6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Matt meets Lisa during a mobbed rock concert at London's Brixton Academy. By night's end, they are in bed together. Over the next few months, their growing sexual passion is balanced only by their love of music and the concerts they attend.
Starring: Kieran O'Brien, Margo StilleyErotic | 100% |
Romance | 70% |
Drama | 48% |
Music | 19% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080/50i
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: LPCM 2.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Raw and explicit, British director Michael Winterbottom's groundbreaking "9 Songs" (2004) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Optimum Home Entertainment. Unfortunately, the disc does not contain any supplemental features. Region-B "locked" and encoded in 1080i/50. The film is not recommended for viewers younger than 18 years of age.
Forget who you are. Forget where you are.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080i/50 transfer, Michael Winterbottom's 9 Songs arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.
I would like to make it very clear that 1080i is native to the film, as this is how director Winterbottom shot 9 Songs. With other words, Optimum Home Entertainment have done exactly what they should have done for the film's Blu-ray premiere – released it in 1080i.
This being said, the Blu-ray transfer does show plenty of improvements over the SDVD transfer (I do have the UK release of this film and was able to compare it to the Blu-ray release). They may not be easily noticed by those of you who are using smaller than 50' screens to view the film, but clarity and detail are certainly better. The improvements should be easy to spot during close-ups. The color-scheme is wild and very inconsistent. Blues, greens, light reds, grays, blacks and whites are mostly soft.
It is difficult for me to tell whether or not some of the low digital noise is intentional. I believe it is, given that the film was supposedly projected on a white wall to create a negative that was later on used for the creation of the theatrical prints. This being said, the Blu-ray release looks far less blocky than the SDVD release. Seriously disturbing debris, scratches, dirt, or stains are not present. Motion-judder is also rarely noticeable. To sum it all up, given the manner in which this film was shot and all limitations were inherited, I feel very comfortable stating that this is probably the best 9 Songs could look. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" disc. As mentioned above, it is also 1080i/50. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content. North American viewers, please note that in order to view this disc on most US and Canadian TV sets, you must have a Region-Free player. If you only have a native Region-B player, you will not be able to view the film as your player will output 1080i/50 which isn't supported by the overwhelming majority of North American TV sets).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. I opted for the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the English LPCM 2.0 Audio track for the purpose of this review.
Given the type of limitations the original film elements have introduced, the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounds a bit unusual. The bass is acceptable but far from being potent, the rear channels mostly inactive, and the high frequencies rather difficult to separate. The dialog is easy to follow, but clarity is not consistent. On the other hand, there are no disturbing pops, cracks, hissings, or dropouts that I detected. There are no issues with the music either.
Dynamically, the English LPCM 2.0 track is quite similar to the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. This being said, I actually like it a lot more - it seems to be more in sync with director Winterbottom's overall vision of 9 Songs. For the record, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, hissings, or dropouts with it either. Optional English subtitles have not been provided for the main feature.
Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray disc.
Michael Winterbottom's 9 Songs is not for everyone. If explicit sex offends you, look elsewhere for your weekly dose of provocative cinema. If it does not and you happen to be of legal age, I recommend that you see it. 9 Songs looks as good on Blu-ray as it possibly could. Recommended.
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