I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD

DVD Review by David Blackwell

CAST/ CREW DETAILS:  

starring Clive Owen, Charlotte Rampling, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Malcolm McDowell, and Ken Stott

directed by Brian Hodges

DVD DETAILS: 103 minutes (in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen), 5 preview trailers

STUDIO: PARAMOUNT CLASSICS

RELEASE DATE: 11-16-2004

starring Clive Owen, Charlotte Rampling, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Malcolm McDowell, and Ken Stott

directed by Brian Hodges

PLOT: Will Graham (Clive Owen), an ex-gangster who had a breakdown and disappeared three years ago, returns to find out why his younger brother (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) has died from a gruesome suicide.

ANALYSIS:  I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD is a hypnotic crime drama that is a slow burn with an intense performance from Clive Owen. Director Mike Hoddges has made a movie as interesting as other movies he directed: CROUPIER and the original GET CARTER (starring Michael Caine as Carter). Clive Owen plays ex-gangster Will Graham who has given up being a gangster and living everyone he cared about behind (his younger brother and his lover (Charlotte Rampling) to live as a drifter. Three years later, he decides to check up on his brother and shows up when he hears nothing after several phone messages that Will has left. He finds out that his Brother has taken his own life after being raped. Will searches for who raped his brother. Has his life as a drifter changed Will or made him even more dangerous as he closes in on his prey? Mike Hodges pours on the atmospher of the movie as you wonder how things will play out.

It is unusual to see Clive Owen look so scruffy for most of the movie before he becomes clean shaven and gets a hair cut. Clive takes on roles that interest him and he has chosen wisely. I would love to see Clive Owen play the next James Bond because he would bring some class to the role.

VIDEO/AUDIO: I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The image quality is clear, colors and blacks are good, and I saw no artifacts. From time to time, I did see a little picture grain (mostly in nighttime scenes).

You can hear the movie in English 5.1 Dolby Digital or 2.0 Dolby Surround. No foreign language tracks. Dialogue is clear, and music and sound effects can be heard as they add to the atmosphere of the movie.  The only subtitles are English.  I wish Paramount put some foreign subtitle tracks on this DVD.

EXTRAS: The only extras are five preview trailers for other Paramount Classics releases. They do come up as forced trailers before you reach the menu (you can chapter skip through them).

FINAL ANALYSIS: I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD is a solid and hypnotic movie with plenty of drama and great actors. If you're looking for a movie that is like the old dramas from the 1960s and 1970s, rent it. if you're a fan of Clive Owen, buy the DVD.

this DVD Review is (c)11-6-2004 David Blackwell and this review cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com

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