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Woodenhead DVD Reviews
THE LISTENER
FEBRUARY 12-18 2005
CHRIS KNOX
Woodenhead (Pictures For Anna) is Aucklander Florian Habicht's fever-dream
fairy-tale fantasy of one dope, his dame, his destiny, his dump
and his donkey. It is set in Northland, is in black and white digital
video, was shot to a pre-recorded soundtrack – dialogue included
– and is quite brilliant. I know this because I say as much on the
cover art, in the trailer and the fine little doco that features
on the disc. I am biased, yes, but had nothing to do with the making
of the film.
Its digital nature is harshly revealed at times, but generally it
is a gorgeous thing to behold. The extras include a whole bunch
of Habicht's even more enigmatic short films and one of the very
best commentaries – starting at chapter eight's sex scene! – that
I've ever sat through. The packaging's delightfully out of the ordinary.
Join the circus! Hoorah!
THE PACKAGE
ISSUE 275 MARCH 10 2005 KELLY ANN LEE
Woodenhead is a contemporary kiwi film that offers a number of sumptuous
treats for those wanting more than your typical drama, action or
scenic genre flick. This Grimm's musical fairy tale has the feeling
of an old radio play or puppet show, whereby writer/director Florian
Habicht created the dialogue, location sounds and music first, and
then shot the visuals to suit. The result is playful and dreamlike,
reminiscent of a visit to David Lynch's sinister Red Room. The lush
New Zealand outdoors as we know it is shot here in black & white,
revealing a seductive and treacherous land filled with danger and
magic where Gert and Plum, two kids from the stix, embark on their
journey. Picture postcards shots are punctuated with overbearing
kiwi accents atop slinky jazz percussion. It is this carefully crafted
soundtrack which stands out and is illustrated through classy costumes,
enchanted forests, stallar dance sequences and disturbing circus
freaks- not to mention characters with wonderful faces a la Fellini.
To watch Woodenhead is to explore beyond the looking glass. Moments
of discomfort and deja vu are infused with much charm and humour,
making for a memorable cinemtaic experience.
GROOVE GUIDE
FEBRUARY 23 2005 JOSH HETHERINGTON
What a freaky fable, an hallucinatory dream/nightmare is Florian
Habicht's Woodenhead. Out now on DVD, and reminiscent of Dead Man
or Eraserhead-on one part valium and one part [even stronger] LSD-
this startling, funny, irritating, disconcerting and moving film
takes Sam Neils notion of the 'Cinema if Unease' both to heart,
and to the tip. Eschewing traditional filmic-narrative sense for
the densely surreal and often poignantly revelatory possibilities
of silent film-making [all the sound, including the ethereal musical
soundtrack and even the dialogue, was recorded prior to filming-the
film shot to fit] Woodenhead dwells, sweating and filthy, in a realm
of mangroves, pine forests, demonic children a malevolent half-witted-man-servant,
a masturbating, mucus-frothing hobo, erotic dancers, circus freaks
and fornicating innocents.
The carnival-esque atmosphere backdrops the truly original love
story. Gert is entrusted to deliver Plum to her wealthy groom. The
pair lose their car and donkey, get lost in the woods, come across
a feast-laden cabin, and begin to fall in love before Plum is abducted
by a runaway circus strongman. Adding to the wooziness of it all
is the apparent telepathy with which they communicate [lips don't
move as they speak, or even as they whistle the wooziest of circus
tunes]. The black and white cinematography sets an even denser tone,
foreboding skies give way to heavenly shards of sunlight; ferocious,
wild surf spans the screen; the Northland landscapes provide overwhlemingly
Ansell Adams-like sets for the travels and tribulations of our heroes.
Go and pick up a copy today-you won't regret it.
REAL GROOVE
NEW YEARS EDITION 2005 VERONICA McLAUGHLIN
One of my favourite films of 2003, Woodenhead is a surreal journey
through a fairytale New Zealand. Gert is a shy dump-hand entrusted
with the task of delivering his boss's beautiful daughter, Plum,
to her groom in a town a day's journey away. But en route, the car
breaks down and the two are forced to make the rest of the trip
by donkey. Along the way, they encounter the strange denizens of
the Northland forests-monsters, trolls and strange little children
and find themselves tempted by the pleasures of the flesh.
The film is a visual feast, but the soundtrack is an aural banquet.
Habicht and sound designer Marc Chesterman recorded the entire soundtrack
before a single frame was shot, resulting in unusally clear sound
for such a small budget film. As a result, the actors do not actually
speak their lines, actually, Gert and Plum's mouth do not even move
as they appear to communicate telepathically, which I found disorienting
at first, but becomes part of the mystery and otherworldliness of
this utterly enchanting film.
The DVD comes with an impressive set of special features including
a Making of Featurette, Horoscopes with Lutz, several short films
Habicht has directed, Trip to Thailand with Woodenhead vocal performer
Killer Ray, Circus acts, a music video for Hospice for Destitute
Lovers and additional artwork from designer and lead actor Teresa
Peters.
THE LUMIERE READER, JOHN SPRY
A VERY NEW ZEALAND FOLK TALE
A very New Zealand landscape dark in visual style but rich in imagination
and the natural ideal that is in the hearts of people living in
Aotearoa. By JOHN SPRY. Woodenhead (2003) Florian Habicht | NZ |
106 min | Featuring: Nicolas Butler, Teresa Peters, Tony Bishop,
Matthew Sunderland, Mardi Potter, Steve Abel.
With Woodenhead, Florian Habicht has created a visual snapshot of
the Northern portion of New Zealand and integrated this with a "cut
and paste" folk story from around the world. The story revolves
around the two main characters (one could even say caricatures)
who, while attempting a very simple task of travelling from one
town to another end up loosing themselves in a greatest hits of
well known folk stories. They move through and around such stories
as Hansel and Gretel, Goldilocks and even Jack and the Beanstalk.
The plot of the film is one of necessity in which the town garbage
man (and hero) Gert, is ordered to escort Princess Plum, the daughter
of his boss (the owner of the town dump), to her wedding in a neighbouring
town. What follows is a unique road-trip through the in-between
hinterland of New Zealand. A place on first impressions untouched
by human hands, except for the barb wire fences and dirt roads put
there to facilitate the journey by way of car or in this case a
mule by the main characters, as well as keeping any good story on
its course. Christopher Pryor, the film's cinematographer offers
a stark black and white landscape which adds to the frontier feeling
and folk story itself, by capturing the surrounding country in a
uniquely New Zealand way. This struck me as being unique in terms
of what an audience sees while viewing a film that is set in one
county but for budget reasons is filmed in another. This film is
very much the New Zealand landscape on screen.
The narrative told in the film is itself unique in the way characters
are introduced and move throughout the story. The most obvious aspect
of this is the way in which the on-screen actors dialogue has been
replaced by off-screen actors speaking those same parts. This adds
to the sense that Woodenhead is standing on its own merits while
providing the director with a way of treating any financial obstacle
as a choice to illustrate through non-synchronous sound a true fantasy
world. While watching Woodenhead I could not help but think of New
Zealand director John O'Shea and some of his own films including
Broken Barrier (1952) and the way in which the expense of non-synchronous
sound lead to a third person narrative instead of the own on-screen
actors voices. This technique works well especially in scenes such
as Gert and Princess Plum trying to get their own Donkey back and
receiving beans in return.
The film as a first feature is original in concept and is carried
out with little hint to the viewer that there was not a lot of cash
to spare. There is much to recommend the film for cineastes as well
as the average film goer in terms of the plot and narrative, but
to me its strength is the locations used and the originality in
terms of look and sound of the actors.
The DVD itself can be termed as fully loaded with the features listed
below. The film is presented in a letterbox format (4:3) and has
little or no blemishes and the sharpness of the picture is no doubt
helped by the black and white cinematography.
The audio commentary is by director Florian Habicht and is interesting
in terms of low budget film-making in New Zealand and the relative
success that he has achieved over the past two years.
In terms of DVD releases I have to say that viewing this title was
an absolute pleasure in terms of the relevance of the menus to the
actual film. It is time that locally made films that are released
here and Internationally put some thought into the menus and the
extras themselves to make them not only relevant but interesting
to the audience whether a renter or purchaser. This film may be
classed as an "art-house" film and have immediate appeal to a smaller
audience, but the extras make it more enjoyable and these can lead
a wider audience to enjoy the film as well. I look forward to the
release of Florian's next film.
DVD Info + Special Features:
Pictures for Anna / Region 0 PAL - 4:3 Aspect Ratio / Stereo - Retail
Only - Making of Woodenhead documentary - Horoscopes with Lutz -
"Liebestraume" Short Film - Trip to Thailand with Killer Ray - Original
Demo Songs by Marc Chesterman - Sound Recordings - Circus acts -
Trailer - Music video for "Hospice for Destitute Lovers" by Steve
Abel - Stills and artwork by Teresa Peters - Director's commentary.
To find out
about purchasing Woodenhead on DVD, visit www.woodenhead.co.nz or
online/in-store at Real Groovy for more information. 08.12.04 |
© John Spry / Lumière 2004
ON FILM
MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2004
NZ feature film Woodenhead, Florian Habicht's indie digi success,
was released on DVD on November 12 [2004]. A film fest fave-it's
screened at the New Zealand International Film Festivals, Melbourne
International Film Festival, Commonwealth Film Festival, Spain's
Sitges International Film Festival and the Cardiff Film Festival
in Wales -the DVD boasts a host of special features [or "sideshows",
as Habicht refers to them, in keeping with the film's circus theme].
They include a 'making of' featurette, Horoscopes with Lutz, Liebestraume
[an ealier short film from Habicht that inspired Woodenhead's innovative
approach], extra music and sounds, circus acts, the cinema trailer,
"Hospice for Destitute Lovers" music video, a director's commentary,
and "more beautiful Woodenhead artwork" by Teresa Peters. The DVD
is being distributed by Pictures For Anna and Next Technology; the
DVD package was funded by the NZFC.
In related news, Habicht's follow-up film, the doco Kaikohe Demolition,
opens November 25 [2004] at Auckland's Academy Cinema, while Habicht
has been accepted to study and develop a new script at the Maurits
Binger Institute in Amsterdam starting February 2005.
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