Year One is a strange mix of accurate costuming and props and Biblical events with no concern for timeline. In the special features, we learn that great care was taken to keep the costumes and props appropriate for setting, whether it be the caveman tribe, with animal hides for clothes and a lack of metal items in-frame, or the appearance of the homes of Adam (Harold Ramis) or Abraham. Little is known about the appearance of Sodom, so it was modeled as an amalgamation of other walled cities of the same time and region.
Jack Black is hysterical as the free-thinking and rebellious Zed who constantly questions authority of the gods/God and wonders what life is all about, what man's true purpose is and what it would be like to see through women's clothing (without them knowing, of course). Michael Cera's Oh is the perfect counterpart to Jack Black's Zed; Oh is the smart-but-silent sort, doing his part to advance civilization by "making things" as he puts it. While Zed challenges the gods/God's authority in a very, "Hey, I'm going to Hell... you want anything?" sort of way, Oh begins to wonder if there is any higher power out there at all. Zed tells him that he'll believe in God once he's had sex. Truer words were never spoken.
Ah, but who to have sex with? He finds that there are lots of willing women in Sodom, but Oh is deeply infatuated with (and is saving himself for) Eema (Juno Temple), a short, blonde girl from his tribe... who also happens to be Zed's sister. This is not a problem for Zed, mind you, as he isn't interested in her... especially after how weird things got when he slept with his mother. Zed is interested in Maya (June Diane Raphael), a tall brunette gatherer from his tribe. Unfortunately, Marlak (Matthew Willig) is also vying for her affections, and he's the best hunter in the village. So, while working through his "plan" to save Maya and his friends (who were sold into slavery by the scheming Cain), he also keeps an eye out for any hot girls who might be in need of a man's affections. Unsurprisingly, however, he finds no takers, so it seems that Zed ends up saving himself for Maya, in spite of himself. (Well, if you don't count that thing with his mom.) There was that one girl, Lilith, who he totally thought he was going to score with. He didn't, and she simply gave up trying to explain that she was a lesbian.
Year One is funny, if you aren't easily offended by movies that make light of religion... and if you like farts. In all seriousness, Jack Black is running a risk here of becoming his character from The Fatties (the fake movie mentioned inside of Tropic Thunder). Not only were there fart jokes and stool-sampling in the movie, but Jack Black was even gassy in several of the outtakes.
The video quality in the Blu-ray version is amazing, with a lot more detail than the DVD release. Which is, in general, good for everyone. Except June Diane Raphael. She looks fine in the DVD version, but with the higher detail of the Blu-ray version, I noticed that (at least in the cavemen scenes) she has a mottled complexion and a small scar on her right cheek. If you are friend or family to June, you should probably pick up the DVD, to be polite. Everyone else should get the Blu-ray.
Besides the upgrade in visual quality, there are some neat features in the Blu-ray version, including some BD-Live features. Cinema fans who really like filmographies, actor biographies and filmmaking trivia will be happy to see the movieIQ feature, which gives you access to contextual information about current scene. You can get information about the actors in the scene, the musical score, trivia about the current scene and much, much more through an interactive pop-up type console. I'm not really a trivia buff, myself, but even I found some of the information very interesting.
Another interesting, albeit somewhat clunky, feature is the Year One Cutting Room, which allows you to select, trim, sequence and playback movie clips, musical scores and sound effects to create your own, one-of-a-kind music videos, which you can then share with others online.
I love special features. I can spend time rummaging through concept art or watching storyboards, making-of featurettes or outtakes. Something I don't completely understand, however, is separate short works that are neither used in the film nor were they ever intended to be in the film. My first experience with this (to my recollection) were the employee training videos and advertisements for the amusement park in Adventureland. They were amusing, and starred the cast in their parts from the film, but I simply didn't know why they were filmed in the first place, unless it was merely to be a special feature. To me, this seems superfluous. The second time I experienced this sort of thing was with Year One. Specifically, the Sodom's Got 'em featurette seemed pointless and simply silly. It appears to be a television advertisement aimed at convincing people to come sign up to be a slave in Sodom. Nevermind that they didn't have televisions back then. And, no, I don't think I misread the point here, since they have certain parts with 80's-styled text overs. It actually looked very much like a response to the Adventureland features. And, yes, I know that doesn't make any sense. With this being directed by Harold Ramis, I also am reminded of the campy used-car lot styled advertisement from Ghostbusters, which did show up as a special feature on the recent Blu-ray release of Ghostbusters. The difference, of course, is that this ad actually was shown in the movie... and, even if it hadn't been... they had televisions in the time that the movie was supposed to be taking place. Sodom's Got 'Em... I just don't get it. Another feature, Leeroy Jenkins: The Gates of Sodom is a funny short, with some of the characters from the movie. It's also a bit pointless, but at least it stayed in period.
If you're looking for high-brow humor or historical documentary, keep right on looking. If, however, you're looking to laugh at humanity in a sacrelicious comedy, Year One awaits.
