent giving this film a real quality look. Skin tones are natural and colour saturation and grain are never a problem. Subtitles are supplied in English and these are accurate.

  Audio
Contract

Audio is supplied in a choice of Dolby Digital stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. The surround track is the track of choice, offering a well balanced soundstage with clear dialogue throughout. The rear speakers are used effectively for directional sounds as well as for ambience and to pump out the excellent musical soundtrack. Songs on this soundtrack come from artists such as Groove Armada, The Saints, The Vines, Nick Cave, Faithless and Machine Gun Fellatio and these are all extremely well suited to the film and are delivered well in this mix.

  Extras
Contract

There's a nice collection of extras with this release that offer some great information on the film as well as being quite entertaining.

Shady People
First up is a collection of cast and crew bios in the format of text pages. These are quite nicely set out to offer information on that particular person without being too formulated.

Audio Commentary
The audio commentary for this film is supplied by director Jonathon Teplitsky and writer Chris Nyst. Teplitsky loves to talk and why not? He is very good at it and is very interesting to listen too. Both men have an obvious love for this project and the fact that they enjoyed making the film and working with the cast involved comes across well in this informative commentary.

Poster and Photo Gallery
This feature contains a poster shot along with 22 photos from the film and behind the scenes, all set out in an easy to navigate and easy on the eye format.

Gettin’ Square Soundtrack
This feature is a television commercial for the film that focuses on the soundtrack CD. It only runs for 29 seconds and is in letterbox format.

MGF Video – Voices In My Head
This music video was directed by the main feature director Jonathon Teplitsky and features the band performing the song along with clips from the film. It runs for 3.32 and is quite an enjoyable clip.

MGF Video – Knickers On My Head
The second video from the band runs for two minutes and is far less appealing than the first. It features extreme close ups of the singers that we just really don’t need.

Shady Speak
This is a collection of text pages that will teach the viewer the meaning of many of the terms used in the film. This is a great little addition that is quite amusing to read through.

Theatrical Trailer
This features runs for 2:11 and is sadly only in a letterbox format.

Gettin’ Square TV Commercial
Featured here are several television commercials used to promote the film's release. They obviously worked as the film did very well at the box office.

Interviews
Split into separate sections, this feature contains interviews with director Jonathon Teplitsky (9:55), writer Chris Nyst (11:02) along with actors Timothy Spall (13:15) and David Wenham (10:09). All are interesting and informative and, with impressive running times, they are a worthy inclusion.

Popcorn Taxi Q & A
Popcorn Taxi is a forum created for Australian and International film makers to discuss their work with an audience. Recorded at Sydney’s Valhalla Cinema in October 2003, this feature contains excerpts from the question and answer session with director Jonathon Telpitsky, actor David Field and producer Martin Fabinyi and is hosted by Robert Connolly. This is an informative session with all contributors offering some great insight into the film and the process of making it, Teplitsky in particular is a fascinating man to listen too.

Deleted Scenes
Contained here are four deletions, all available with commentary from director Jonathon Teplitsky and writer Chris Nyst. They go into detail as to why the scenes were cut and their feelings on them.

  Overall  
Contract

Overall this is a superb Australian film that offers some great laughs, a fine cast, a good pace and a classy production. The video and audio transfers are of the highest order and the extras are very good in both quantity and quality. This is definitely worth seeing if you like Australian cinema.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=3867
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      And I quote...
    "Another Australian film in a familiar genre, this little gem offers some great entertainment."
    - Adrian Turvey
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          Sony DVP-NS305
    • TV:
          AKAI CT-29S55AT 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-DE685
    • Speakers:
          Sony SAVE815ED
    • Centre Speaker:
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