‘Tommy Guns’ Blu-Ray Review – Off-Kilter War Tale Weaves An Impactful Thematic Tapestry

Angolan-Portuguese director Carlos Conceição’s audacious and enigmatic Tommy Guns invokes the ghosts of Angola’s colonial past while embracing the symbolic power of genre filmmaking. The story begins in 1974, just one year before the country’s independence from decades of Portuguese rule. Wealthy colonists are fleeing the country as Angolan revolutionaries gradually claim their land back. A tribal girl discovers love and danger when her path crosses that of a Portuguese soldier. Another group of soldiers, completely cut off from the outside world, blindly follow the brutal orders of their commander in the name of serving their country. But nothing stays fixed in this genre-shifting cinematic puzzle, which playfully swerves from art house drama to war film to zombie flick to escape thriller with exhilarating control. Winner of Best European Film and the Youth Jury Award at the Locarno Film Festival, Tommy Guns has elicited comparisons to the work of Claire Denis, Miguel Gomes, and even M. Night Shyamalan, and announces a bold and exciting new voice in Portuguese and Angolan filmmaking.

For in-depth thoughts on Tommy Guns, please see my colleague Cody Allen’’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Tommy Guns comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is a beauty. This is a visually rich film with sumptuous shots of the natural world and various encampments throughout where you can see an incredible amount of detail. The film is not bursting with vivid colors in every frame since the tone of the narrative is not particularly bright, but there are memorable moments that really pop, especially in some of the lighting choices. 

The interiors are typically a more dour and dark environment that presents with a slightly warm tone that the presentation represents perfectly with a pleasing richness. The highlights are handled beautifully, along with the pleasantly deep blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts. The skin tones look very detailed and natural all around with subtle blemishes easily distinguishable. This presentation knocks it out of the park. 

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a robust DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track in the original Portuguese that works incredibly well to showcase this world. Dialogue comes through clearly without ever being overpowered by the sound effects or the score. The sound design is carefully constructed with all of the sounds positioned just right in the mix. The environmental effects create a more three-dimensional space that allows it to feel more alive.

Throughout this journey, you are provided with a soundscape that completely encapsulates you from every direction. Action is fleeting at best, but activity in the low end radiates through you when the situation calls for it. The film has a musicality to it which is recreated in really impressive ways that fill the room. Kino Lorber has done a nice job with the sound for this one. There are optional English and English SDH subtitles provided. 

Special Features

• Audio Commentary: Director Carlos Conceição provides a really solid commentary track in which he delves into the thematic inspiration for the film, settling on a narrative structure, the political history of his country, working with the performers and more. Really glad to have such insights included on the release. 

• Deleted Scenes: Eight unused scenes totaling nearly 15 minutes are provided here featuring an array of interesting material that fans of the film will want to check out.  

• Trailer: The two-minute trailer for the film is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Tommy Guns is a very rewarding journey which keeps you a bit off-kilter, but ultimately delivers something that is very impactful. The film weaves a thematic tapestry which explores themes of colonialism and trauma that resonate beyond the history from which it stems. Director Carlos Conceição is very adept at bringing his vision to life in a manner that is never less than compelling. Kino Lorber has provided a Blu-Ray featuring a terrific A/V presentation and a couple of cool special features. If you are a fan of world cinema, don’t miss this one. Recommended

Tommy Guns will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital on June 13, 2023.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Lorber has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.