Review of Death List: Platinum Edition

Introduction

Give a man a DVD and he can feed his imagination for an hour or two, give a man a DV Camera, and he can feed the imagination of countless others for the life of the battery. The Digital Video Camera has been the great equaliser when it comes to cinema. Before, the silver screen was open only to a select few, those who went to film school, or understood the arcane art of developing film. VHS may have seemed the big way forward, but the finicky tape and poor visual quality left it a non-starter, although ideal for the wedding video and adult entertainment industry. But digital video is a godsend. There`s no finicky medium to slice and dice, and with the combination of powerful home computers and digital edit suites, the sky truly is the limit. Cinema production has opened up to the masses, and budding Cecil B. DeMilles can make their mark on a budget that doesn`t break the bank. Of course the digital revolution is meaningless without genuine talent, but the odds of finding the next Spielberg or Kurosawa just went up by a magnitude. Ara Paiaya is a Scot whose passion for Hong Kong cinema has manifested in his own creative output, to date amounting to five films. Putting Dennis `write the theme tune, sing the theme tune` Waterman to shame, Paiaya shoots, stars, directs, writes, edits, dubs and makes the tea for his own martial arts movies. And unlike Star Wars Kid, he also really knows his stuff when it comes to kung fu.

Death List sees a sword wielding hitman named Night left for dead after being betrayed by his mafia employer. He`s rescued and healed by a mysterious organisation that gives him some serious martial arts training. Left a blank slate by amnesia, he vows to redeem his past actions by standing up to villainy wherever he sees it. Naturally he`s bound to run into those who betrayed him in the first place.

Video

It`s cheap and cheerful DV quality. The 1.85:1 letterbox image is soft, prone to the occasional pixellation, and it seems as if there is a mesh criss-crossing the screen throughout. Still the action is always clear, the cinematography has a professional feel to it, if it is a little familiar, and the special effects are understandably low budget in appearance. The film is well edited though, with no dead weight, but some of the fight sequence continuity could be crisper.

Audio

Like all the old traditional HK flicks, Death List is shot as a silent film, and all the dialogue and foley is added in post. The ADR isn`t always necessarily in sync (although I think that`s intentional), and the sound effects are over-egged. Paiaya does most of the voices himself, and I think a little more variety would be better. Still, the DD 2.0 English track does just what it needs to, although there are no subtitles.

Features

Death List comes with a host of extras, including animated menus as well as 3 trailers for the film. You`ll also find 12 trailers for other Dragon DVD product, and 9 Soulblade trailers.

Top of the list is the audio commentary from Ara Paiaya. He talks about making the movie on a shoestring and offers some insights into the process. He is one of those commentators who state the obvious much of the time though.

There is a two and half-minute interview where Ara introduces himself, and the film.

Bey Logan pops up three times on this disc, not counting his cameo. The first is to commentate over the action sequences in Death List Examined. It`s only 10 minutes, but as usual we get a movie`s worth of comments in that time. The Inside Track lasts 6 minutes, and is more commentary, but this time on Ara himself. Finally The Beytrix lasts a minute and showcases Bey Logan`s previous cameo in Dubbed & Dangerous III. I get the feeling that a complete Bey Logan commentary exists for this film, given that his comments here seem cut and pasted together. It`s a shame that it isn`t on this disc.

There are cast interviews with six members of the cast, Adam Sinclair, Alex Clark, John Cheung, Scott Taylor, Simon Bishop and Vinnie Wilson. These total around 20 minutes, and they talk about their respective roles and working with Ara.

There is a 3-minute featurette on ADR Ara style, as well as several bloopers and deleted scenes.

There are bonus scenes from some of Ara`s other films, including a cameo scene with Robert England. The disc is rounded off with cast notes and slideshow stills galleries.

It seems like a lot to look at, especially on the menu screens, but most of the extras are brief and ephemeral.

Conclusion

Death List was surprisingly refreshing, although it isn`t one to watch if you are expecting high production values, acting skills, or something even as mundane as a plot. Death List is nothing less than an ode to Hong Kong cinema, with Ara Paiaya channelling Jackie Chan with surprising ability, although at 6 ft, he makes for an unlikely and lanky kung fu star.

Death List is what you get if you combine the sheer self-destructive lunacy of Jackass with a modicum of talent. If you are willing to be battered by a two-by-four, set alight, thrown through a car windscreen, or just generally be repeatedly kicked around the head, then you too may have a future in home made kung fu movies. What the supporting cast may lack in talent, Ara Paiaya makes up for in sheer ability, and the stunts, and the martial arts skills he brings to the screen are more than enough to hold the attention. There are moves and set pieces here that bring to mind Jackie Chan at his best, and that is no mean accomplishment on a shoestring.

But that is Death List`s biggest problem. Why would you want to watch a heartfelt tribute or homage like this, when you can see the real thing, with Jackie Chan`s extensive back catalogue readily available? From the first moment, with the Paiaya logo riffing off the Golden Harvest sign, this film plays just like the classic kung fu comedies of the seventies and eighties. The start isn`t actually that promising, with a dark menacing assassin slicing off his enemies at the ankles, and with effects and props that bring to mind Kenny Everett`s disastrous DIY character. It`s when Night loses his memory that the pace and energy pick up. He goes through the classic training sequence, with a suitably comical Sifu enforcing his lessons with a wickedly applied cane. There are plenty of action sequences as he goes about cleaning up the mean streets of Aberdeen, then he works his way up the villain power structure to the end of level bosses, including the Mafioso who betrayed him. Naturally at one point he has to avenge his master. At 63 minutes, Death List is brief, and while it may be a loving tribute cum spoof, it adds nothing new to the genre.

Death List is short, sweet and fun. The production values may be missing, the acting creaky, but as a showcase for Ara Paiaya`s martial arts skills it`s entertaining. Someone really should give this guy a budget and a script, because he`s capable of much more. Death List is cheap, cheerful and cheesy and it`s well worth a look if you are fan of old school kung-fu, as it captures that old style better than many more expensive productions. At this price it`s hardly a risk.