Search - Bloody Sunday on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Profanity Movie Release: 2002 DVD Release: 04/22/2003 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 50 mins Studio: Paramount Members Wishing: 15 Genres: Drama, Docudrama, Political Drama

Paul Greengrass (The Theory of Flight) wrote and directed this powerful look at January 30, 1972 -- better known as "Bloody Sunday." Ivan Cooper (James Nesbitt) attempts to organize a peaceful protest after Protestant leaders imprison Catholics without a trial. His actions conflict with hard-line IRA members who have no interest in a "peaceful" response, as well as the military men responsible for keeping the peace who are led by Major General Robert Ford (Tim Pigott-Smith) and Brigadier Patrick Maclellan (Nicholas Farrell). By the end of the day, the military will fire on the protestors and kill 13 people. The events of this day still haunt the peace process in Ireland. Bloody Sunday was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

James Nesbitt - Ivan Cooper
Tim Pigott-Smith - Major General Robert Ford
Nicholas Farrell - Brigadier Maclellan
Gerard McSorley - Chief Supt. Lagan
Kathy Kiera Clarke - Frances

Bloody Sunday contains a small collection of extras that provide excellent information. The most compelling entry is a commentary from writer/director Paul Greengrass and actor James Nesbitt. Greengrass does most of the talking and injects plenty of interesting views. A second commentary comes from co-producer Don Mullan, who penned the source book, -Eyewitness Bloody Sunday. The author is obviously very knowledgeable, and he does provide some compelling insights, but serious breaks exist during the commentary. This disc also includes two informative featurettes that nicely complement the two commentaries. "Bloody Sunday: History Retold" covers about 13 minutes and provides intriguing conversations with the director, producers, and actors. "Bloody Sunday: Ivan Cooper Remembers" gives a brief look at modern Derry from the perspective of the real Ivan Cooper. He discusses the pivotal sites with Nesbitt in this seven-minute piece, which provides a worthy connection to the real events. Bloody Sunday's handheld cameras and muted colors make grading its technical aspects more difficult. Much of the picture looks grainy, but that matches the realistic, documentary-style tone of the film. Luckily, this 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer succeeds and makes the chaotic events easily viewable. Despite a bit of expected haziness, this transfer works very effectively. This release is interesting because it contains two English versions of the 5.1 channel Dolby Digital transfer. The first one stems from the domestic U.S. release, and the other presents the original U.K. theatrical version. Both versions offer impressive sounds that convey significant power. The complexity is not especially amazing in the rear speakers, but it only slightly diminishes the transfer. ~ Dan Heaton, All Movie Guide