8 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
The rise through the criminal ranks of a young orphan of North African origin, who has only known a prison life and who will become, with the help of the Corsican mafia and an influential Imam, the ultimate crime kingpin of all of France's immigrant suburbs.
Starring: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb, Frédéric GrazianiDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 58% |
Crime | 28% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: LPCM 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Winner of the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival, Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Jacques Audiard; screen tests; rehearsals; the documentary features "Derriere les barreaux" and "Un prophete a Chatenay"; a conversation with director Jacques Audiard; and trailer. In French, Corsican and Arabic, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
The Prophet
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Audiard's A Prophet arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.
This is a great high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is terrific, clarity impressive and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The color-scheme is also convincing; the variety of light blues, light greens, dark yellows, cold grays and blacks look terrific in 1080p. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are not an issue of concern. Neither are banding or aliasing. I also did not see any signs of heavy denoising. Furthermore, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review either. There are two scenes early into the film, right before Malik murders his admirer, where I noticed some extremely light background noise, but overall the high-definition transfer is excellent. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: French (with portions of Arabic and Corsican) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French LPCM 2.0. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
The French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is excellent. A Prophet is a very gritty film, with some excellent ambient effects that add a special flavor to the film - particularly during the second half. This is not to say that there is a tremendous amount of movement in the rear channels, there isn't, but they are indeed used in a very intelligent manner. Similarly, the bass is not overly active, but when it comes alive, it is crisp and punchy. The dialog is clean, stable and easy to follow. There are no balance issues with award-winning composer Alexandre Desplat's soundtrack either. Finally, the English translation is very good. (Note: Even if you are a native French speaker, or fluent in French, you will need to use the optional subtitles to understand what is being said in the film as large portions of the film are in Corsican and Arabic).
The French LPCM 2.0 track is very good. For the majority of the film it matches the dynamic intensity of the French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track quite well. The ambient effects I mentioned earlier, however, are practically non-existent on it.
Deleted scenes - a collage of deleted scenes with optional commentary by Jacques Audiard. In French, with optional English subtitles. (11 min, PAL).
A Prophet - revealed - a wonderful conversation with director Jacques Audiard in which he discusses the message of his film, some of the misconceptions about it, how and why he chose Tahar Rahim to be in his film, etc. In French, with optional English subtitles. (15 min, PAL).
Screen tests - a collage of screen tests with Tahar Rahim. In French, with optional English subtitles. (5 min, PAL).
Rehearsals - a selection of raw scenes. In French and Arabic, with optional English subtitles. (9 min, PAL).
"Derriere les barreaux" from Antonin Peret Jako - a fantastic documentary that chronicles how A Prophete came to exist. In French, with optional English subtitles. (73 min, PAL).
"Un prophete a Chatenay" from Jean-Michel Correia - a trip to Chatenay, a commune in the South-Western suburbs of Paris. Many of the supporting actors in A Prophet are from Chatenay. In French, with optional English subtitles. (24 min, PAL).
Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. (2 min, 1080p).
Jacques Audiard's A Prophet is the best film I saw in 2009. It truly is an instant classic! Hopefully, many of you will decide to see it and then add it to your libraries. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment, looks and sounds terrific. It also contains a number of very good supplemental features. It is Region-B "locked" (but Sony Pictures Classics are also releasing A Prophet in the U.S. in August). VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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