The Big Short [DVD] [2017]

I decided to get the recently-released DVD of the film 'The Big Short' as the subject matter and cast suggested it would be a decent watch, as well as provide an insight into a wide range of matters surrounding the lead-up to the global financial crisis - which essentially started in the USA in 2007.[This whole matter is obviously VERY significant, but due to it's very nature, VERY involved so it's difficult to try and summarise the main plot without mentioning so many other aspects - hence my rather lengthy review title !!!]I enjoyed watching this film and, despite the subject-matter having a foundation in greed/stupidity/downfall and it occasionally being a little difficult to follow 'events' (I refer you again to how complicated this whole subject area is, so this was likely to happen !!!), think it does a pretty good job of 'explaining' a major aspect of the crisis which has largely been 'unexplored' - despite the film being based on a pre-existing non-fiction book (with the same title).As this is essentially an 'office space' drama, with lots of dialogue and little action I think watching it on DVD was perfectly adequate - especially as it's also a modern release and the Blu-ray costs quite a bit more !BUT, do note that the DVD extras are MUCH fewer than the Blu-ray....----Now I've already explained quite a bit about the overall 'story', it's a good time to repeat the well-described Amazon synopsis for the film plot : "The film follows eccentric financial analyst Michael Burry as he uncovers an impending crash in the housing market and puts together a plan to profit from it. As Burry's predictions are spread by those who believe he is mad, a small number of people, including Jarred Bennett, Ben Rickert and Mark Baum, get on board with his idea in the hope of saving their assets."The book this film is based on was written by Michael Lewis, who also wrote a book called 'Moneyball' which also made it to the silver screen and who's subject-matter is similarly convoluted (the statistical analysis of Major League Baseball player performance), but still able to 'entertain'.The links do not stop there, as several of the cast from 'Moneyball' are also in 'The Big Short', with Brad Pitt being the most notable despite him having quite a small part in this later production - I think he gets 'inflated' billing due to his fame but also because this time he helps produce the film.....Other artificialities exist since, for example, Marisa Tomei and Melissa Leo are billed as cast 'stars' yet appear for barely a few minutes and (most significantly), whilst the Michael Burry character is the MAJOR driver for the plot and the most important personality, Christian Bale who plays him is on screen for not much longer than those other examples !Fortunately, what for me was the most prominent character (Mark Baum) is played by someone who puts in a stonking performance and most of us already know/like = Steve Carell. The next most featured actors are the 'team' of John Magaro and Finn Wittrock, with the better-known Ryan Gosling trailing them....Other personalities make cameo appearances courtesy of that 'unusually presented' aspect mentioned in my review title, as cutaways to them appearing as themselves occur early on to provide various explanations for pertinent financial terms/practices which relate to the story....----So, we have the plot and background, know the main characters and how some technical explanations are provided.What the film does is to tell the story of that plot, with those mentioned 'devices', by covering how a number of unconnected hedge-fund managers and low-level financial 'investors' dealt with the predictions of looming financial disaster to profit from it in the lead-up to the meltdown, and it's aftermath.Confused ? You probably will be !BUT, if you rely on the film presentation and dominance of Steve Carell to lead you through it all you should end up both enlightened BUT also entertained; with a final realisation of sadness, as so many people ended up on the wrong end of the crisis - excepting many were the instigators of their own demise through factors such as greed or stupidity....Much is obviously sad/bad, but humour does exist due to the snappy way things are presented/structured (eg those cutaways plus a zippy musical soundtrack) and of course the comedic personality of Carell - despite the actions of his character being really quite serious/ruthless.The production values are quite basic as much is office-based (the film 'only' cost $28million to make) but the film presents itself very well nonetheless; it looks and sounds fine on DVD.However, the DVD extras fall short of the Blu-ray with only the "In the Tranches" casting featurette appearing - so nearly 50mins of extra featurettes and then some deleted scenes are absent....I've attached a photo of the DVD slipcover back as Amazon omits it.Despite this I think the DVD is all that is needed as it's the film that's the essential feature, so it being presented well in SD is good enough to provide us this portrayal of such an important period from or recent past, with a logical progression thought the related events and some notable acting performances.

The Big Short triggers a crisis of its own by treating its audience like children. Ladies and gentlemen, I bestow upon you the most frustrating film to ever exist in our plane of reality. You ready for more controversy? I don’t like The Big Short. It is a purposefully unconventional exercise in butchering a perfectly solid film through self-obsessed patronisation. A felicitous topic that ages more flavorous than a cheap bottle of Chambord with every passing year, yet presented in the most condescending manner available. Honestly, I’m feeling my veins on my forehead right now. Adam McKay, man. Not impressed. Depicting the financial crisis of ‘08, three concurrent narratives demonstrate the fraudulent behaviour of banking corporations and mortgage brokers that forced the inception of the “housing bubble”.But don’t let me bore you with this drivel, here’s grime legend Skepta to offer an explanation. Forget about that though. The real issue here is the packaging of subprime loans into collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) which are being rated at AAA level, guaranteeing the eventual collapse of Wall Street. Mean nothing to you? Don’t worry, here’s adult entertainer Farah Abraham to illustrate these technical terms as she’s getting ploughed by a man twice her age. How about the frightening issue of the Securities and Exchange Commission upholding no regulations for monitoring mortgage-backed security activity. Scary, but went straight over your head right? Say no more, here’s a frolicking emu to peck at the topic.Do you see the problem here? The financial crisis, and what banks are still selling today, is terrifying. Absolutely petrifying. Witnessing unemployment rates rocket whilst homes, families and actual lives are lost, disintegrating into an ever-increasing total fuelled by greed and sickening motives. It’s obscene. The system is broken, and the events that preceded the tipping point are the most important years of modern history. No exaggeration. I cannot begin to overstate how deftly consequential, and omnipotent, the financial industry is. However my problem, my absolute colossal issue, is that you rarely witness the horror in The Big Short. Rarely do you experience the abhorrent fraudulent cynicism of capitalism. Why? Well, because some tool named Adam McKay would rather subject the viewers to unconventional comedy in order to make light of the impending doom.No. I’m sorry, but no. Breaking the fourth wall to explain financial concepts in the most patronising lines of dialogue possible is literal butchery. Acquiring celebrity cameos to lavishly detail, and derail, terms by utilising analogies that a primary school teacher would fully lay out to the class is insulting. Etching diagrams onto the screen, in this case a testicle because apparently we have no idea what one looks like, to evoke a needless sense of comedy is futile. These are just deterrent distractions. Obstructing the harrowing events at the centre of McKay’s charades.The worst part, is that he actually does utilise the characters to explain financial jargon to each other. The Jenga construction of bond credit ratings, for example. Vennett describes the eventual collapse perfectly to the FrontPoint partners. Character to character. But of course, McKay treats us like babies and has Gosling break character only to stare into the camera and narrate our, no sorry, his thoughts and further clarify terms in case they weren’t simple enough. This is even without mentioning Corwin’s frenetic editing that never lets the situational horror simmer. Just constantly keeps ticking over every important emotional detail, retaining a distance from these characters. I yearn to feel Michael Burry’s anguish and pressure. I wish to become enveloped in Mark Baum’s disgust with American bureaucracy. The rare occasion, mostly Ben Rickert outlining the effects of the impending collapse and how innocent civilians will perish, upholds the true terror of the crisis. But it’s not enough to truly denote its greater impact on America.McKay focussed too much on the excessive meta-references, naturally considering his terrible filmography of comedies, that he diverted from the heart of the “Doomsday machine”. Glossy for the sake of being unconventional. It doesn’t sit right with me. At all. What’s more infuriating, is that the performances were all excellent. Bale, Carell, Gosling and even Pitt. Yet they were diluted by a purposefully satirical tone that danced around the crisis. Unforgivable. I understand why McKay took this approach. I acknowledge how many viewers can get onboard with the comedy. I get it. I just don’t agree with McKay’s execution in the slightest. And it’s only because I’m so passionate about the subject, that The Big Short really did fall short.