Funny Games DVD: Review By Brian Gallagher

I wasn't really that much into film, let alone foreign film back in 1997 when Michael Haneke's Austrian film Funny Games was released and was later nominated for the prestigious Palm d'Or (The Golden Palm) at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival - the Best Picture Oscar equivalent of Cannes. 11 years later, Haneke has pulled a Gus Van Sant... only with his own film, doing a complete shot-for-shot remake with some recognizable names for his American theatrical release Funny Games. While there is little funny about this film, it surely is an extraordinary piece of work done with extreme precision.

OK, I'll come right out and say that this flick probably isn't for everyone. If you have Never Back Down pre-ordered or on your Netflix queue, this balls-out film that cuts severely against the movie grain probably won't be your cup o cinematic tea. However, if you like being challenged by a movie that isn't afraid to zig when most flicks zag, then you'll simply love this.

The story really couldn't be simple enough: an affluent young family (Naomi Watts, Tim Roth and young Devon Gearhart) are getting away for a week at their cabin on the lake and meet two odd, extremely-well-mannered boys clad in white(Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet), who proceed to torture them for their own amusement. Aside from near-cameo performances from Sibohan Fallon and Boyd Gaines, it's these five the whole way, mostly inside this quaint lakeside cottage.

While Haneke is of Austrian descent, he has obviously studied American horror films for some time because he has a wonderful grasp on audience expectations in this movie. OK, it isn't THAT hard to figure out what's going on in most horror movies, I'll give you that. Still, with his Monty Python-esque asides to the viewers, and constant pushing of the movie-convention envelope, this is truly a flick where you really don't know what's going to happen next. There is one fairly-big logical problem towards the end of the flick, it's almost like he set up these characters as omniscient authors themselves, inventing their own destiny as they went along, and not catering to traditional or logical fates. While it's logically bothersome, it's an interesting theory to wrap your noggin around.

I've long been a big fan of Naomi Watts and she doesn't let me down here as well. She shines once more here as the spunky matriarch Ann, and it was rather interesting to see Tim Roth, usually a baddie or a heavy in most films, play the more timid father George here. We dont' see a lot of Devon Gearhart here, but he plays his role well, and while relative-newcomer Brady Corbet delivers a breakthrough performance here as Peter, it's Michael Pitt who's the real star here in my eyes, as Paul.

He's quietly put together a string of very impressive performances in films like Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Murder By Numbers and The Village, just to name a few, and I'm glad he's finally getting some top billing because he really deserves it. Yes, I'm aware that the films I just mentioned aren't the greatest in the world, but he's quite amazing in all of them. Pitt delivers in full as the demented leader of this duo, conveying this peculiar, white-collar thug with a bizarre sense of manners in an astonishing way. I really hope that his next film, Oliver Stone's Pinkville, moves forward because he's surely due for a massive breakout.

While Haneke's script is quite impressive, his direction and innate ability to create a unique tone is just masterful. He doesn't spoon-feed you anything here and his unique ode/mockery to the horror genre is really something you have to see for yourself. He also employs the Tarantino style of violence, cutting away from the actual act of violence while letting the crisp sounds and reactions of others providing an imaginary template that you can fill yourself. With that in mind, you can't just watch this like any other horror movie, where the music tells you what will happen and not-so-subtle clues fill you in. This is a masterfully-crafted film that some will truly hate, but others will truly appreciate.

Sadly, there's nothing to see here. Come on. Can't you throw a critic a featurette or something?

This lushly-shot film is presented in both the "matted" widescreen format, enhanced for widescreen televisions and the fullscreen format in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio.

The sound is handled through the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound format.

Rather creepy and effective, I must say. The front cover is set against the Clorox whites of one of the assailants, with his hands atop a golf club with blood oozing down the club face. They even set the type to the blood color. Very nice. Aside from the title card, a tagline and the four cast members names, there are three highly-praising critic quotes. The back, in contrast, is in all black, with a shot of Naomi Watts from the one-sheet, four smaller pics, an effective synopsis along with the billing block, tech specs and notice that the disc has both widescreen and fullscreen formats on the disc, in lieu of the special features that don't exist. All in all, a very very nice design.

Funny Games is not a movie you watch with a big bag of popcorn and a grip of beer. It's a subtle, thought-provoking film that leads you down paths most movies won't... but wished they would.