Red Riding Trilogy - 1974,1980,1983

[David]

I'm about halfway through the first installment of this acclaimed trilogy of
features, based on the true story of the 'Yorkshire Ripper' slayings and
kidnappings. Good, moody stuff - and thanks to my IFC on demand, I'm
watching them back to back at home (they are currently playing only in
arthouse theaters).

[Fast Eddie]

Bloody fantastic, that RED RIDING trio . We'll have a review of it in the next Noir City Sentinel. I truly hope the American remake doesn't come to pass, since the show is really specific to Britain and I can easily see how it would be contaminated by a Hollywood influence. FYI, RED RIDING was produced by many of the same people who created the new version of THE KILLER INSIDE ME, which has, like RED RIDING, been picked up for U.S. distribution by IFC and will also be mad available on-demand the same time it's released in theaters.

[Steve-O]

thanks for the tip guys. Now I have to see if I have IFC On Demand... I think I might.

[Steve-O]

Got through the first one last night. The show is excellent! I'm with Eddie on this.... an American remake will only screw this up.

[BobtheGambler]

Looking forward to seeing these on the big screen, they'll be showing here at the Detroit Film Theatre toward the end of March. Most everything I've read about them has been favorable, I just don't know if I could sit through them all back-to-back. The option is there but I'll probably spread it out over a couple of nights.

[Steve-O]

it may be too much to sit through all three at once. I've watched the first two in two nights. They're full length movie length episodes. I really enjoyed the second one... the lanky ginger bad cop in it is quite a find. I can totally see a US remake screwing it up and having someone like Woody Harrelson play the part...

[Haggai]

I watched the first part of the trilogy last week through On Demand, in high-def. It certainly was good, but it's so bleak that I pretty much wanted to shoot myself after watching it, so I'm guessing all three at once would definitely be too much to handle!

Steve, since you watched the second one as well, did they get the aspect ratio correct, through On Demand? Checking the reviews of the DVDs already released in the UK, I saw that the first movie is 1.85:1, but the other two are 2.35:1. I'm a bit concerned about them getting it right for the last two movies in On Demand since some cable channels frequently crop or stretch things to fit the entire TV screen, even in high-def.

I'm guessing that IFC is probably better about showing films in their original format, but I want to be sure before ordering the last two parts. I asked on another forum where people were discussing these films, but I didn't get any responses.

[Steve-O]

Haggai:

I'm watching the movies from the DVDs instead of IFC because my Tivo won't allow me to use On Demand (you wonder why people illegal download stuff: it's because it's easier than paying for it!)

I find that IFC actually stretches many of their movies on HD... it's not as obvious as some networks but they are definitely stretching movies that are 4X3 into widescreen instead of airing them in their original aspect ratios (not all movies but many). I think they do the same for their On Demand stuff.

EDIT: finished the series... it was amazing. I won't give away the end but I'm glad it wasn't as bleak as I suspected it would be....

[BobtheGambler]

I finally get to see these this weekend, on the big screen, I'll be doing the marathon sit-down thing this Sunday. Meanwhile, here's a very compelling write-up by Kenneth Turan, from the LA Times...
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...1,417465.story

[BobtheGambler]

Finally saw all three films yesterday (Sunday), they were shown consecutively at 1:00, 3:00, and 5:00, with fifteen-minute intervals in between. The first installment, without saying too much, had definite parallels with Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER, those who've seen it should know what I mean, those who haven't need to see it in order to see for yourself. Some I've read prefer film one (1974), others film two (1980), with consensus being that film three (1983) is the weakest. I'm not the most discerning critic, either I like something or I don't, but I prefer assessing the three as a unified whole rather then in segments. And from that standpoint I thought it was outstanding, a very satisfying viewing experience. Dark and disturbing, yes, but very well-done. Be warned though, the accents are very thick, some of the dialogue gets lost for that reason, so let's hope that when these are released on region 1 they consider providing us with subtitles.

[Guy Savage]

If anyone is interested, you can buy 'em through Amazon UK and then watch on an all-region player.
Anyone read the books yet?

[Steve-O]

Knowing the end make me lose all interest in reading the books as good as they probably are.

[BobtheGambler]

Actually, if any one book of the four would be of interest to me it's the second, Red Riding 1978 I believe, the one that they chose to cut for budgetary reasons. I've read that the young cop Eddie Dunford gave the evidence to in the first installment, the one who's married to the Chief of Police's daughter, plays a significant role in that one. I'd be curious to learn just how it adds to the overall tapestry of the proceedings.