Incident at Loch Ness (2004)
1.78:1 (16x9 Enhanced)
Dolby Digital 5.1
Fox Home Entertainment, $27.98

In June 2003, when cinematographer/director John Bailey, ASC began shooting his documentary Herzog in Wonderland, he set out to give the audience an intimate portrait of legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog. But what he ended up with a year later was a controversial piece steeped in rumor and bitter litigation. Herzog, living comfortably in Los Angeles, is seen in Bailey’s film as a pensive, friendly artist who, among other activities, hosts a dinner party for his Hollywood friends, who including Jeff Goldblum and Crispin Glover and screenwriter Zak Penn. Bailey’s eye for intimate conversation sets the stage for Herzog to explain his current project, The Enigma of Loch Ness. Herzog explains his feelings about the absurdity and necessity of believing in the unknown, and the world’s obsession with the mythological Loch Ness monster, “Nessie,” a creature rumored to be descended from dinosaurs and dwelling in Scotland. He decides to form a partnership with Penn to create a documentary on the subject, and they soon enlist cinematographer Gabriel Beristain, ASC, BSC to shoot their film. Bailey and his crew follow the team to Scotland to document their work.

While The Enigma of Loch Ness is on location is Scotland, tempers begin to flare. Penn is keen to embellish the project with fake “Nessie” heads and a sonar “expert” who is actually a Playboy bunny, and this makes Herzog feel betrayed and undermined. Bailey’s camera captures the rising tensions, as well as a shocking appearance of the actual “monster.” After two crewmembers disappear into the water and the monster pulverizes the boat carrying the crew, Bailey’s camera becomes the only proof of this horrific and historic incident.

With Bailey’s cooperation, Penn pieced together footage from Wonderland and added interviews with surviving crew, including Herzog and Beristain, creating a sharp chronicle of the events that befell his and Herzog’s ill-fated project. The resultant film, Incident at Loch Ness, caused a stir at festivals last year and is now available on DVD.

Fox Home Entertainment’s DVD of Incident at Loch Ness nicely re-creates the look and texture of Bailey’s digital video-to-film canvas. While most of the exteriors are murky and pale because of Scotland’s climate, the picture transfer features stable, surprisingly vibrant colors with minimal chroma noise. There is rarely a trace of pixellation; this is one of the better home-video transfers of the MiniDV format. The excellent Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is vivid, offering exceptional depth and range on the surround tracks.

The disc’s supplements begin with an informative and often uncomfortable commentary track shared by Herzog and Penn, who marvel at and argue about the incidents they witnessed during their collaboration. The two-sided disc also offers an extensive array of deleted scenes, testimonials and “expert opinions” on the incident. The supplements are generous and shed a great deal of light on this startling documentary — that is, until you find the DVD’s hidden features.

These features include two “real” commentaries with cast and crew, as well as a hilarious, 22-minute making-of documentary that explains Penn’s elaborate, deliciously devised ruse. A fiction from start to finish, this multilayered comedy is alternately witty and clumsy, but its dry charm wins out in the end. Everyone involved in Incident at Loch Ness appears to enjoy sending himself up, with Penn scoring as a self-proclaimed “Hollywood asshole” and Herzog chewing scenery as the misunderstood “artiste.” Even Bailey, in an amusing outtake, hams it up about the horrors that have befallen the crew.

Offering an assortment of often outrageous hidden supplements that must be seen to be believed — including underwater footage of “Nessie” looking like a relic from the heyday of Ray Harryhausen epics — this superlative DVD of this entertaining mockumentary is extraordinary. It’s a well-produced effort that understands the film’s spirit and expertly frames it as a real documentary, while hiding the truth in “Easter eggs” buried amid the elaborate “supplements.” Though its dry comedy is not for all tastes, Incident at Loch Ness is one of the most ambitious high-concept comedies to come along in a while.

— Kenneth Sweeney