The King

There’s plenty of added value to be had from this DVD, perhaps the most interesting of which is the interview with James Marsh. It’s always enjoyable to hear filmmakers talk about the transition from documentary to dramatic feature and its quite the trend in Hollywood at the moment, with people such as Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin) and Clive Gordon (Cargo), having a go with varying amounts of success.

Marsh, it seems falls into the McGuigan camp, lighting far more of the set than many directors and “letting the actors block the scene”. This freedom of movement helps give the film an authentic feel, reigning any hint of hyperbole.

Both Marsh and writer/producer Milo Addica are clearly being quizzed by someone in America, since Marsh opts for US vocabulary rather than English. The interviewer, is unheard, however, replaced by title cards with the questions – some of which are distinctly bland – written on.

Curiously, despite raving about Bernal and Hurt, little mention is made of Pell James, who plays Malerie, a shame since she adds a similar amount of dramatic clout to proceedings.

Addica is less interesting than Marsh, although equally passionate about the project. The two of them join forces to provide the feature commentary, and it’s well worth a listen, although you frequently wish Addica would pipe down so that you could learn more about the directorial input into the scenes. The commentary track, again reveals an emphasis on the male members of the cast, as it becomes increasingly clear that the women’s roles were nowhere near as interesting to the writers as men’s.

Also interesting is the difference in personality between Addica and Marsh. Both are refreshingly honest about the short-comings of the movie, yet Addica is definitely Mr Glass Half Empty, while Marsh sees his half full.

A screen test between Gael Garcia Bernal and Paul Dano, is interesting enough, although it would be no great loss if it weren't included.

There are also the usual deleted scenes – easy to see why they were removed and that rarest of rarities, a trailer that you could watch before seeing the movie without totally ruining the plot.

The unashamedly low budget, indie nature of the film means that it doesn’t call for much in the way of presentation and it looks and sounds just fine - although the lack of subtitles on the extras might be annoying for some.

All in all a solid release.