Blue Juice

Distributed by
Film Four

Cat.no: VCD 0034

Cert: 15

Running time: 94 minutes

Year: 1996

Pressing: 1999

Region(s): 2, PAL

Chapters: 17 plus extras

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dolby Surround)

Languages: English

Subtitles: None

Widescreen: 1.77:1 (16:9)

16:9-enhanced: Yes

Macrovision: Yes

Disc Format: DVD 5

Price: £19.99

Extras : Scene index, Trailer, Cast and Crew interviews

---

Director:

Carl Prechezer

Producer:

Simon Relph and Peter Salmi

Screenplay:

Peter Salmi and Carl Prechezer

Music:

Simon Davison

Cast:

JC: Sean Pertwee (Event Horizon, I.D., Shopping, TV: Cadfael, A Touch Of Frost)
Chloe: Catherine Zeta-Jones (Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, The Haunting of Hill House, The Mask of Zorro, The Phantom, Splitting Heirs, TV: The Darling Buds of May)
Josh Tambini: Steven Mackintosh (The Grotesque, Land Girls, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, London Kills Me, Prick Up Your Ears, Twelfth Night, TV: The Buddha Of Surburbia, Undercover Heart)
Dean Raymond: Ewan McGregor (Brassed Off, Emma, A Life Less Ordinary, The Pillow Book, Shallow Grave, Star Wars: Episode I, Trainspotting, TV: E.R., Kavanagh Q.C., Lipstick On Your Collar)

Blue Juice is how JC (Sean Pertwee) refers to the sea and the waves he loves to ride with his surfboard. At the age of twenty he was king of all he surveyed when it came to riding the "Boneyard", the most treacherous section known to man...well, to JC and his mates anyway. It was all "One Life. No Fear. Live for Today" at the time. Now he's approaching thirty though and it's time to ride again.

However, he has to make a decision between the sea and the other "C", his girlfriend Chloe (the ever-athletic Catherine Zeta Jones) who wants to settle down and turn the boy into the man.

And that's about it. Also thrown into the mix are several friends of his, including the two most well-known, Josh (Lock Stock's Steven Mackintosh) and Dean (the omnipresent Ewan McGregor).

The picture quality is blighted by a fair amount of grain that is present throughout the film's entirity. The disc is presented in an anamorphic 16:9 ratio - which is served well by the competent direction - and the average bitrate is a fair 5.33Mb/s, occasionally peaking over 8Mb/s.

The sound quality is fine, but not outstanding. Presented in Dolby Surround, it does its job and has a few decent tunes throughout the soundtrack including Jeepster (Marc Bolan and T-Rex) and Half the Man (Jamiroquai).

Extras :

Chapters and Trailer :

Languages/Subtitles :

Interviews :

Menu :

Overall, Blue Juice is an interesting little 90-minute diversion. Probably a must for surfers, but just a rental for everyone else.

FILM CONTENT 		: ***
PICTURE QUALITY		: ***½
SOUND QUALITY		: ***
EXTRAS			: **
-------------------------------
OVERALL			: ***

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2000