Clearcut — Clearcut(Blu Ray)
In its simplest form, Clearcut regards the kidnapping of two white middle-class men by a native Canadian Indian- but there is way more to the film than that. The early 1990s film is a mix of environmental-focused drama & thriller- with touches of supernatural & folk horror. It’s a (largely) well-acted film, set in the grand & awe-inspiring nature of the Canadian wildness - with a feeling of building tension- edged with touches of jarring violence/ gore. Here from Severin is a Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in a new 4k scan, and a selection of new & archive
From the year 1991, Clearcut is a Canadian production- which was directed by Warsaw Poland-born Ryszard Bugajsk. He had seven feature lengths to his name, and twenty TV credits- taking in both TV episodes & TV films. His feature lengths went from garment factory set drama Kobieta I Kobieta (1980), stark and troubling prison drama Interrogation (1982), and General Nil (2009) a historic drama/ bio regarding General August Emil Fieldorf aka "Nil", who commanded the underground Polish home army against the Nazis – but was killed after WW2 by communists. Clearcut was the director's first English language film- after spending his prior career directing Polish language films.
Clearcut is filmed & set around the woodlands, waterways, and natural beauty of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The film shifts from genre to genre as it goes on. For its first half an hour/ forty minutes or so we have environmental-focused drama- detailing the fight for the native Canadian Indian land which has slowly but surely been engulfed by a big corporation lumber mill- with bespectacled & mild-mannered white lawyer Peter Maguire (Ron Lea) trying to do his best for the local tribe. At around the mid-point, we get properly introduced to the rather mysterious Arthur (Graham Greene) a native Indian who clearly has more than a few issues with what’s going on. So we slip into the outdoor thriller side of things- as he kidnaps Lawyer Maguire & white, pompous, and arrogant mill owner Bud Rickets (Michael Hogan)- taking them out into the wildness.
In its final quarter, we slip into a mix of brutal thriller & horror with a supernatural edge, and some light touches of folk horror added into the mix. With the tension getting notched right up- jarring moments of gore/ violence- taking in skin flaying, bloody shootings, and fingers lopped off.
Acting wise Greene is the highlight here- really sell the mysterious & unpredictable Arthur, with an edge of both haunting grace & unflinching moments of cruelty. Lea is largely good in his role, and initially, he rather brought to mind Richard Dreyfuss- though as things go from bad to worse his level persona starts to shift. Hogan mostly comes off as smug & annoying for much of the film runtime- and I’m afraid he rather got on my nerves- though I guess he is meant to be that way.
The grand wooded & water-lined landscape is captured well- with moments of natural mystery & foreboding building nicely in the film's later half. It runs around the one hour & forty-minute mark- and I must say I think it might have helped if say ten/ fifteen minutes was taken out of the first half of the film- as some of the scenes felt unneeded & overlong. But this is a minor quibble- as Clearcut is both a thought-provoking & haunting film- cut with moments of tension & horror.
This new region-free disc features a 4k scan of the film- this looks nicely clean, crisp, and well-defined throughout. On the extras side, we get a fair selection of things. On the new side, we have a commentary track from scholar and anthropologist Shaawano Chad Uran (aka White Earth Anishinaabe). He starts by talking about the contrasting elements in the credits/ open shots which move between the murky waters of a grand lake & the plane carrying lawyer Peter Maguire through a bright blue sky. He talks about how the film plays into the eco-horror genre, and how closely the myths/ figures in the film connect to real indigenous folk legends. He discusses how the film captures the feeling of a protest, as he's attended a few himself. He points out actors as they appear, and touches on other notable roles. He comments on scenes as they unfold. Later on, he talks about the use of water imagery in the film, and the subtle use of flowing blood in a few of the film's scenes. He talks about the order and logic of the Arthur character, and how much of the film is really happening in reality. And of course, more- it’s an okay track with a fair amount of worth- though at moments he does drop into just describing the scene we’re watching- which is somewhat frustrating. Otherwise, on the new side, we get A Dream Like Arthur’s (18.08) which is an audio-only interview with actor Graham Greene. And Composing Clearcut (17.46) an onscreen interview with the film's composer Shane Harvey.
On the archive side, we get a video introduction by director Ryszard Bugajski. An audio interview with director Ryszard Bugajski and journalist Allan MacInnis. We get a selection of three short films with a Canadian indigenous focus- there’s 1969’s The Ballad of Crowfoot (10.30), also from 69 is You Are on Indian Land (37.02), and 2007’s Consume (20.07). With a commentary from Kevin Howes and Lawrence Dunn on The Ballad of Crowfoot. So, a good selection of things.
Clearcut is a largely compelling mixture of environmental-focused drama/ thriller, and supernatural/ folk horror. With this new Blu-Ray from Severin presents us with a wonderful 4k print, and a good selection of new/ archive extras.