7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Brilliant historian Diana Bishop is a witch denying her own heritage. But when she unexpectedly calls up an ancient, bewitched manuscript from Oxford’s Bodleian library, one that was thought by the creatures to be lost and could answer the mysteries of their existence, she finds herself thrown into the heart of a dangerous mystery – and into the path of the enigmatic geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont.
Starring: Teresa Palmer, Matthew Goode, Edward Bluemel, Louise Brealey, Malin BuskaRomance | 100% |
Fantasy | 68% |
Drama | 54% |
Foreign | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.00:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.00:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
It begins with. . . text cards saying it begins with. . .The above is a bit of a “meta” joke for those who have seen A Discovery of Witches and have already sat through several sets of somewhat enigmatic and pseudo-poetic musings that start out each episode in this series culled from a series of novels of Deborah Harkness. “Truth in advertising” might have suggested that the first of these text cards might have most honestly stated:
It begins with. . .mashing together copious elements from both Harry Potter and The Twilight Saga.That may also be an obvious jest, but in this case, it has the ring of truth, since this interesting if unavoidably derivative feeling enterprise deals with three levels of “species” who reside along “normal” humans on Earth: witches, vampires and demons (sometimes spelled daemons in some of the supplements). Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer, who probably not so coincidentally bears more than a passing resemblance to one Kristen Stewart) comes from a long line of witches which traces back to venerable olde Salem, but who (rather humorously like Samantha in Bewitched) has decided to forsake her powers, for a variety of reasons. That hasn’t stopped Diana from studying various occult texts devoted to things like alchemy as she waits to see if she scores a professorial job at Oxford.
A Discovery of Witches is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Acorn Media with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.00:1. The IMDb lists the Arri Alexa Mini as having digitally captured the imagery, which I'm assuming was then finished at a 2K DI. This is a rather nicely sumptuous looking series a lot of the time, one which benefits from a number of gorgeous European (and, later, American) locations, with little if any stock footage used to establish those locations (one of the supplements gets into the expense of all the location shooting). Detail levels are routinely quite high despite a somewhat "arty" approach to lighting and framing which can often intentionally offer a somewhat hazy look. Things can be graded toward cool blues at times, especially in some of the scenes featuring Matthew and his vampire brood, but fine detail is typically quite excellent even in these moments. A few passing moments of CGI didn't totally pass muster with me in terms of matching detail levels of the bulk of the presentation, but some of the more practical special effects come off remarkably well.
A Discovery of Witches features a nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that tends to kind of ebb and flow in terms of surround activity. Some of the kind of cool effects scenes, as when Diana first opens the book that "activates" her powers, or, later, a big scene where she lets loose with a kind of ferocious storm, offer good placement of sound effects that create some nicely believable immersion. More "mundane" scenes that take place out of doors, especially some of the various vampires stalking prey (animals, lest it be troubling), also offer some good ambient evironmental effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free presentation.
Disc One
My hunch is those who gravitated more toward Twilight than Harry Potter will probably find the most instant connection to A Discovery of Witches, due at least in part to the "star-crossed" romantic aspect. I wish the series had more artfully integrated some of the real life history that's lurking just beneath the surface here (and which at least occasionally bubbles up to the top), but the series benefits from strong performances and a rather handsome production design. It will be interesting to see where this show goes as it continues to explore Harkness' novels. Technical merits are solid, and A Discovery of Witches comes Recommended.
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