All things considered, though, "The Last King of Scotland" is a riveting film for about 80 percent of its running time.
The one thing that struck me at the end of the film was one act of stupidity by Garrigan. Had he kept his wits about him (not to mention his sobriety), his downward spiral in Uganda wouldn't have accelerated to break-neck speed. Of course, without this lapse, the climax would need to be altogether different, though I'm not sure that's an entirely bad thing. When a character commits an act they (and the audience) know is going to get them in trouble, the credibility of that character is diminished. Horror films are notorious for sending the well-endowed female into a dark house/room/hallway alone only for the killer to attack while the audience collectively screams not to go any further. The same happens here. Immediately before and during this moment of passion, the audience knows no good can come of the liaison. But we're forced to watch it like a car wreck we can't do anything about. There is a minor subplot concerning English operatives in Uganda who try to recruit Garrigan in an effort to assassinate Amin, but it's never really explored or fleshed out; the result is a handful of scenes that don't add up to much in the end.
Video
Yet again Fox has provided reviewers with a "Special Screening Copy" of their DVD release. The film is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and is enhanced for widescreen. The video on this disc for "The Last King of Scotland" is, for all intents and purposes, terribly lackluster. It has some distinct problems with pixilation and noticeable amount of compression. It´s hard to review the video for discs like this given their tendency to not fully represent the end product. The colors come through nicely, however, with solid black levels complementing them. It´s a much less than stellar presentation for one of great film.
Audio
On the other hand, as with most of the Fox screeners, the audio doesn´t suffer quite the same fate as the video. The film is presented in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 audio tracks. The 5.1 mix comes packed with a wonderful atmospheric mix. Ambient sounds, sound effects and music is nicely spread out through the surrounds. Dialogue is clear and crisp throughout. All in all, this is a nicely balanced audio mix. The film comes with optional English, Spanish and French subtitles.
Extras
There´s a fairly standard mix of extras presented with the DVD that should be of interest to fans of the film. Kicking things off is a feature length audio commentary from director Kevin MacDonald. He offers some insightful and interesting thoughts about the film, including anecdotes about the making of the film, some thoughts on Amin and other various sources of interest.
Seven deleted scenes, totaling about 12 minutes of running time are included. These include "Uganda, 1948", "The Mission", "Good Times (Alternate) ", "Idi's Test / Nicholas' Suit", "The Same Woman", "The Press Conference (Alternate)" and "Stone Leaves / Nicholas Prepares." The scenes are available with optional audio commentary by the director. The scenes are mostly character driven in nature but don´t really add anything to the film.
"Capturing Idi Amin" is the film´s most interesting extra. It´s a blend of history and behind-the-scenes footage. It´s a look at Amin´s influence and how some of that is still felt 30 years after his exile. Various members of the cast, crew and community are on hand to talk about their thoughts on Amin.
A set of EPK style features are also included. "Forest Whitaker: Idi Amin" gives some time to Whitaker to discuss his preparation of his role as Amin. There is also a Fox Movie Channel Casting Session, which is essentially a series of interviews with supporting cast members.
Rounding out the extras is a theatrical trailer for the film.
Film Value
All things considered, though, "The Last King of Scotland" is a riveting film for about 80 percent of its running time. It falls apart, as does every other movie, when the characters play dumb for a single moment. Still, a head-scratching finale doesn't dampen this film too much. Whitaker's performance is worthy of his Oscar, despite the audience expecting him to be on screen more. McAvoy shows he has the chops to hang in there with the best Hollywood can throw at him.
Video
Yet again Fox has provided reviewers with a "Special Screening Copy" of their DVD release. The film is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and is enhanced for widescreen. The video on this disc for "The Last King of Scotland" is, for all intents and purposes, terribly lackluster. It has some distinct problems with pixilation and noticeable amount of compression. It´s hard to review the video for discs like this given their tendency to not fully represent the end product. The colors come through nicely, however, with solid black levels complementing them. It´s a much less than stellar presentation for one of great film.
Audio
On the other hand, as with most of the Fox screeners, the audio doesn´t suffer quite the same fate as the video. The film is presented in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 audio tracks. The 5.1 mix comes packed with a wonderful atmospheric mix. Ambient sounds, sound effects and music is nicely spread out through the surrounds. Dialogue is clear and crisp throughout. All in all, this is a nicely balanced audio mix. The film comes with optional English, Spanish and French subtitles.
Extras
There´s a fairly standard mix of extras presented with the DVD that should be of interest to fans of the film. Kicking things off is a feature length audio commentary from director Kevin MacDonald. He offers some insightful and interesting thoughts about the film, including anecdotes about the making of the film, some thoughts on Amin and other various sources of interest.
Seven deleted scenes, totaling about 12 minutes of running time are included. These include "Uganda, 1948", "The Mission", "Good Times (Alternate) ", "Idi's Test / Nicholas' Suit", "The Same Woman", "The Press Conference (Alternate)" and "Stone Leaves / Nicholas Prepares." The scenes are available with optional audio commentary by the director. The scenes are mostly character driven in nature but don´t really add anything to the film.
"Capturing Idi Amin" is the film´s most interesting extra. It´s a blend of history and behind-the-scenes footage. It´s a look at Amin´s influence and how some of that is still felt 30 years after his exile. Various members of the cast, crew and community are on hand to talk about their thoughts on Amin.
A set of EPK style features are also included. "Forest Whitaker: Idi Amin" gives some time to Whitaker to discuss his preparation of his role as Amin. There is also a Fox Movie Channel Casting Session, which is essentially a series of interviews with supporting cast members.
Rounding out the extras is a theatrical trailer for the film.
Film Value
All things considered, though, "The Last King of Scotland" is a riveting film for about 80 percent of its running time. It falls apart, as does every other movie, when the characters play dumb for a single moment. Still, a head-scratching finale doesn't dampen this film too much. Whitaker's performance is worthy of his Oscar, despite the audience expecting him to be on screen more. McAvoy shows he has the chops to hang in there with the best Hollywood can throw at him.
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[release]20651[/release]