Why So Blu?

The Legend Of Longwood (DVD Review)

A beautiful new film out of Ireland, The Legend of Longwood, is coming from Shout! Factory, following its appearance at several film festivals in early 2015. An adventure for all ages, the release includes a fascinating behind-the-scenes featurette as a bonus feature.  Crumbling castles, mysterious riddles, frightening spirits, beautiful horses and a plucky, fearless heroine – director Lisa Mulcahy has lovingly burnished the most beloved coming-of-age elements in this “quest” film, set in the starkly beautiful landscapes of rural Ireland, set to music from Brave composer Patrick Neil Doyle.

Film 

The film stars Lucy Morton as Mickey Miller, a thoroughly modern 12-year-old American girl whose great love is horses. Not surprisingly, she has little enthusiasm for her mother’s plan to take Mickey and her little brother to start a new life in a run-down mill she has inherited in Longwood, a windswept Irish town at the end of the world. Mickey’s presence in Longwood coincides with the return of the Black Knight, a legendary ruler who found no peace after his baby daughter was taken from him, and whose appearances always mean that something evil is going to happen to the villagers. Mickey hears and sees things that others can’t, and forms an immediate bond with Silver, the proudest, haughtiest, most untamable horse in the stalls of a nearby castle. Realizing that she is directly linked to the story of the Black Knight, Mickey and her new friend Sean set out to redeem the knight so as to bring lasting peace to Longwood. But first she must save the lives of seven horses and thwart the evil plans of a greedy, ambitious woman – a mighty handful even for the bravest girl!

Oh those magical Irish folks.  I could be completely wrong, but I feel like there are a lot of kids movies that turn to the Irish lore and mythical beings.  This film begins with a family inheriting some property from a relative that’s in Ireland, giving them a fresh start and sense of adventure and away we go.  Of course our lead is the resilient child that wasn’t too keen on the move in the first place and doesn’t want to give it a chance.

Yes, this movie is pretty route with kid’s (Or family) movie plotlines and cliches.  The Legend Of Longwood brings forth such popular conflicts like saving an animal, mystical powers that only kids believe, a property battle because an uppity person wants to turn it into some corporate entity…you name it, we got it here.

Somehow, it sounds a lot worse on paper here.  The film actually works decently enough to be mildly entertaining.  I’m not the target demo for it, clearly, but its competently made with some stronger performers.  The film is also easy on the eyes as the Irish countryside looks gorgeous captured here on the image.  I don’t know that I would strongly recommend families rush out and see this one, but if its an option, you’re not doing too bad.

Video 

Encoding: MPEG-2 NTSC

Resolution: 480i

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Clarity/Detail:  For a DVD, this looks pretty nice.  Detail is solid.  You can see some good stuff in static shots.  The image is a sharp as it could be for the medium.  Its a pretty full image that I think presents the Ireland look well.

Depth:  Decent.  There is some good distancing between character and background.  Movements appear fluid and with minimal blur.

Black Levels:  Blacks are deep and consistent.  Detail can tend to be hidden on hair, clothing and surfaces featuring the color.  Crushing present at times.

Color Reproduction:  Colors are nice and bold.  The enrich a lot of the scenes through clothes and environmental details.

Flesh Tones:  Flesh tones are slightly cool and consistent.  In static, closer shots, you can make out some solid detail on freckles, blemishes and wrinkles.

Noise/Artifacts:  Some standard DVD compression issues and noise.  The print itself is very clean.

Audio 

Audio Format(s): English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: N/A

Dynamics:  The audio here is pretty solid.  Its got a nice clean feel.  The film has moments, but doesn’t really demand a lot.  Horse neighing and clip clops sound really nice.  Each sound and the like sounds good and distinct.

Low Frequency Extension:  There are some good beats with the Knight that get enhanced.  Horses running around get some boost too.

Surround Sound Presentation:  Not much to talk about in terms of rear channels.  Just some ambiance or music.  The front speakers feature a good amount of back and forth.

Dialogue Reproduction:  Dialogue is loud, centered and clear.

Extras 

Behind The Scenes Featurette (SD, 13:23) – Interviews with the cast and crew as they talk their processes and working with one another.  Includes some behind the scenes footage.

Summary 

Well, this is a kid’s movie with a plot that the basic crux of it is something that you’ll sorta feel you’ve been there and done that with it.  However, its actually told decently.  There are some pretty entertaining points and I think kids that haven’t seen a bajillion movies in their lifetime aren’t going to care about the also-ran plot.  For a DVD this features a pretty strong performance in the technical field.  There’s a nice little promo-friendly making of that works good enough for those wanting some more.  If you have kids and you’re looking for something not super fantastical and somewhat “original”, this is a decent pickup.