EatSleepLiveFilm’s top film of 2011 comes to DVD this coming Monday as Ryan Gosling stars in Nicolas Winding Refn’s modern classic Drive.

There’s not as great deal more to say about this film than has already been said on this site. Garnering a hell of a lot of love in our end of year list posted a couple of weeks back (which can be found here), Drive gained nearly double the amount of points of its nearest competitior (The Artist) to absolutely roar home at the top of the chart, and for me it’s not hard to see why.

Watching this film for the 3rd time for this review, it remained as much of a joy as it was first time round in the cinema back in September last year. The opening gives the audience some idea of what to expect, a rather dialogue free atmosphere filled with cool LA imagery and a sense of a style which feels reverential in its depiction of LA to the continuing work of Michael Mann, and yet wholly its own thing too with a pounding electro soundscape conjured by the film’s excellent soundtrack, a combination of cool as all hell electro and a throbbing, intense score by rising star Cliff Martinez. This opening also tells us that this isn’t quite going to be the all-action fest a film with the title Drive would likely usually be, this action sequence involving a hell of a lot of stopping and hiding and barely any moments of any kind of high speed pursuit. It’s a motif which remains throughout most of the film, though there is an thrilling car chase around half way through which is a marvel of the more subtle end of action direction.

As well as looking and sounding cool though, the film hits the mark in its acting with every single cast member pretty much nailing whatever is required of them. In an amazing year for his career, Ryan Gosling absolutely dominates with probably the least wordy role he’s ever had, instead relying on smouldering, but crucially not arrogant looks and behaviour. He’s a man of few words but this isn’t to try and entice people further, instead he just speaks when he needs to and otherwise suffers from an almost crippling shyness which renders his relationship with Carey Mulligan’s character all the more palpable, and also helps with the fact that really he’s a potential home-wrecker, his character very nearly forcing Mulligan’s Irene to make a potentially life-altering choice. Mulligan also certainly deserves mention with her BAFTA nominated turn also relying on few words, instead getting her views and attitude across through body language and looks. By the time she grips Gosling’s hand, you just want them to be together, but as it always is in these kinds of situations that’s far easier said than done. Albert Brooks has also been heavily buzzed about, and he may even go so far as to get a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars today as I write, something I think is well deserved and not just for that old chestnut of a comedic actor doing a straight role (the Robin Williams Effect if you will). No, here he is a looming threat throughout, even when he’s playing nice with Gosling. The man is obviously dangerous but for long portions of the film, he isn’t even the antagonist, it’s just a case of bad luck as he says, and he walks that balance well. Ron Perlman does the more obvious “heavy” stuff well and Bryan Cranston even gets moments of real moral ambiguity despite being in the “mentor” role and the way the film manages to flit between different aims and objectives for each character is incredibly deft. Add Christina Hendricks in a small but very memorable 10 minutes or so of screen time and you have an absolutely stellar cast nailing everything.

Nicolas Winding Refn has been showing promise for years now but in this first partnership with Ryan Gosling, he’s made the best film of his career and easily the best film of 2011.

The DVD, released through Icon Home Entertainment in the UK, benefits from a great transfer which for me is at the upper-end of DVD picture quality. It’s been a while since I have watched DVD regularly, instead opting to take in HD whenever possible and while this doesn’t quite have the sharpness and clarity offered by Blu, this is still a fine transfer which will do absolutely fine for anyone without Blu, with the vivid hot colours of the night and the steely colder look to the day coming across very well. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, offered as well as a Stereo 2.0, also does a perfectly decent job though I’d wager the Blu will have a bit more punch with bass feeling a little lacking, though surround activity is very strong throughout, with the electro soundtrack pulsing through all the channels.

Apparently Refn has already said that he is planning on releasing a Special Edition of Drive some time next year but for many, me included, you will just need it in your collection now and this disc does have a few extras to talk of. As well as a trailer and TV spot, you get a 40 minute long Q&A with Refn, filmed at the BFI, where he is interviewed by The Telegraph’s Robbie Collin, who gets Refn to really open up on a variety of topics, from looking at porn stars for roles, to how he feels about reconstructing the screenplay with the writer. Refn remains an affable personality throughout, starting off by justifying his infamous swearing on BBC Breakfast and taking a wider variety of questions from the audience with a real dedication which shows that he obviously has a huge respect for the people he’s making his films for. This is by a stretch the highlight of the extras, 40 minutes of constantly interesting stuff which really gives you an insight into the background of the film. Finishing off, we have a stills and poster gallery with various shots from the set and also examples of the many posters used for the films, some far different from others. While a Special Edition will be very welcome, it’s good to see at least this first edition isn’t barebones.

A truly fantastic film with decent video and audio (though I just know the Blu will up this even more) and an extras set which is saved by a brilliant conversation with the director, Drive on DVD is an essential purchase merely for the film itself and I hope it’s seen and appreciated by many more people in the coming weeks.

*The star ratings for Video and Audio are relative to other DVD transfers, not taking HD into account.