|
|
|
The Emu War
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - Australia - Umbrella Entertainment Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (26th October 2024). |
|
The Film
 "The Emu War" (2023) The Australian government has declared war on the encroaching emu population. Major Meredith (played by Damian Callinan) leads a platoon into the depths of Western Australia to take out the queen of the emu, and his hatred of the emu stems from the fact that a flock of them kidnapped his son Graham during the boy's eighth birthday party. The trauma led to the suicide of Mrs. Meredith (played by Janine Atwell, and strained the relationship between him and his daughter Mary-Sue (played by Lisa Fineberg, even more than twenty years after the incident. Mary-Sue has disguised herself and joined her father's platoon to try to get closer to him, with her father oblivious to the fact that a woman, let alone his estranged daughter is there next to him in combat. Also in the platoon is Jackie, who was betrayed by falling in love with an emu spy. Not particularly adept to physical fitness, he does have a special offensive skill in combat that is deadly and effective. With a group made up of traumatically broken soldiers going into enemy territory where the emu are armed with machine guns and their numbers are far higher than the humans, there may be no chance for human survival... It is bizarre to say that "The Emu War" was based on a true story, as the historical records show that in 1932, the Australian government and military did in fact rage war against the native flightless birds, in which the birds were essentially the victors. But besides the basic outline, the film and historical fact couldn't be any more different. Wheat crops of farmers in Western Australia were being overrun by 20,000 migrating emus, and the government stepped in to try to solve the issue with heavy artillery. But with issues of weather as well as machine guns being fairly ineffective, there was barely a dent against the emu population, with less than a thousand being killed though nearly 10,000 rounds of bullets were fired. "The Great Emu War" lasted from November 2nd to December 10th, 1932, for exactly 1 month, 1 week, and 1 day. There were further requests to the government in subsequent years by the farmers of the land as the emu population continued to grow in the region, but the requests were rejected each time. The birds had essentially won the war. While the war proved that manpower and technology are not the solutions against mother nature, it also showed an inept side to supposedly "civilized" humanity which doesn't understand or comprehend natural harmony. With the film "The Emu War", it is not at all a history lesson, instead being an absurdist parody comedy with little effort into drawing out the facts. Mel Brooks' "History of the World, Part 1" is a great example of using history to showcase its absurdities, with its portrayal of historical figures and episodes in comical ways that is 50% based on fact and the other half played for laughs. "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is based more on legend than fact, but puts emphasis on gags while keeping parts of the legend alive. "The Emu War" instead relies on 5% fact and 95% fiction. There are historical figures that are part of the film, though anachronistic. Prime Minister Harold Holt held the position from 1966 until 1967 as he was presumed dead after disappearing while swimming off the coast of Victoria. He was not even in politics in 1932. Ned Kelly died in 1880 though he appears in the story. Famed explorers Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills also appear, even though the film takes place nearly 70 years after their famed expedition across the continent. It is a mishmash of Australian history, written without concern for accuracy with the historical timeline of reality. There are many other anachronistic elements in the film, from the technology used to styles of characters and music choices. Much of the dialogue sounds modern and if it didn't state 1932 within the film, it may be hard for viewers to discern when the story was supposed to take place. In addition, they make Holt (played by Cameron James) a cowardly prime minister with an uncontrollable bladder, Burke and Wills (played by Colwyn Buckland and Filip Lescut as lovers, and Ned Kelly (played by Harry Tseng) of Asian descent. These are not exactly parodies or exaggerations, but seemingly wildly inaccurate depictions, just as the film is to the historical events entirely. The emu seen in the film are a mix of puppeteering and digital effects, with puppeteers on set being digitally erased in post production. For the queen, a massive puppet was constructed and puppeteered from within. For massive numbers of emu on screen at once, digital effects were used to create them. The emu are very obviously fake, in their expressions and movements being fairly unnatural, and some of the digital creations are quite poor. Though it may be fitting with the comedy genre as incredibly professional digital effects might take away from the humor, in this case sometimes the weak effects stand out as looking poorer than they should. The puppetry is good, though in running scenes there are obvious drawbacks as the puppeteers cannot manage to move their feet as naturally as possible. With the humor, it is sadly hit or miss, with mostly misses. There is toilet humor from the start such as the prime minister peeing himself at an unnatural rate, the blood and gore level is very high which can sometimes be uncomfortable within the genre, with severed limbs and gallons of digital blood spurting everywhere. The sexual humor is also quite uncomfortable, with bestiality, incest, necrophilia all being topics, and while there is digital self censorship with blurring of lower areas, the use of gay sex as comedic plot points is a bit out of place as well. But with one of the characters Allan (played by Jonathan Schuster) being the horniest man in Australia, the sexual encounters are not always the sexiest ones. The group sex scene for heat production is for the discomfort of the audiences, as it is not particularly funny or amusing. (Perhaps without the mosaic blurring may have made it sexier, though obviously would not have gotten past the censors.) The filmmakers have added everything they could to be wacky and even offensive, and it seems more like a mishmash of ideas instead of cohesive. Comedian and actor Schuster developed the idea for a feature length parody about the Great Emu War, and along with Jonathan Campbell, Jay Morrissey, Lisa Fineberg, Urvi Majumdar, and Dane Simpson wrote the feature length production to be produced by Hot Dad Productions. In 2018, they shot a proof of concept which had some of the same principal cast, showcasing a small platoon on a battlefield while a sniper emu attacks them. It was fairly well done even with its incredibly short runtime, getting the character backgrounds, the gore, and the humor together in a compact form. While there were delays due to COVID-19 affecting travel and production, the feature length production was completed with direction by Campbell, Fineberg, and Morrissey together. The film premiered at Monster Fest in Australia on October 22th, 2023 and has received mixed reviews with some positives for humor and wackiness while others critical of the same things. Although Schuster stated that there hadn't been any examples of using this particular moment of Australian history for a parody retelling, in recent times it seems to have picked up some steam. In 2020 a short film entitled "1932: The Great Emu War" was produced. In 2021 it was stated that a British-Australian production was planning a feature film on the subject, with John Cleese, Monty Franklin, Jim Jefferies, and Rhys Darby attached to the project, which looks to be finally starting production in 2024. For "The Emu War", it has been released on several streaming platforms around the world and has been given a Blu-ray release from Umbrella Entertainment. Note this is a region ALL Blu-ray
Video
Umbrella Entertainment presents the film in the 2.00:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. Shot, produced, and edited entirely in the digital realm, the production does look sharp and crisp in this transfer, showcasing excellent colors from the browns of the dirt to the blue and grey skies. Sharpness is also excellent, though sometimes the cheapness of the effects can be seen. It is framed properly and there are no troubling issues to state for the solid transfer. The film's runtime is 75:33.
Audio
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo There are optional lossless 5.1 and 2.0 stereo options for the film. The sound is well mixed with the war sequences, the involving score by Asher Pope sounds excellent, with full use of the surround channels. Dialogue is almost always centered and well balanced against the music and effects with no troubling issues with the mix. An excellent transfer for the audio here. There are optional English subtitles for the main feature in a white font which are well timed and easy to read.
Extras
Audio Commentary with Writer/Directors Jay Morrissey, Lisa Fineberg and John Campbell and Writer/Creator Jonathan Schuster This group commentary have the writers discuss about the production. Discussed are the backgrounds of individual shots and behind the scenes moments, notes on the visual effects, about the choices made, and so on. It is not a particularly packed information on the production and it is more of a jokey chatty session with the members. Ones looking for something in depth about the production might be disappointed, though there are some funny stories that are told for enjoyment. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "VFX Breakdown" featurette (4:34) Presented here are examples of the visual effects work done for the film, from digitally erasing puppeteers, adding fire effects, increasing background details, to digital emus with before and after comparisons. They are presented without dialogue or narration. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 2.00:1, Music Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Deleted Scenes (3:38) Here are two deleted scenes, one with an amputation scene and one introducing the character of Jackie, both early in the film along with explanations from Morrissey as to why the scenes were cut. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 2.00:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "The Emu War" 2018 short film (6:58) The original proof of concept short is here, with a number of the same cast members who would take part in the feature length production a few years later. It only showcases the small platoon being ambushed in an open field by a single emu, with flashbacks to flesh out some of the characters. While much shorter, it actually feels much more complete and enjoyable that the feature itself. Note that it is also shot in a much wider aspect ratio, and none of the footage was recycled into the feature. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 2.35:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Trailer (1:36) The original trailer from Umbrella Entertainment is presented here. It has also been embedded below, courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 2.00:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Other notable clips: The proof of concept trailer from 2018 Official Trailer 2 Vintage 1933 newsreel on the Great Emu War ABC New Australia piece on the Great Emu War Trailer for the "1932: The Great Emu War" 2020 short film "1932: The Great Emu War" 2020 short film
Packaging
The disc is packaged in a clear keep case with reversible artwork, with the other side having an identical design except the Australian MA 15+ rating logos being removed. The inlay states region B only, but the disc is in fact region ALL. There is also a Collector's Edition exclusively from the Umbrella Web Shop, which includes a slipcover with alternate artwork and a 20 page booklet. This is limited to 800 copies. The booklet starts with a synopsis of the film, followed by "Origins" which discusses how the idea was formed. Then there are "Vision", "World", "Production Style and Execution", and "Casting" which look at everything in the pre-production process. The "Production" notes go through the filming, from the COVID restrictions at the time, the puppeteering, production troubles, and more. Finally the "About the Filmmakers" section has biographical information on various cast and crew members.
Overall
"The Emu War" is about as absurd as you can get with telling a historical story though total fiction. Unfortunately the parody doesn't always land with the gags and the jokes, with some being cringy and having an inconsistent tone with its hodgepodge of ideas thrown together. Umbrella Entertainment's Blu-ray release features an excellent transfer for the video and audio, and the extras are fair though a little bit on the light side.
|
|||||
|