Down by the Riverside

An original script with surprisingly good acting performances, stunning black and white cinematography, creepy sound design and a string quartet musical score. The film makers made good use of their self financed budget, reminding me of the low budget noir films of early Hollywood. I watched this movie with a friend who didn't like the film as much as me, but being a classic film fan I really enjoyed it and highly recommend to any fans of art house cinema. The DVD also has loads of special features including a documentary about how they made the movie without any funding, which is useful if you're interested in making movies "on a shoestring".

Down By The Riverside needs to come out in DVD format in the United States of America. It has my favorite sound effect, the Wilhelm Scream in it. It is not available in VHS either. The Wilhelm Scream was first done by Sheb Wooley in 1951 in a movie called Distant Drums. The movie starred Gary Coooper. It is an action adventure story set in the Florida Everglades during the Seminole Indian Rebellion of 1840. It is odd that Sheb Wooley is not in the movie. Sheb Wooley also appeared as a regular in Rawhide and portrayed a cowhand named Pete. He also released the song "Flying Purple People Eater". Sheb Wooley died in 2003 and his Wilhelm Scream is still showing up in movies everywhere. One more thing this DVD comes out to October 3rd 2010 for united states.

This is a mixed film, definitely very disappointing after the synopsis looked promising - the sad thing is that it's very easy to see how it could have been done better. Much of the acting is, as others have remarked, nothing less than dire; the directing verges on the pretentious and the screenplay is at times predictable and irritating. I'd have liked to see it done by a larger, perhaps UK company - the plot would transfer very well to a British setting. Good actors, better structure and generally higher quality would have enabled a worthwhile film to have been made from what is a reasonably promising idea.

On the positive side, the film has some excellent music (notwithstanding that "down by the riverside" itself doesn't have the same impact as, say, Puccini's "Butterfly" does in Peter Jackson's "Heavenly Creatures"). There are some gloriously surreal elements, particularly involving the driver. Despite its faults, still a film worth watching, but oh such a disappointment in the end.

I really wanted to like this, but I got a 'Bad Movie Night' contender instead. First of all, congratulations to the directors-producer team for getting this DVD made, because although the movie itself is a bit of a train wreck, it's packaging is excellent. There's a director's commentary and an extensive range of extras, including a witty 'making of' documentary which explains the palpable lack of chemistry between the lead actors (they detested each other). The highly enjoyable directors' commentary has them making light of their own epic; a classic case of desired aims not being met and compromises made to get the movie completed. In the end, the movie's unlikely story, amateurish acting and uneven direction make it a textbook 'bad movie', but in light of the rest of the DVD package, a most enjoyable one.

In the early twentieth century, several pregnant girls met in a rural birthing house, where they were sent away by their parents, to give birth and adopt away their children. Almost twenty years later, two historians research the horrific story of the girls and find that the unsolved murder mystery is far from over. Was shot in and around the Waikato town of Te Aroha, but would have been better assisted by filming around the Hawke Bay Art Deco areas of Hastings or Napier. The lack of a production manager and art director shows, along with the less than satisfactory sound and lighting results. Yes, I know that is was done on a no-profit, almost no money basis, but maybe films that cannot put together essentials, shouldn't be made. The best aspect of this one is the original score.