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Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 26 Mar 2019, 22:02
by Jox
Blu-ray Review
https://thatshelf.com/the-minion-blu-ray-review/
The Disc

The disc now in stores from our friends at Kino Lorber is pretty bare bones, but with a fresh 2K transfer in a crisp DTS-HD 2.0 audio track it all looks better than it really should as we see the obvious visual influences that it borrows from with films like Subway & La Femme Nikita. The special features are pretty minimal but there is a feature length commentary track from director Jean-Marc Piche which ends up being complementary of his experience while making it, but also pretty dry. There are also trailers for The Minion and films like Avenging Force, An Eye for An Eye, Revenge of the Ninja, Steele Justice and Assassination.

Final Shot

Unless you have a family member who worked on The Minion there’s no reason for this to be remotely shelf-worthy but it’s good looking film that actually highlights how far our nation’s film industry has come in the 21 years since its release.




we see the obvious visual influences that it borrows from with films like Subway & La Femme Nikita

While I wouldn't necessarily say THE MINION really is influenced by those Luc Besson films (from his best era), it's interesting to note that director Jean-Marc Piché told me what he wanted to try with the rock/guitar-heavy score was to go in the direction of Besson's composer Eric Serra and ROMEO IS BLEEDING's music by Mark Isham.

THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 28 Mar 2019, 23:32
by savagesketch
Latest episode of the podcast has arrived, this time chatting 1998's THE MINION! Joining me for this episode is the forum's very own Tom Jolliffe!

https://imustbreakthispodcast.wordpress ... he-minion/

Please feel free to rate and review the show on iTunes, Stitcher, or your podcast app of choice!

Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 29 Mar 2019, 13:37
by Jox
Just some additional infos on a couple of details you mentioned :wink:

- FALLEN KNIGHT was not the original title, it was always THE MINION during and before production since first announced at Cannes 1996. A small indie company back then, Lionsgate picked up the Canadian rights and released it there with this new title of FALLEN KNIGHT...

- Regarding Touchstone/Disney's release in the US, the film had been pre-sold by the same sales/co-producing company (Conquistador Entertainment) as SILENT TRIGGER in the same year (1996), and I bet it was a package-deal, which may have included THE SHOOTER / HIDDEN ASSASSIN as well (since also licensed/co-produced by Conquistador and released States-side by a Disney-owned label, Dimension/Miramax of course)

- The budget was around a mere $3 million or less Piché told me with sadness.
By that time, THE MINION was the first big drop budget-wise following the $10 million THE PEACEKEEPER and SILENT TRIGGER right before that. Only $10-12 million SWEEPERS and $7-8 million BLACKJACK would go up again before the titles got stuck in the $2-6 million max range...

Funny timing, I received the Blu-ray yesterday and also listened to Piché's audio commentary which was good though not surprisingly less candid than our 2010 interview, in which he opened up to me a bit more about the politics and challenges he faced making the film (which he got hired for only days before shooting start date)...

I haven't watched the whole film yet but of course in proper 1.85 aspect ratio and 2K-remastered with a natural 35mm grain and colors, it looks great compared to the shiny TV-looking 4/3 VHS and DVD releases!

Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 20 Oct 2019, 17:20
by Jox
Russian VHS

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Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 20 May 2020, 16:09
by bomaz
I just discovered (maybe because I didn't pay too much attention before) that the composer of The Minion also composed a movie of the late Jean-Claude Lauzon, "un zoo la nuit" (a zoo at night), the director of the great Leolo. This "zoo" is on my "to watch list" of the week, that's how I found out :wink:
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Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 20 May 2020, 17:25
by Jox
The title sounds somewhat familiar but I can't say I know much about it or Canadian director Jean-Claude Lauzon.

Composer Jean Corriveau had won a Genie Award for it though, and maybe that's how Piché thought of him to tackle THE MINION?

Corriveau was mostly active in film scoring in the 80's and '90s apparently.

Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 04 Aug 2020, 19:31
by savagesketch
Special interview treat for you all! Jean-Marc Piche, The director of THE MINION dropped by the show to tell me about his experiences on set of this little film! Enjoy!

https://imustbreakthispodcast.wordpress ... he-minion/

As always, please feel free to rate and review the show on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever else you go to subscribe!

Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 05 Aug 2020, 10:48
by Jox
Nice interview, similar to the one I had with him about 10 years ago. Back then some directors were really hard to track down so I was very proud to get Jean-Marc Piché and the likes.

Funny how memories differ though, here he talks about $8 million budget, back then he said "less than $4 million -- it could also be the difference between below the line and total cost).

P.S.: By the time THE MINION was shot I don't even think END OF DAYS was announced or that Arnold was attached yet (EOD was filmed one year later)...

Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 05 Apr 2021, 22:17
by Jox
The Blu-ray is on sale at $6.49 on Kino Lorber's site
https://www.kinolorber.com/product/the-minion-blu-ray

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Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 24 May 2021, 09:33
by Jox
The Gratuitous B-Movie Column Issue #591: The Minion
https://411mania.com/movies/the-gratuit ... he-minion/

Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 10 Oct 2021, 18:36
by Jox
Jox wrote:The Blu-ray is on sale at $6.49 on Kino Lorber's site
https://www.kinolorber.com/product/the-minion-blu-ray

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Now $5.99 (US/Canada residents only)

Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 15 Nov 2021, 18:49
by Jox
I finally got confirmation from Italian director Michele Soavi himself that he was indeed initially signed to helm THE MINION and had started preproduction for two months before he left the project.

Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 19 Nov 2021, 21:42
by Jox
Rare VHS edition from Quebec with the re-title GUERRIER DES TENEBRES ("Warrior of Darkness")

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Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 27 Nov 2021, 14:02
by Jox
I read that actor Roc Lafortune plays Aline/Celine Dion's father in Valérie Lemercier's unofficial Céline Dion biopic ALINE.

(Lafortune also had a small part in THE PEACEKEEPER.)

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Re: THE MINION (Jean-Marc Piché, 1998)

PostPosted: 06 Feb 2022, 12:46
by lhz
Unfortunately, as the good folks from Kino Lorber didn't provide shipping outside USA/Canada through their website, the Minion Blu ray is hard to find at a decent price regarding the explosion of taxes and fees for a worldwide shipping nowadays.

So if I may, I drop a link here where the price of the product itself is a good deal and would allow people like me (living in EU) to get it without ruining yourself with shipping/tax/boarding fees included.

4 pieces are in stock :

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/284486539030