Digging a slightly deeper grave

Introduction

Shallow Grave was the film that introduced most of us to some new talent. This was director Danny Boyle`s first big screen outing, which was followed by the memorable Trainspotting, and of course his latest Oscar winner, Slumdog Millionaire.

Most people probably encountered  Ewan McGregor herefor the first time too. He too went on to greater things such as Trainspotting and of course The Phantom Menace. Some viewers may remember Christopher Eccleston from 1991`s Let Him Have It, but this film is probably his most memorable big screen role (surely he too would like to forget his cliched villain in the remake of Gone in 60 Seconds). He could have made a much bigger name for himself on the small screen had he stayed on for more than one season of Doctor Who, but that was his choice.



Last and not least we have Kerry Fox, who had worked with Boyle on a TV series, and had already been around for a few years. She was the "safe pair of hands" for the film. Again, this film is probably her most memorable, although she made lots of headlines with her performance in Intimacy, which had many up in arms over its content and style.

If you`ve not seen Shallow Grave, you can read the plot details up above.

Video and Audio

We are presented with a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, which is reasonable for its age.

If you`ve not seen it, then you might want to know that there are some quite graphic and violent scenes in it, if that kind of thing offends you. But it's all in keeping with the story - it's not mindless violence-porn in the mould of recent Angelina Jolie vehicle Wanted.



A DD2.0 stereo soundtrack, the same as the original release. A shame that they didn't see fit to remix the soundtrack when DD5.1 soundtracks exist on other language versions of the disc. It does smack of rushing it out to cash in on Slumdog, rather than wanting to see a definitive edition of the DVD released.

Although this is not a big action thriller, there are some scenes that would have enjoyed the benefits of a 5.1 soundtrack, and the music certainly would. That`s not to say that the music sounds bad, because it actually sounds very good indeed and is a highlight of the film, veering from Leftfield to Nina Simone and Andy Williams, via some X Files style piano music and back to Leftfield again.

Extra Features

Unlike the previous edition of this DVD, with its measly full frame trailer, this time we get a pair of extras.



First and foremost is a brand new commentary track from director Danny Boyle. This is a great commentary, and I've already proved Boyle wrong, since he states that no-one except his editor would listen to the commentary. He is a very good commentator, and has loads to say about how the film was put together, working with a low budget, different lenses, film speeds, a few stories from filming (recalled after all this time) and much more besides. A great commentary track and almost worth the price of the DVD alone.

 

The other extra is a behind the scenes documentary that was recorded during the making of the film, produced by BBC Scotland. The image quality of this feature is not so good, and it does make it a little difficult to watch at times. It also doesn't help that the producer (who the feature largely focuses on) is quite unlikeable at times. It does serve as an interesting document about the making of the film, it's just not as interesting as I'd hoped for.

Conclusion

Shallow Grave was Danny Boyle`s first film, and until Slumdog came along many would say it`s still his best, ranking it above the more hyped Trainspotting. I would still probably agree with those people. I`ve seen the film quite a few times, but haven`t watched it since the previous DVD came out. It was great to sit down and watch it again and still find it as interesting as it was in the cinema. A dark story, with violence, comic moments, and some great lead performances turn this into a very good film.



The DVD is more impressive than last time out, with the new commentary track making this a much more worthwhile package than the first release. It could have been a much better DVD, but at least it's an improvement on the previous edition.

A great little film, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn`t yet seen it. Is it worth "upgrading"? I think enough years have passed since the last release, so if you want to hear the commentary track, then it's worth it. If you're only interested in the film, stick with the existing release.