Before Sunrise Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Before Sunrise Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 22, 2017

Winner of Best Director Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, Richard Linklater's "Before Sunrise" (1995) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; archival featurette; new filmed conversation between director Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy; and new filmed conversation between writers Dave Johnson and Rob Stone. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Perfect strangers

Before Sunrise is Richard Linklater’s best and riskiest film. It is his best film because it is so simple, so candid, and so naturally beautiful that it touches the heart in a very special way. It is his riskiest film because it relies almost exclusively on the fantastic chemistry between its two young stars.

They meet on a train somewhere in the heart of Europe. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is on his way to Vienna where he will catch a plane that will take him back home to America, while Celine (Julie Delpy) is heading to Paris. After a German couple begins arguing, they smile at each other and start a casual conversation. There is an instant attraction between them -- they can feel it through the words they exchange and even the tone of their voices.

By the time they reach Vienna they both sense that it was not a coincidence that fate brought them together. Celine then agrees to interrupt her trip and spend the night with Jesse in Vienna -- but not in a fancy hotel room. They would walk through the city and talk until the sun comes up and it is time for Jesse to head to the airport.

Before Sunrise is one of those rare films that cannot possibly be spoiled. Why? Because even if one provides a detailed description of every single sequence from the moment that Jesse and Celine meet on the train to the moment where they part ways, one would never be able to spoil the magic that makes it so poignant. The film does not take one on a unique journey full of surprising twists; rather it welcomes one to witness how two people fall in love before the camera and then throughout the course of a single night open their hearts to each other. This probably sounds like a very cliched summation of Before Sunrise, but it is basically what type of film it is -- an unusually long and very intimate date captured on celluloid.

Hawke and Delpy are unquestionably the stars of the film, but it would be incredibly unfair not to recognize the important role the beautiful city of Vienna has as well. There are large segments where it literally feels as if the city does its best to convince their characters to stay together for as long as possible. There is this casual, very unpretentious elegance of the old buildings, the statues and fountains that becomes an inseparable part of their special experience.

The film has a perfect finale -- it is incredibly moving but very authentic and quite thought-provoking. Obviously, now it probably resonates differently with viewers because they know that there are two more films that reunite Jesse and Celine, but prior to Before Sunset it had a lot of people debating it and some even recalling special moments of their lives that had a profound impact on them.

Before Sunrise Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Before Sunrise and Before Sunset: These new digital transfers were created from 35mm interpositives and scanned in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner. Thousands of instances of dirt and debris were manually removed using MTI Film's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, and noise management.

The original 2.0 surround soundtrack for Before Sunrise and the original 5.1 track for Before Sunset were remastered from 35mm Dolby A magnetic tracks. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX. Please be sure to enable Dolby Pro Logic decoding on your receiver to properly play Before Sunrise's Dolby 2.0 surround soundtrack.

Scanning: Motion Pictures Imaging, Burbank, CA.
Transfer supervisor: Richard Linklater.
Colorist: Lee Kline, Ben Perez."

The release is sourced from a new, restored 2K digital transfer. The biggest improvements appear during the darker and nighttime footage. On the old DVD release from Warner Bros. this footage almost completely breaks and becomes smeary and blocky. Here density does fluctuate, but depth and clarity are not compromised. Shadow definition is also superior, especially during the outdoor footage where nuances are also better balanced. The well-lit outdoor footage typically boasts very pleasing clarity, though ideally sharpness and fluidity should be even better. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. The color scheme is very nice -- there is a wide range of warm but solid primaries and plenty of healthy nuances. Lighting conditions, however, do have an effect on the manner in which colors interact throughout the film. (It is fairly easy to tell that Linklater worked with a modest budget). There are no stability issues. Also, there are no distracting damage marks, cuts, debris, or stains to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Before Sunrise Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Before Sunrise was shot with a fairly small budget. Fred Frith's score has a minor role and dynamic movement is extremely limited, but this very relaxed, almost casual atmosphere is what actually gives the film its charm. So in this case less is actually more, and the end result is surprisingly effective. For the record, there are no purely technical issues to report.

Before Sunrise Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes - in this archival piece, director Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy quickly address the unique nature of the relationship between Jesse and Celine. In English, not subtitled. (6 min, 1080i).

• The Space in Between - presented here is a filmed conversation between director Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy, moderated by critic Kent Jones. There is an abundance of information about Richard Linklater's film career and the production history of Before Sunrise, including the casting process, and the other two films in The Before Trilogy. The conversation was recorded exclusively for Criterion in New York and Los Angeles in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (44 min, 1080i).

• 3X2: A Conversation - in this new featurette, writers Dave Johnson (Contemporary Film Directors: Richard Linklater) and Rob Stone (The Cinema of Richard Linklater: Walk, Don't Run) discuss Before Sunrise and some of the similarities and differences between the three films in The Before Trilogy. In English, not subtitled. (40 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay on the trilogy by critic Dennis Lim.

Before Sunrise Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Before Sunrise is Richard Linklater's best work. It is one of those rare films that is impossible to forget because its simplicity is absolutely brilliant. The other two films in The Before Trilogy are also quite moving, but the chemistry between Jesse and Celine there is not the same and as a result they have slightly different vibes. Before Sunrise has been recently remastered and I like how it looks in high-definition. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.