Review by Andrew L. Urban:
This award winning film comes with a real treasure of goodies on the DVD, starting with
the director’s commentary. Robert Connell’s audio is not flash, but it’s
complete - and meticulous. He refers to the influence of 2001: A Space Odyssey in various
ways, noting the coincidence of shooting The Bank in 2001. But it’s really important
to see the film first – if you haven’t already. There are some key elements that
are revealed during the story which you should discover directly from the film.
Performances are tops, and the film’s dramatic pull sustains throughout, until the
pay-off ending.
Collected under the heading Production, the specially produced featurettes for the DVD
are a light year ahead of most DVD extras, which are thrown together from EPKs and tv
promo spots. With Robert Connelly as the central tour guide, speaking to camera and
ensuring a real connection with us, the interviews in this section are fascinating and
varied.
Take the sound design piece: we’re taken through the layers that are added to the
sample scene (where the bank is being devoured by BTSE) by sound designer Sam Petty,
sitting at his desk. It’s riveting stuff.
Likewise the music feature with Alan John. Again produced around a core interview, the
insights are singular and unusually personal. And having the director’s voice in
these features makes them more than usually powerful.
In the deleted scenes feature, we have the choice of director’s and editor’s
commentary, separately. In all, a stylish and intelligent collection of features that in a
little more than an hour provide more value and interest than some DVD features manage in
twice the time.
Technically splendid, the transfer is crisp and the sound – augmented by the award
winning score – is powerful.
Published February 28, 2002
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