THE STRAIGHT DOPE:
When Romper Stomper was released in 1992 there was a lot of talk about how brutal it was. In the meantime it has been trumped by the horrendous American History X as well as such popular epics as Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart, but still it packs a punch. Don't get me wrong, Romper Stomper is not a great movie. It is probably most notable for introducing the world to Russell Crowe (who fans can probably thank for the lavish treatment Fox has heaped on its DVD release) and, at barely 90 minutes, it's tough to justify the 2 disc set. But it still has merits.

Romper Stomper begins as a docudrama about Australian skinheads and their horrific exploits. In the first half-hour there are two powerful, disturbing sequences where the gang of skinheads led by Hando, played by Crowe, brutally attack Asian immigrants. The second sequence results in a very long chase and battle between the skinheads and a gang of angry Asians eager to avenge their friends and relatives. Throughout these fights, however, Romper Stomper increasingly emphasizes the building relationship between Hando and Gabrielle, played by Jacqueline McKenzie, a young runaway with a somewhat mysterious past. Hando is brusque with Gabe and, as she is introduced to the skinhead lifestyle, treats her with less and less affection. Hando's best friend Davey, played by Daniel Pollock (who apparently committed suicide soon after wrapping the film), however, does develop feelings for Gabe and becomes torn between the two. While the film starts out a skinhead drama, by the end the focus is solely on the three leads and the split between them. The film provides only the slightest direction and character background. It's up to the actors to fill in the details and they do fine work. This is a film that doesn't hit you over the head with the characterizations and that pays off. As for the film, it leans a little more towards the Mean Streets model with its tight focus on a small group of friends (Gabe even suffers from epilepsy just like Mean Streets' Teresa), than American History X and, frankly, that's a good thing.

VIDEO:
The picture looks fine. The film was shot on super-16 to keep costs down and no one will mistake it for Gladiator. There is a fair amount of dust and speckles on the print used, but overall it looks good. A restoration demo shows improvement over the original video release master, but still this ain't no reference disk.

AUDIO:
Two soundtracks are available: DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1. Good use is made of surrounds, but the audio mix is obviously not too terribly sophisticated. There is some subtle work and much of the film is dialog driven (well, with a lot of yelling and cursing). John Clifford White's scored is very good, using unusual sounds and a collection of original skinhead style punk songs. The point is made easily: fast, exciting punk cuts laced with blatantly racist lyrics can be a useful tool in bringing a new ideology to impressionable youths. It's much easier than getting them to read "Mein Kampf."

EXTRAS:
Fox has pulled out all the stops, presumably to cash in on Crowe's later successes, like his amazing performance in The Insider and the massive popularity of Gladiator, which is mentioned not once but twice on the back of the box. While I believe that all the material could have fit on one disc Fox has included two. The first only adds a commentary track from director Geofrey Wright to the film. The commentary, which is one of the most poorly recorded commentaries I've ever heard, shines some light on the production process and the road the film took, as well as on the background of skinheads in Australia. It's not one of the most engaging commentaries and there are gaps where Wright just describes the action on the screen, but it's interesting.

The second disc has a series of extras whose value is up for debate. Interviews with the director and main cast members conducted in 1992 are mostly standard publicity (it's funny to see Crowe groomed so differently from his Romper character though) and over a half-hour of talking-head interviews with Wright taken more recently are really best saved for his biggest fans and his immediate family. The shame is that this last section is billed on the box as a documentary but in actuality it is just Wright talking. He even alludes to over fifty hours of interviews he conducted with real and former skinheads during his research, but none of that footage is included.

A trailer, restoration demo, a photo gallery, and some print reviews round out the set. I'm not sure that this really needed its own disc, but the retail price, at $26.98, doesn't seem too inflated. Still, switching discs for these extras doesn't seem worth the effort.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
While Romper Stomper is not a bad movie, it doesn't feel fully formed. The actors are strong and the director seems to be working on creating something, but perhaps was limited by a short running time. The treatment on DVD is deceiving. While the list of extras is long it is misleading (in regards to the nonexistent documentaries) and not as rewarding as you'd think. Still, for many, the opportunity to see Crowe in an early, powerful performance will be reason enough to get this disc.