TOMORROW WHEN THE WAR BEGAN
(2009, Blu-ray released May 1, 2012 – MSRP CDN$ 39.99)
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THE FILM:
- “A small group of Australian teens team up to take back their country after an occupying army sweeps in and takes over in this adaptation of John Marsden‘s best-selling novel. 17 year old Ellie Linton (Caitlin Stasey) and her friends live in the quiet coastal town of Wirrawee. As the holidays draw to a close and school looms on the horizon, Ellie longs for one last adventure before heading back into the classroom. Her wish comes true when her parents agree to let her use the Land Rover for a week camping adventure in Hell, a secluded paradise with a deceptive name. At first, everything is perfect. Ellie and best friends pass their time basking in the sun, and wading in a picturesque waterfall. But the fun comes to a sudden end when the group notices a fleet of unidentified jets cutting through the night sky. Shaken, they return home to find that the entire population of Wirrawee has vanished, and all power has been cut off. The teens’ greatest fears are confirmed shortly thereafter, when they discover that the local showgrounds have been transformed into a makeshift prison camp, and that everyone they know has been imprisoned by the invading military. Upon realizing they have been discovered, the teens decide to strike back against the occupiers with everything they’ve got.“
WHO SHOULD BUY:
Wow. Watching Tomorrow, When the War Began, it’s tough to believe this film didn’t come straight out of Hollywood’s movie-machine. If you’re wondering, that’s not only a compliment to this homegrown Aussie flick, but also a backhanded condemnation. The film, an adaptation of the first book in an apparently popular series of young adult novels by John Marsden, takes it’s cues from popular Hollywood fare, rendering in familiar tones this Red Dawn-like tale of armed kids striking out against an occupying force through guerilla warfare. The action looks and feels like bigger budget fare but the camping and coupling scenes play like something straight out of Shark Night or any random teenage-weekend-getaway flick. In the case of this type of film, however, that familiarity in tone, style and structure give the impression to we native North Americans that it belongs amongst our own domestic releases, perfectly at home in a double feature with the likes of Hunger Games. Which is reason enough for most folks here in the US and Canada to give this neat little teen-war flick a chance. Just don’t expect much of a resolution. I nearly threw my remote into the TV screen when the film ended, so frustrated that it closes with what amounts to a half-baked cliffhanger. The sequel will be in cinemas Down-Under later on in the year but I won’t expect much in the way of a satisfying conclusion from that one either. There appear to be seven books in the series. Oi vey.
THE BLU-RAY DISC:
The Blu-ray disc features a strong visual presentation, with plenty of detail and spot-on colours. It’s slightly softer than you’d expect a modern action film to appear but is encoded at a ridiculously high bit-rate, so there’s no problem with the authoring here. Audio is available in a solid, powerful DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English track, with an alternate French dub at your beck and call, should you require it. There’s a ridiculous wealth of special features (outlined in detail below) but nothing that really stands out as revelatory. The “must watch” items are the “making of” doc and the 23-minute interview with author Marsden. The rest of the short pieces really would have benefitted from a “Play All” option.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- The Making Of (25:42)
- On Set With…
- Caitlin Stasey (1:13)
- Lincoln Lewis (1:21)
- Deniz Akdeniz (1:19)
- Chris Pang (1:44)
- Ashleigh Cummings (1:02)
- Andy Ryan (1:15)
- Behind the Scenes
- John Marsden: Characters and Casting (3:02)
- How to Blow Up a Bridge (12:34)
- VFX Breakdowns (2:33)
- The Cutting Room Floor
- Alternate Ending (2:21)
- Deleted Scenes (7:34)
- Out Takes (4:24)
- Publicity
- Theatrical Trailer (2:30)
- TVC’s
- Friends Become Warriors (0:33)
- Relationships (0:33)
- Us or Them (0:33)
- Premiere (2:57)
- Fans (0:58)
- The Books
- John Marsden Interview (23:53)
- Passage Readings (4:29)
- Webisodes
- Caitlin Stasey (2:10)
- Rachel Hurd-Wood (1:02)
- Lincoln Lewis (1:06)
- Deniz Akdeniz (1:04)
- Phoebe Tonkin (0:56)
- Chris Pang (1:04)
- Ashleigh Cummings (1:02)
- Andy Ryan (1:05)
- Stuart Beattie (3:14)
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