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The 1989 U.K. import Resurrected simultaneously launched the careers of director Paul Greengrass and actor David Thewlis. That alone makes Twilight Time’s new limited edition Blu-ray release worth checking out, even if the movie itself isn’t entirely successful. Based loosely on true events, Resurrected tells the story of a soldier who was presumed killed-in-action during the 1982 Falklands War. Friends and family have come to accept the fate of young Kevin Deakin (Thewlis) after an empty-casket funeral lays the soldier to rest. Yet out of nowhere, nearly 8,000 miles from home, Kevin staggers up to a strangers’ home and the astonished Falkland Island inhabitants realize he doesn’t know the conflict ended some seven weeks ago.
Those unfamiliar the 74-day Falklands War won’t mind much context here. There are some mutterings about it being “pointless,” but otherwise you might have to hit up Google after the film. I’m not entirely sure, but I suspect that knowing something about the situation probably would help make Resurrected more engaging (full disclosure: I happened to have been among the ignorant). The crux of the plot is whether or not Kevin deserted, hiding out in a shed and eating worms until he was certain the combat had ended. A brief military inquiry finds him not guilty. His claim of temporary amnesia is reluctantly accepted by the top brass, but his peers are less convinced.
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As Kevin returns to active duty service, despite having a quite obviously untreated case of PTSD, he faces constant media scrutiny over the circumstances of his disappearance. As the public begins to question his story and his fellow soldiers grow increasingly bitter, Resurrected turns into a sort of witch hunt. At worst, Kevin has in fact lied and is guilty of having bailed a mere six hour before the war actually ended. Resources were wasted looking for him. At best, he really doesn’t remember what happened after a particularly intense firefight (brief combat sequences are shown as flashbacks) and believed the war was still raging on during his time in hiding. It’s an interesting story, but treated a little too shallowly to justify even the 92-minute running time. Kevin, his girlfriend, and his parents fail to develop into truly interesting characters.
Resurrected is presented by Twilight Time as a strikingly clean transfer. The source materials utilized were in great shape. The film’s limited budget is betrayed by a generally drab look, courtesy of cinematographer Ivan Strasburg. The color palette is notably muted and a pervasive softness, however slight, seems inherent in the imagery. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix boasts strong fidelity. Some of the dialogue sounds almost buried, but this doesn’t reflect poorly on the Blu-ray presentation. It just sounds like some of the dialogue is location sound recorded in a poor acoustic environment and probably would’ve been ADR’ed if the original production budget had been more robust.
A pair of interesting interviews is included as a bonus feature, one with David Thewlis (15 minutes) and the other with Paul Greengrass (18 minutes). There’s also an isolated music and effects track (featuring John E. Keane’s score) and a new essay by film historian Julie Kirgo. Twilight Time’s Blu-ray is limited to 3,000 copies. Visit Screen Archives for ordering information.
Those unfamiliar the 74-day Falklands War won’t mind much context here. There are some mutterings about it being “pointless,” but otherwise you might have to hit up Google after the film. I’m not entirely sure, but I suspect that knowing something about the situation probably would help make Resurrected more engaging (full disclosure: I happened to have been among the ignorant). The crux of the plot is whether or not Kevin deserted, hiding out in a shed and eating worms until he was certain the combat had ended. A brief military inquiry finds him not guilty. His claim of temporary amnesia is reluctantly accepted by the top brass, but his peers are less convinced.
As Kevin returns to active duty service, despite having a quite obviously untreated case of PTSD, he faces constant media scrutiny over the circumstances of his disappearance. As the public begins to question his story and his fellow soldiers grow increasingly bitter, Resurrected turns into a sort of witch hunt. At worst, Kevin has in fact lied and is guilty of having bailed a mere six hour before the war actually ended. Resources were wasted looking for him. At best, he really doesn’t remember what happened after a particularly intense firefight (brief combat sequences are shown as flashbacks) and believed the war was still raging on during his time in hiding. It’s an interesting story, but treated a little too shallowly to justify even the 92-minute running time. Kevin, his girlfriend, and his parents fail to develop into truly interesting characters.Resurrected is presented by Twilight Time as a strikingly clean transfer. The source materials utilized were in great shape. The film’s limited budget is betrayed by a generally drab look, courtesy of cinematographer Ivan Strasburg. The color palette is notably muted and a pervasive softness, however slight, seems inherent in the imagery. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix boasts strong fidelity. Some of the dialogue sounds almost buried, but this doesn’t reflect poorly on the Blu-ray presentation. It just sounds like some of the dialogue is location sound recorded in a poor acoustic environment and probably would’ve been ADR’ed if the original production budget had been more robust.
A pair of interesting interviews is included as a bonus feature, one with David Thewlis (15 minutes) and the other with Paul Greengrass (18 minutes). There’s also an isolated music and effects track (featuring John E. Keane’s score) and a new essay by film historian Julie Kirgo. Twilight Time’s Blu-ray is limited to 3,000 copies. Visit Screen Archives for ordering information.
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