7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
On July 28th, 1976, a powerful earthquake destroyed the city of Tangshan, north-east of Beijing, China, and killed more than 240,000 people. Director Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock recreates the tragic event and the years of painful recovery that followed it.
Starring: Daoming Chen, Chen Li, Yi Lu, Jingchu Zhang, Fan XuForeign | 100% |
History | 25% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 5.1
Cantonese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Mandarin (Traditional), Mandarin (Simplified), English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Selected to represent China at the Oscars, Feng Xiaogang's "Aftershock" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors MegaStar. The supplemental features on the disc include cast and crew interviews; raw footage from the shooting of the film; deleted scenes; and the film's original theatrical trailer. In Mandarin, with optional English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
After the earthquake
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors MegaStar.
Quite predictably, China's official submission to the 83rd Academy Awards has received the type of treatment it rightfully deserves - fine object detail is impressive, clarity pleasing, and contrast levels consistent. The special effects are expertly done and well balanced with the authentic footage; the various color manipulations are also effective. Edge-enhancement is never a serious issue of concern. I also did not see any traces of excessive noise reduction. There are no serious banding issues either. During the final third of the film, however, there are a few scenes conveying small compression artifacts; none are overly distracting, but the larger one's screen is, the easier it will be for one to spot them. Lastly, there are absolutely no stability issues to report in this review whatsoever. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are five audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Mandarin Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1, Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1, and Cantonese (Audio Descriptive) Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, MegaStar have provided optional English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese subtitles for the main feature.
The Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track is outstanding, and to be honest, I cannot possibly imagine Aftershock sounding any better. During the earthquake for instance the bass is incredibly potent and the rear channels very effective. There is one specific scene in particular where a giant crane collapses and destroys a large building that will certainly test the limits of your audio system. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow. There are no balance issues with Wang Li-guang's music score either. Finally, I did not detect any annoying pops, cracks, hissings, or audio dropouts to report in this review. The English translation contains a few minor grammatical errors, but it is nevertheless quite good.
Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock is a deeply moving, powerful film recreating a tragic event from China's recent history. The film arrives on Blu-ray with a handsome high-definition transfer courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors MegaStar. If you reside in a Region-B territory but wish to see Aftershock, please keep in mind that this is a Region-A "locked" release. RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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