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- Blu-Ray: The Boondock Saints
- Rating: R
- Starring: Willem Dafoe, David Ferry, Brian Mahoney, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus Billy Connolly, Ron Jeremy
- Written By: Troy Duffy
- Directed By: Troy Duffy
- Distributor: Fox/MGM
- Original Year of Release: Theatrical(1999), Blu-Ray(2009)
- Disc Grade: C-
- Extras: Outtakes, Seven deleted scenes, Director’s Cut seamlessly branched, The Boondock Saints theatrical trailer, Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery, Willem Dafoe, Billy Connolly and Troy Duffy Filmographies, The Boondock Saints script, Audio commentary with writer/director Troy Duffy, Audio commentary with actor Billy Connolly
- Series:
The Boondock Saints (Blu-ray)
Beyond Played Out By
Robert T. Trate
February 24, 2009
The Boondock Saints on Blu-ray
© Mania.com/Robert Trate
When The Boondock Saints first came into my life it was recommended to me like a great new beer I had to try. The film was a Blockbuster Exclusive. I rented it, took it home and fell under its spell. The vigilance of the McManus Brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus) was something anyone could understand, if not appreciate. Sure the moral complications of their own judgment in deciding who is right and who is wrong creates and interesting debate, but shouldn’t films do that? This was a huge underground/ college hit. It quickly became the movie you talked about and recommended. This word of mouth treatment grew it into a cult classic. Until…
The Boondock Saints,like all underground films or cult classics, usually has someone at the reins that catches on that there is a sub culture that simply cannot get enough of the film. Kevin Smith has made a fortune in doing this to his own films. Disney even caught on and did it to A Nightmare Before Christmas. What is this you ask? It is to sell the movie any way you can. Stores like Spencer’s Gifts and Hot Topic have an almost permanent display dedicated to movies with cult followings like the The Boondock Saints. Whether it is book bags, t-shirts, stickers or buttons the film has been retailed to death. What effect does this have on a film? For Disney it spawned a Corpse Bride (2005) for Smith it meant he could go on telling more dick and fart jokes. As for The Boondock Saints it has played the film out. Long gone are the discussions about the film. Now there are hoodies with guns and Flanery and Reedus’s faces on them. In short, the film lost its power.
As I mentioned the film was a Blockbuster Exclusive. A limited outlet created traffic for not only Blockbuster but made the film special in that it was something that had to be sought after. When the film was released for sale to the general retail stores a simple DVD hit the shelves. It was packed with all the now typical special features; outtakes, commentary and deleted scenes. After the Hot Topic and Spencer’s Gifts crowd got a hold of the film an “unrated special edition” was released to get us all buy the same movie we already owned only this time it was accompanied by more violence and gore. Now with the Blu-ray format being all the rage the film has been released again. The bewilderment for a fan of the film like me is that there is not one thing different than the 2006 unrated special edition release. Sure the picture quality has improved but everything is exactly the same. A good HD TV and upgraded DVD player could accomplish the same thing as this Blu-ray.
What is needed on the Blu-ray is a retrospective ten year look at the film. Anything from film historians or even additional cast members would have made it worth while. Even director/ writer Troy Duffy talking about the much delayed sequel Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day could have helped this dull Blu-ray.
My advice is that if you don’t already own any version of the film then the Blu-ray is perfect. There is a good chance you already have a least one version of the film on DVD. The Blu-ray price is reasonable but this incarnation of it is not. Save your money for when original Boondock Saints and Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day are offered in a Blu-ray two pack. Of course by then you might have to buy whatever the next format in DVD will be anyway.
The Boondock Saints is presented in WIDESCREEN 2.35:1 its audio is in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.
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