The Take

According to the director this film was shot in 18 days with a budget of less than $1million. So it is hardly surprising that the deleted scenes on the DVD offer little in the way of exciting bonus material, leaving us with the strong impression that the director has squeezed every ounce of worthwhile footage for the film itself.

Lack of exciting bonus material aside, this DVD offers some promising extras in the Behind The Scenes sequence and Director’s Commentary which give a very worthwhile insight into the process of guerrilla filmmaking on a shoestring budget. In an industry infamous for its overblown budgets and ridiculously high-maintenance stars, it is refreshing to hear director Brad Furman and his cinematographer Lukas Ettlin talk about this kind of indie filmmaking, in which problems and difficulties (including a day when filming was disrupted due to inter-gang violence!) had to be overcome with ingenuity and innovation rather than money.

Though the commentary descends at times into indulgent rambling it is, for the most part, an intriguing insight into the film’s creation which I strongly recommend to any aspiring directors out there!