7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 3.1 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
A family lives an isolated existence in utter silence, for fear of an unknown threat that follows and attacks at any sound.
Starring: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cade WoodwardSci-Fi | 100% |
Horror | 61% |
Thriller | 47% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Monsters and mayhem and bloodshed and brutality may a Horror movie make, but even the most grisly amongst them is nothing without a connection between the acts of violence on the screen, the victims suffering through them, and the audience watching from the safety of the theater or home. Director John Krasinski's A Quiet Place makes that connection in a film of survival and sacrifice in a world that has fallen into silence following an alien invasion, invaders whose sense of hearing is their only biological building block that's sharper than their teeth and claws. A grim but gloriously absorbing film in the tradition of M. Night Shyamalan with hints of The Road and 10 Cloverfield Lane, A Quiet Place is a masterful Horror experience that eschews significant violent visuals and traditional dialogue in favor of the terrors a family faces while on the verge of tearing apart with every misstep, each accidentally muttered syllable, any minor increase in volume that could take one, or all, of the frail and fragile survivors whose only strength is the bonds of blood shared amongst them.
A Quiet Place was shot on film, and the resultant Blu-ray appears gorgeously faithful to the source. Light grain enhances the presentation. It's a constant companion, beautifully textured, and accentuating of the crisply defined details that populate the movie. Elements are tack-sharp, including faces, hair, and clothes, all of which reveal individual, unique textures across various characters with unflinching accuracy and intimate complexity. Environments, whether abandoned towns where pavement and brick façades appear sharply rendered, or in the country, where leaves and grasses present with natural sharpness, the image never fails to present its elements with the utmost clarity as the film format and the Blu-ray resolution allow. Colors push a little warm and flesh tones a little red across the spectrum but are healthy and dense. Saturation -- notably across fall foliage but on nearly everything from clothes to household goods -- is terrific. Colors are vibrant but never overwhelming and certainly never muted. Black levels are deep and dense. A few white pops infrequently appear but are of the blink-and-miss them variety and don't detract form an otherwise perfectly encoded and presented Blu-ray image.
A Quiet Place is a film of great sonic interest, even if that doesn't always translate into great sonic intensity. But it does, as it needs. The film opens with little footsteps and the trace sound of a crayon scribbling on the floor. Characters communicate in sign language, and the most insignificant, hushed sound can be vital to their survival, or a misstep that could cost them dearly. Silence is necessary through much of the film, and gentle support nuance can become a sonic focal point, which the Atmos track delivers with impressive placement and clarity, even at whisper-quiet levels. The track can get so quiet, at times, that ambient sound in the home theater -- like a running air conditioner -- can get in the way of any given scene's silent intensity. Modest winds blow about, light rustling leaves define the countryside, and floating papers blow around abandoned towns. These can be essential, mood- and environment-shaping sounds, elevated well beyond traditional sound roles in other films, but not amplified. Six minutes in and music does enter the track: it's fluid, light, and well spaced. On the other hand, particularly later on in the movie, music can be heart-pounding and intense, enveloping a large portion of the listening area. It's reproduced with pure fidelity, a deep low end component, and exceptional placement. The same can be said of alien creature effects, which are bold and powerful, with rushing intensity through the surrounds. But it's those environmental details that really come to tell the story. Something like creaking wood floors can portend so much and drive the narrative well beyond sound elements of much greater intensity. Even rushing waters that mask a brief dialogue exchange flow through the stage with so much richness and fluidity that the listener feels instantly transported to the location and alongside the characters. Dialogue delivery, what little there is, plays with good clarity and positioning. Lip sync was a problem at the 58:27 mark. It was more or less remedied with a full stop and resume of the film.
This Blu-ray release of A Quiet Place contains three featurettes. A DVD copy of the film and a UV/iTunes digital copy code are included with
purchase.
A Quiet Place is a gripping, intense film. Its focus is on its characters and their struggles. It's not about the past (beyond anything depicted in the film) and it's not about the future. It's not about hows or whys. It's a snapshot of terror in a devastated world where sound calls down almost certain death. Don't be fooled by the PG-13 rating. This is a superior Horror film that allows emotions, not bloodshed, and characters, not gore, to shape the tale. It's a wonderful film and one of the genre's best in recent years. Paramount's Blu-ray is exceptional. Video and audio are essentially without flaw. Supplements are few in number but decently informative. Very highly recommended.
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Mondo X Series #38
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40th Anniversary Edition
1979
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Ultimate Collector's Edition
1986
2020
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1982
3-Disc Set
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1987
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Special Edition
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