Review of Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer

Introduction

Many notorious films have been re-released in the last few months with previously cut scenes restored under the BBFC`s new found (and very welcome) regime. On the plus side we`ve seen some of Bruce Lee`s work in it`s original form for the first time, on the downside is the steady flow of low budget dross.

The box for Henry proudly states that this new DVD version is the most complete version released so far in the UK - it is however still cut. The accompanying booklet details the history of the movie`s relationship with the censors. The cinematic release saw one 38 second scene of a dead woman with a broken bottle sticking out of her face and neck cut and the filmmakers were told that the film would never receive a video certificate in the UK.

The filmmakers didn`t give up and in order to get a video certificate, numerous cuts were made throughout the movie, with the infamous "camcorder" scene suffering over one minute of cuts as well as having the order of the scene changed to limit the masturbation opportunities for perverts! If you`ve seen the old video release, there were 1 minute and 53 seconds removed in total.

Now, "Henry" has been put back in front of the censors and this time we still lose the 38 seconds cut from the cinematic release, plus 10 seconds from the infamous "camcorder" scene, but the order of the scene has been restored and all the other cuts have been waived. In total, this DVD version is cut by 48 seconds from the US cinematic release.

Video

Forgive me if I sound cynical, but all too many "cult" or "notorious" movies have been released on DVD (and video) with the distributors knowing all too well that the public will by the film on the strength of its reputation - therefore no attempt whatsoever is made to clean up the video and sound or provide any worthwhile extras.

Unsurprisingly then, "Henry" suffers from grainy, poor quality, low-resolution video, presented in 4:3 full-frame which is generally unsatisfactory and at worst awful.

Some scenes, notably those inside Otis` flat suffer from so much grain that there is a "static sheen" over the image at times, others have dirt on the print and there is on occasion a thin vertical black line running from the top to the bottom of the screen.

Audio

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital Surround, but to be honest I couldn`t identify much in the way of channel separation or use of the surround channel.

The sound is most definitely low-fi and not particularly impressive, with a lack of dynamic range and limited clarity. There is some music at times, but the suspense isn`t helped by the poor quality of the sound.

For the most part dialogue is clear and understandable

Features

The only extra is a twenty-minute interview with the director, easy selectable from the static menu.

The disc is packaged in a black Amaray case containing an eight-page booklet, which details the cuts and edits made to the various different versions of the film.

Conclusion

"Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" is, like so many other "notorious" or "banned" movies, a big disappointment, and in the case of this DVD a big waste of money too.

There are basically three murder scenes in the film that are responsible for the reputation, the "camcorder" scene, the "television man" scene and the final scene in the flat. These scenes are gruesome at times, but to be honest not as bad as you might expect given the notoriety of the film. The "camcorder" scene was problematic for the censors because of the sexual abuse of a dead woman and would be regarded as unpleasant by many viewers. Between these murders is a bleak look at the life of Henry, Otis and Becky, and at times it is more painful to watch than the murders - this really isn`t a good film in my opinion, and how it has gained critical acclaim from some quarters is beyond me.

This DVD is a lesson in how not to present a film - the picture and sound are well below par, and Universal should be ashamed of themselves for releasing such a low standard of product on the back of its reputation.

Perhaps if I`d seen a DVD with good quality video and sound I would have had a higher opinion of Henry, however, I urge you not to buy this DVD - if you really want to see what the fuss was about, rent it out instead.