Has it really been a nearly decade since this non-stop Irish Catholic cinematic mayhem exploded? The Boondock Saints quickly grew legendary as Harvey Weinstein rolled out Miramaxs red carpet for writer-director Troy Duffy. Harvey wanted this film bad. Unfortunately things went bad between the Indie mogul and the next hot indie darling. The documentary Overnight covers this ground. The film was made by a different indie studio that didnt have the clout of Miramax. Instead of being the next Pulp Fiction or El Mariachi, Saints received a small theatrical distribution and promptly died at the box office. When it finally reached DVD, Saints gained its cult status. Now it has arrived on Blu-ray to give more detail to its over the top action.
Russian mobsters make the mistake of buying an Irish pub and evict the bartender on St. Patricks day. This comes under the subject of really stupid things to do in Boston. Connor McManus (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy McManus (Norman Reedus) refuse to have their drinking interrupted. They bring a new meaning to happy hour to the new owners. The next day the bodies of the Russians are found in an alley. How did it happen? Its up to Boston police detective Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe) to divine the crime scene. He goes into trances to give us a view of the carnage. It wasnt a pretty ending when the brothers went to the extreme.
The McManus brothers feel their cause against the Russian mobsters is a divine order. They are like two warped altar boys with automatic weapons on a bloody crusade. The neighbors see them as heroes as the bodies pile up. They even bring along their buddy David Della Roc (David Della Rocco) to give their prayerful plunder a trinity effect. Its not long before theyre making daring raids into poisonous death traps. They are fearless on this mission from God. The Russians bring in the one man who has a chance against them. This leads to an explaination of why the McManus brothers are so deadly.
The Boondock Saints is completely over the top. The violence isnt for the squeamish. The language isnt for the prudish. The acting isnt for the reserved. There is nothing subdued here. This is a take-no-prisoners criminal thriller. Reedus and Flanery are addictive as the brothers. Theres a kinship between them that makes their actions almost believable. The glimmer in their eyes lets us know they wont back down no matter how dumb it seems. Why David Della Rocco hasnt popped up on every version of CSI is a crime. Dafoe pulls the piece together by playing the only cop who can match the mayhem without drawing his gun. He slips into a crime scene vision and joins the brothers in unloading rounds into the Russians. Ron Jeremy offers one of his best death performances.
The Extended Directors Cut of the film has nearly the same running time as the R-Rated version on the Blu-ray disc. The difference is in a few of the shootouts, theyve swapped angles on the action. Were given a much more violence in the substituted shots. If given a choice, go for the directors cut on this. The Boondock Saints is all about the excessive so why refrain?
The high definition video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer averages about 40 mbps. The 1080p image is really sharp. You get to see more of the gleam in Dafoes eyes as he taps into the crime scene. The audio is 5.1 DTS-HD Master. This sounds much more commanding than the old DVD release. You will make the neighbors jump when the bullets fly across the screen. The subtitles are in English and Spanish.
Audio Commentary from Troy Duffy has him in a calm mood. He points himself out in the bar crowd scene. He discusses how the movie became an intense experience as they had barely 32 days to capture all the action.

Audio Commentary with Billy Connolly is rather strange since he really doesnt pop up until the end of the film. He tells us odd stories about getting involved in the film. This was a troubled production with various behind the scenes weirdness. Connolly hints at this stuff, but he focuses on what the work meant to him.
Deleted Scenes has 7 moments that were trimmed from the film. A majority of this stuff would hold back the plot momentum. We do get five minutes of Jimmy Tingle as the priest in the crowded confessional. Also a lot of buttshots from the boys. This is taken from medium resolution one light video transfers.
Outtakes (1.32) show Dafoe and the cast cracking each other up on the set. They also attempt to have the actors repeat their lines so theyre TV safe. Wyatt Earp is the new Frickin. This has the same quality as the Deleted Scenes.


The Boondock Saints Script presents the pages so you can flip through them with the remote. You really need a big TV set to read it. They should have cut the pages in half before putting them on the screen. Why does everyone expect your HiDef TV to be 70 inches high?
Theatrical Trailer (2:05) appears to be the original trailer put together for inclusion on Foxs home video promotions.
The Boondock Saints is a righteous out of control bloody comedy. The film pushes the violence to the level that looks fabulous on an HighDef TV. The Blu-ray fully exposes the mayhem. This is a film that owes its reputation to DVD and Blu-ray will only enhance its cult audience.
………………………………………
20th Century Home Video presents The Boondock Saints. Directed by Troy Duffy. Starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Willem Dafoe & Billy Connolly. Written by Troy Duffy. Running time: 108 minutes. Rated R. Released on DVD: February 10, 2009. Available at Amazon.
