Snatch: Superbit Edition

Writing in VL Online-7/01, Rob Blackwelder said: "A fast-paced, multi-track, plan-gone-awry crime caper comedy with a nebulous English sense of humor, this underworld corker from writer-director Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) follows a dozen characters through interweaving crosses and double-crosses that all converge in the aftermath of a diamond heist with the illicit world of unlicensed boxing. Annoyingly similar but far superior to his earlier film, Snatch is stylish, imaginative, kinetic, droll and original even as it borrows heavily from the likes of Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting and The Usual Suspects. The entertaining ensemble cast of ruffians features Jason Statham as a hapless boxing promoter, Benicio Del Toro as a gambling-addicted diamond courier, and Brad Pitt, who aces an off-kilter supporting role as a scruffy Irish gypsy (and bellicose bare-knuckle boxer) with an utterly undecipherable accent." Sometimes more is less: case in point, Columbia's new Superbit edition of Snatch, which arrives a mere year and change after the original "special edition" release and offers a minimally noticeable improvement in video and audio qualities in the place of some important extras. Like the original, this double-disc set includes the entertaining 25-minute "Making Snatch" featurette, three storyboard comparisons, and six deleted scenes, but what's sorely missed from the original is director Ritchie and producer Matthew Vaughn's fine commentary track. If you already own last year's "special edition," there's little reason to add this one. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Dec. 8, 2009—Sony, 103 min., R, $28.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2000's Snatch sports a great transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras are nearly identical to the previous DVD release, including audio commentary by director Guy Ritchie and producer Matthew Vaughn, a “making-of” featurette (25 min.), deleted scenes (9 min.), a photo montage (5 min.), three storyboard comparisons, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray version are the “movieIQ” and “The Snatch Cutting Room” BD-Live functions. Bottom line: an impressive Blu-ray debut for one of Guy Ritchie's more entertaining caper flicks.]