6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
After the birth of his first child, Roberto, a young Mexican man slips across the border into the United States. Seeking work to support his family back home, he finds that working hard is not enough.
Starring: Domingo Ambriz, Trinidad Silva, Linda Gillen, Jerry Hardin, Edward James OlmosForeign | 100% |
Drama | 95% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Spanish: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Winner of the inaugural Camera d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Robert M. Young's "¡Alambrista!" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailer; video interview with actor Edward James Olmos; Robert M. Young's documentary film "Children of the Fields" (1973) and a video interview with the director; and a new audio commentary. The disc also arrives with a leaflet featuring an essay by film historian Charles Ramirez-Berg. In Spanish and English, with optional English subtitles where necessary. Region-A "locked".
On the road
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Robert M. Young's ¡Alambrista! arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"Approved by director Robert M. Young, this new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a 35mm blow-up interpositive made from the original 16mm A/B negatives. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Image System's Phoenix was used for small dirt and grain reduction.
Colorists: Lee Kline/Criterion, New York; Jane Tomachyov/DuArt, New York."
The basics are certainly very good, though a new high-definition transfer struck from a new master prepared directly from the original negative would have likely produced a marginally tighter color scheme and an even thicker grain structure. Nevertheless, the image still has the proper thickness and fine natural colors 16mm films boast. Contrast is also stable, while clarity, especially during panoramic vistas (see screencapture #13), very pleasing. More importantly, however, there are no traces of problematic post-production digital tinkering. Specifically, there are no traces of sharpening corrections or severe denoising. There are no serious stability issues to report in this review either. This being said, some tiny flecks occasionally pop up here and there (see screencapture #8), but are never overly distracting. All in all, this is a fine presentation that should please fans of this unique American film. (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 is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Spanish LPCM 2.0 (with portions of English dialog). For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. However, they appear only when Spanish is spoken.
The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"The original stereo soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the original magnetic tracks. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated workstation."
The press materials I received note the presence of a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, but what is on the disc is in fact an LPCM 2.0 track. Generally speaking, the lossless track serves the film well -- admittedly, it does have a rather limited dynamic amplitude, but the audio has very pleasing depth and fluidity. Additionally, the audio is consistently crisp and free of problematic distortions. There are no sync issues, pops, or dropouts.
Robert M. Young's ¡Alambrista! is one of the most honest American films about illegal immigration that I have ever seen. It truly touches the heart in a way few other similarly themed films do. Kudos to Criterion for yet another spectacular Blu-ray release of a very important film, which until now has obviously never been treated with the respect it deserves. Bravo! VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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