Ratcatcher (The Criterion Collection)
List Price:
Our Price: $19.88
You Save: $10.03 (33%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $13.29 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Lynne Ramsay Jr., Mandy Matthews, Michelle Stewart, Tommy Flanagan, William EadieBrand: RAMASY,LYNNE
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 94 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-09-10
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion
DVD Reviews of Ratcatcher (The Criterion Collection)
DVD Review: Poetic, not sentimental, Scottish film.
Summary: 4 Stars
Lynne Ramsay's unhurried debut is, let's get right down to it, quite beautiful. This is one of the most exciting first features I've seen in recent memory. Set in a Glasgow housing project during the 1970s sanitation strikes, "Ratcatcher" presents a perspective of life through the eyes of children. Now this might sound kind of sappy, but it isn't at all. There is nothing cute about "Ratcatcher" whatsoever. Ramsay's writing and direction is quite poetic, but not sentimental, and relies on atmosphere (thanks to Alwin Kuchler's photography and some good soundtrack choices) over melodrama, tragedy, and tear-jerking. Ramsay shows a genuine affection for each and every one of the film's major characters, while at the same time showing their faults, failures, and weaknesses. Differentiation between children and adults seems irrelevent - in "Ratcatcher" they are all imperfect, incomplete people. There is a strong stylistic similarity between "Ratcatcher" and Hamony Korine's "Gummo," both films focusing mainly on "damaged" children and an impoverished community tainted by some unspoken looming dread. But where "Gummo" at times seemed (to me anyway) to resort to shock tactics, or at least hopeless grotesqueries, in its portrait of humanity, "Ratcatcher"'s tone is more one of naïve fascination skillfully captured, a tone not unlike that of the still underrated Terrence Malick. A perfect companion to this style is Ramsay's use of a number of child non-actors, who she directs flawlessly.One thing that really struck me about "Ratcatcher" was that it seemed as though the film's climaxes were all dispensed very early in the film. Within five minutes we witness the death that will haunt our protagonist, James, for the rest of his life. An early sequence in which James discovers some unfinished suburb houses includes a crescendo-ing scene which another director might well have ended the film with. After these moments Ramsay finds a comfortable sense of stasis for the film and stays with it. This is not to say it gets boring or less important by any means - the later portions of the film are probably the strongest. The film's ending is far less climactic than those earlier moments, which is good I think. But the neatness of a reasonably happy (though properly uncertain) ending all the same comes as a bit jarring after the virtual non-movement of the preceding half hour. In any case, you'll be the judge.
The lush Criterion DVD edition of "Ratcatcher" comes with a wealth of bonus features. In addition to the standard Theatrical Trailer, the DVD also features a fair-lengthed interview with Ramsay (in which Ramsay name-checks Malick, David Lynch, and Robert Bresson as sources of inspiration) and Ramsay's three impressive award-winning short films (where the influence of Jane Campion seems very clear). Of the three, "Gasman" is far and away the best. In fact, I almost like "Gasman" as much as, and possibly more than, "Ratcatcher."
Description of Ratcatcher (The Criterion Collection)
In her breathtaking and assured debut feature, Lynne Ramsay creates a haunting evocation of a troubled Glasgow childhood. Set during Scotland?s national garbage strike of the mid-1970s, Ratcatcher explores the experiences of a poor adolescent boy as he struggles to reconcile his dreams and his guilt with the abjection that surrounds him. Utilizing beautiful, elusive imagery, candid performances, and unexpected humor, Ratcatcher deftly examines the landscape of urban decay and a rich interior landscape of hope and perseverance, resulting in a work at once raw and deeply poetic.Brutality and hope intertwine in this quiet coming-of-age story. Set in a Glasgow, Scotland, slum during a 1973 trash collectors' strike, the film follows young James, shaken after accidentally causing the death of a friend, who dreams of moving into newly built council flats. The loosely plotted slice-of-life piece moves between James's family and his friendship with Kenny, a slightly off animal fancier, and the older Margaret Anne. Though the setting is grim, the movie is far from bleak. Even as the trash bags pile up, James takes comfort in something as simple as being combed for head lice. The cast is excellent, and writer-director Lynne Ramsay coaxes astonishingly good performances out of her child actors. Complex and haunting, Ratcatcher holds a silent wish at its center. The DVD includes an interview with Ramsay, and three of her short films. --Ali Davis
Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
The Element of Crime (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2000-09-19; DVD
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops:
Blow Out (The Criterion Collection)IMG; Release date: 2011-04-26; DVD
Best price: $18.72
Price in other shops:
AdriftUNI; Release date: 2011-06-14; DVD
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
The Night of the HunterRelease date: 2000-01-25; DVD
Best price: $10.59
Price in other shops:
Naked (The Criterion Collection)HVC; Release date: 2005-09-20; DVD
Best price: $20.74
Price in other shops:
Red RoadGPI; Release date: 2007-08-28; DVD
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops:
Fish Tank (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2011-02-22; DVD
Best price: $18.61
Price in other shops:
Kes (The Criterion Collection)IMG; Release date: 2011-04-19; DVD
Best price: $18.73
Price in other shops:
The White RibbonSON; Release date: 2010-06-29; DVD
Best price: $4.85
Price in other shops:
Morvern CallarRelease date: 2003-12-16; DVD
Best price: $24.31
Price in other shops: