6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A Month in the Country is the tale of a pair of emotionally wounded World War I veterans who find some respite in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside and in their supportive friendship. As they work, respectively, on the restoration of an ancient church mural and the possible unearthing of an archaeological treasure, they also encounter the local vicar’s young wife; between them, this trio reflects the many faces of love and longing.
Starring: Colin Firth, Jim Carter, Patrick Malahide, Kenneth Branagh, Richard VernonDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
There’s an ineluctable rhythm to English village life, one that may tend to elude the typically hurried and harried American traveler. The quieter pace and at least putatively more genteel sensibilities that inform many English rural communities is front and center in A Month in the Country, an understated drama which may recall certain Merchant-Ivory collaborations for some viewers, and a film which provided early starring roles for Colin Firth, Kenneth Branagh and Natasha Richardson.
A Month in the Country is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. As is discussed in the commentary included on this Blu-ray, for rather odd reasons A Month in the Country, despite being an at least relatively recent film, was considered "lost" for some time, and original elements are still evidently nowhere to be found. While secondary elements, reportedly two 35mm prints, were located, this transfer has an overly processed look that suggests that whatever elements were used were either inherently problematic or presented problems which were then attempted to be ameliorated with digital tools. The best thing about this transfer is its palette, which still pops with some immediacy, especially in terms of the verdant greens of the lush English countryside. Grain is in evidence, but it's rather odd looking, and there seem to be signs of digital filtering, as fine detail is often noticeably lacking, to the point that pores in relative close-ups can't be discerned. Things aren't "waxy" in a traditional way, but they're awfully smooth looking, to the point that this almost looks like video instead of film some of the time. The film utilizes a lot of filtered and/or soft focus shots, approaches which in and of themselves tend to mitigate detail and fine detail. Obviously there's only so far that efforts can take problematic source elements, but whatever combination of problematic source elements and ameliorative steps taken to confront them has resulted in a fairly lackluster presentation here.
While not overly problematic in the same way the video presentation is, A Month in the Country's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix is a bit anemic in terms of amplitude, and there are occasional very slight prioritization issues which tend to bury some of the dialogue, however temporarily. Fidelity is generally very good, and dynamic range at least reasonably wide.
Beautiful performances and some thoughtful dialogue help to enliven this frankly fairly slow film. Those who don't mind mood dominating plot mechanics may get more out of A Month in the Country than most. The film certainly offers wonderful early starring turns for its redolent cast. Video quality has some issues, and so caution is advised, though as an overall package, A Month in the Country comes Recommended.
Warner Archive Collection
1925
80th Anniversary / Fox Studio Classics
1933
1944
1957
30th Anniversary Edition
1981
1936
পথের পাঁচালী / Song of the Little Road
1955
1931
1922
După dealuri
2012
1940
2016
2010
2006
2008
1969
2015
1985
2000
1955