Nick Cave has aged like a fine wine over the years, deepening his iconic status as both an unparalleled performer and songwriter. In the electrifying new film Mutiny In Heaven, Nick and his first band, The Birthday Party, offer an unfiltered, intimate, and immersive exploration of the influential post-punk group that catapulted him onto the global stage.
Narrated exclusively by the original band members, the film delves deep into a band’s psyche, chronicling how Cave and his school friends startled audiences with their confrontational performances, primal screams, outlaw gothic horror, and anarchic lifestyle. Featuring never-before-seen personal footage from band members, dynamic animation sequences, and jaw dropping concert clips, the film provides a sweaty, electrifying front-row seat to one of the most legendary live acts. Destined to be an instant documentary classic.
For thoughts on Mutiny in Heaven: The Birthday Party, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:
Video Quality
Mutiny in Heaven: The Birthday Party comes to Blu-Ray from ETR Media with a solid HD master which presents this documentary to the full extent of its limitations. This feature consists almost exclusively of archival clips, home movies and pictures to help round out the history of the band. All of this older footage seems to be derived from the most stable origins possible, some of which is understandably a bit grimy due to the consumer-grade technology of the time. While largely presented in black and white, the colors within some of the footage are deftly saturated. The encode does not feature anything in the way of compression artifacts or digital nuisances of the sort. While not all the footage benefits from a high definition presentation, this documentary still looks respectable with the format.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray disc comes with a great DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that translates all of the sonic information quite effectively. The story is told through near-constant narration from the band members with little real talking head elements outside of archival clips. Dialogue is the focus up front in the center channel as you get these anecdotes relayed in a stable environment. The non-diegetic music and clips of performances both come through with a pleasing fidelity that is as ferocious as you would want. The material is immersive when it needs to be with proper engagement of the surround channels. There were no unwanted digital anomalies or other issues. This track creates a pleasant listening experience. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.
Special Features
- Additional Interview Footage: There is a selection of additional unused footage that provides some really interesting reflections that could not fit neatly into the finished film.
- Chris Haskett (6:21)
- Christoph Dreher (9:26)
- Clinton Walker (8:42)
- David Yow (5:29)
- Henry Rollins (6:08)
- Mick Harvey (23:40)
- Oliver Schutz (5:43)
- Paul Goldman (13:54)
- Phill Calvert (24:44)
- Sonic Youth (12:42)
- Official Trailer (2:01)
- Photo Gallery: A collection of archival stills is provided.
Final Thoughts
Mutiny in Heaven: The Birthday Party is a pretty engaging look at a ferocious band and a music scene that is sure to enrapture the established fan base, yet it might struggle to bring in newcomers to the music. The film relies less on your traditional talking-head format in favor of letting the archival footage guide the journey with assistance from the band through narration and the occasional individual interview. The material will be of great value to those who long to dive deep into this band, but it is not exactly revolutionary in terms of trajectory. Still, it works very well for its intended audience, and it is well worth a spin if you have any degree of interest in it. ETR Media has released a Blu-Ray featuring a favorable A/V presentation and some valuable additional interviews. Recommended
Mutiny in Heaven: The Birthday Party is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: ETR Media & OCN Distribution have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
For major deals and money off on Amazon, make sure to use our affiliate link! If you are purchasing any of the latest and best in physical media at MovieZyng, you can support us using our affiliate link.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.