DVD REVIEW:
Reviewed By Daryl Crimp
Editor - THE FISHING PAPER
The partnership of Steve and Clyde Graf could be New Zealand's answer to the Coen Brothers. While not in the same league as the American filmmakers, their latest collaboration, ROARIN IN REDS, is perhaps the True Grit of Kiwi hunting DVDs to date. It heralds their coming of age as videographers and possibly marks the transition to a more confident and professional level of filmmaking.
The Graf Boys cut their teeth on hunting videos, but gained international recognition and a couple of awards for their anti 1080 documentaries A Shadow of doubt and Poisoning Paradise. ROARIN IN REDS is number eight in their film stable and this return to their core trade is a wee pearler.
For hunters who have experienced the thrill of hunting roaring red deer in New Zealand’s forests, ROARIN IN REDS is like reliving the magic again and again. Filmed largely on public land in Fiordland not far from the beaten track, the film really highlights the abundant hunting opportunities within easy grasp of the average Kiwi hunter.
The Graf Boys literally take you along for the hunt, albeit a virtual one, and the production values are that good, you’ll find yourself straining on the edge of the seat and cricking your neck to see around a beech trunk, just to get a better gander at the antlers rattling their way toward you.
The structure and execution of this movie is superb, with great camera work, fine storytelling, good narration, splendid imagery and plenty of up-close action - lusty stags roared to within three metres. It is informative too, with the instruction cleverly woven into the storyline, giving it an intrinsic value. And there is spontaneous humour and enough genuine excitement as to be infectious, while giving the film a very personal quality.
I loved it, but I knew The Graf Boys had produced a winner the moment Annette stopped dinner duties and plonked herself on the couch, not to budge until the credits rolled. The Mafia has no real interest in hunting and always thought I was taking the piss whenever I strutted around the house in my undies making roaring noises, but she giggled and oohed and ahhed her way through ROARIN IN REDS as though it were a chick flick. When the Australian from Dutch/Italian extraction reacts like that to a man movie - it's a good-un!
If you are to add anything to your hunting library this year, I definitely recommend ROARIN IN REDS. It’s available from most good sporting retail stores or for more information check out www.thegrafboys.org
