Norwegian Ninja (Review)
Wednesday, 27th April 2011, 10:46

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The Disc

Extra Features
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is no feature commentary but there is still a decent selection of other bonus features.

Deleted Scenes (7:24), three in total, which are probably still good enough to be included in the film so I imagine they were only removed for pacing reasons rather than quality and well worth a look.

Bonus Scenes are, as the title suggests, short bonus scenes which range from a (quite probably fake) commercial for action figures to a blooper reel (which begins with a clapperboard saying 'funny ****'), a short piece on the pyrotechnics and a featurette showing the wingsuits in action. They all have the same quirky humour and are a welcome addition to the disc.

There are six Featurettes on Fight Choreography (8:27), Interview (13:35), Kielland (4:47), Music Studio (6:49), Skycar (2:02) and Torpedo (3:58). These are all very different pieces and vary from the more serious and informative (Interview, Music Studio) to something more light-hearted (Skycar, Fight Choreography) and they are all very informative, interesting and funny. Like the film, they are in Norwegian with optional English subtitles.

B-Roll (3:16) is some nice behind the scenes footage so you really get a sense of how the film was made and it complements some of the other on set footage as you can see where the cameras are placed and the various tricks they used to create the great visuals.

You also have some TV spots, a music video, some teasers and the trailer. These are usually afterthoughts which are quite easy to dismiss but, in this case, they shouldn't be dismissed and are worth flicking through.

The Picture

This reminds me a little of The House of the Devil as it is a modern film designed to look several decades old and really does look dated thanks to the costumes, hairstyles and set design. Every element of Norwegian Ninja looks like it was shot in the early 1980s and the news footage adds to this as it gives a sense of authenticity even though it clearly parodies media hysteria by having the news anchors talking about throwing stars and a 'Rambo knife' which is excellent for slicing cucumber!

Not only does the film look like one from three decades ago, but it also looks like a low-budget film from three decades ago due to the model work, stop motion animation and the colour filters so some scenes have a red hue throughout whereas others, shot day for night, are green so they look as if they have been filmed with nightvision cameras.

As such, it would be churlish to pick faults in the picture quality, because any instances of poor special effects, unconvincing props or heavy graining are intentional!

The Sound

You have the choice of Dolby Digital 5.1 surround or 2.0 stereo – both Norwegian – and they are both very good and clear tracks that present the dialogue well. Because of the numerous action sequences, the 5.1 track fares better than the stereo option as the front and rear surrounds are used well, as is the subwoofer. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the stereo track and, if you don't have a 5.1 setup, this is more than adequate and won't spoil your enjoyment of the film.

There is a quite brilliant selection of music – not your typical score – by Gaute Tønder which reminds me a little with the music Wes Anderson used in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

The English subtitles are very well written and free from typographical or grammatical errors. I don't speak a word of Norwegian so can't vouch for their accuracy but I did find they made the film easy to follow which is really all you need.

Final Thoughts

I wouldn't say the word 'unique' is overused when it comes to describing films – 'great' certainly is – but Norwegian Ninja is certainly unlike any film I've seen recently and can recall in any detail. It has a wonderful blend of offbeat humour, historical fact and complete lunacy and is, as the director freely admits, a film born of seeing historical details from the perspective of a comic book nerd who watches plenty of sci-fi B-movies.

In its quirky humour, it is compatible to some of Wes Anderson's films only without the large budget and A-list stars. This is a film that is very easy to enjoy and the extra features are plentiful which, coupled with the very good AV quality, makes this a disc definitely worth checking out for anyone who likes their comedies a little more quirky.

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