Ravenous [Blu-ray]

Director: Antonia Bird

Overview

Joining Cannibal! The Musical in the (admittedly) small field of historical comedies about people who eat people, Ravenous is a period piece that mixes humor and drama as it tells the tale of Capt. John Boyd (Guy Pearce), a U.S. Army officer who, after an undistinguished stint in the Mexican-American War, is sent to a remote outpost in the Sierra Nevada. One day Boyd encounters Colqhoun (Robert Carlyle), a Scottsman who tells a horrible tale of being stranded with his fellow travelers in a cave after being deserted by their guide, and how they were forced by one Col. Ives to eat human flesh to survive. However, after a search party is organized, Boyd realizes Colqhoun and Ives are actually the same person, and the cheerful cannibal tries to convince Boyd to join him in his life of culinary crime as the ongoing Western migration rings the dinner bell for his favorite entre. While director Antonia Bird and screenwriter Ted Griffin play this story for laughs, they don't shrink from the more grim aspects of the story, and the Czech and Slovakain locations give the film a rugged and realistic look.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/03/2014
UPC:	0826663149999
Original Release:	1999
Rating:	R
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	1:40:00
Sales rank:	13,251

Special Features

Commentary with director Antonia Bird and composer Damon Albarn; Commentary with screenwriter Ted Griffin and actor Jeffrey Jones; Commentary with actor Robert Carlyle; Deleted scenes with commentary by Antonia Bird; Theatrical trailer; TV Spots; Two still galleries - costume design and production design

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Guy Pearce	Captain John Boyd
Robert Carlyle	Colqhoun/Ives
Stephen Spinella	Knox
David Arquette	Cleaves
Jeffrey Jones	Colonel Hart
Jeremy Davies	Toffler
Neal McDonough	Reich
John Spencer	General Slauson
Sheila Tousey	Martha
Joseph Running-Fox	George
Bill Brochtrup	Lindus

Technical Credits

Kerry Barden	Casting
Terry Glass	Special Effects
David Heyman	Producer
Tim Van Rellim	Executive Producer
Adam Fields	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Surviving as a cult film after being written off by most audiences, the bizarre plot of Ravenous is a twist for British director Antonia Bird, whose filmography focuses primarily on realism. Yet straight from the trailer's satirical tag line "you are who you eat," this dark comedy is steeped in irreverence. But can cannibalism really be made funny? Bird tries with lines like, "It's lonely being a cannibal; it's tough making friends," but for the most part it's what one might guess, given the topic: strange, graphic and disturbing, full of roasted carcasses and fleshy stew. The cast is a kick to watch: Guy Pearce's morally righteous Captain Boyd is fascinating given his desperate dilemma and Robert Carlyle's Colqhoun eerily transforms himself from a convincing, spooked victim to a menacing and unrelenting predator. The performances, plus a vampirish vibe due to its isolated setting, totemic symbolism, and ghoulish-giggle background sounds, add up to an interesting near-miss of a film that too uncomfortably blends farce, satire, and horror. Ravenous is close to being a genuine cult find but may ultimately leave all but potential serial killers hungry for the gem of a movie it might have been.