7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
SEBASTIAN FAULKS'S epic love novel set against the First World War has been adapted for the screen for the first time. In two movie-length parts, the story tells of Stephen Wraysford (EDDIE REDMAYNE), a young Englishman who arrives in Amiens in Northern France to stay with the Azaire family and falls desperately in love with Isabelle Azaire (CLMENCE POSY). They begin an illicit and all-consuming affair, but the relationship falters. Years later, Stephen finds himself serving on the Western Front in the very area where he experienced his great love. As he battles amidst the blood and gore of the trenches he meets Jack Firebrace (JOSEPH MAWLE), a tunneller who unexpectedly helps him endure the ravages of war and enables him to make peace with his feelings for Isabelle.
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Matthew Goode, Clémence Poésy, Rory Keenan, Thomas TurgooseDrama | 100% |
Romance | 75% |
Period | 51% |
War | 23% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
"Birdsong" is a television production that prizes repetition. Unfortunately, its chief export is misery, making the viewing experience quite punishing for those not in the mood for endless bouts of suffering via physical and mental trials. There's a story of fleeting romance and wartime consciousness that's compelling, possibly profound, but its buried under a thick glaze of depression without insight, lost in a fog of sadness acceptable for a 90-minute-long movie, tolerable for two hours, but insufferable at nearly three hours of gloom. "Birdsong" is often beautiful and refreshingly blunt when detailing combat shock and sexual gratification, which adds to the overall disappointment of the effort. Attempting to choke the life out of the lead character, the story skips truly rewarding patches of character, finding more comfort in blood-soaked thousand-yard stares than in an alert representation of the fractured mind, capturing a lead character smacked around by the cruelties of love and war without a vice-like grip of focus that could seize this spread of woe and give it a crippling sense of meaning.
"Birdsong" carries a processed look that's tastefully offered on the AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation. It's a crisp look at all of the dramatics and war zone troubles, providing an intense view of the characters as they march through misery. Detail is excellent, registering powerfully with make-up efforts, keeping bloodshed vivid. Facial textures are always expressive, while backgrounds are easily scanned for additional thespian activity and decorative achievements. Skintones are purposefully washed out to achieve the bloodless look of the miniseries but remain quite human in appearance, especially warm and pink during love scenes. Colors are often muted, favoring brownish and greenish hues, while countryside excursions carry a natural palette. Shadow detail is comfortable, never remarkable, sustaining needed details during tunneling sequences. Some minor ghosting and banding is detected.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix doesn't make a generous use of the surrounds, lacking a dynamic sense of directional activity and circular intensity. While distances and echoes are maintained, little depth remains. The primary focus is on frontal dialogue exchanges, which sound fresh and deep, carrying targeted qualities of passion, while providing a full feel for accents without any distortion. Scoring is supportive without stepping on the performances, carried softly until needed, filling up the fronts when time arrives to create dramatic points. With bombs bursting everywhere, there's actually a decent low-end to the track, rumbling through with a satisfactory read on explosions, intensifying the violence.
Although it carries an expansive story with numerous supporting characters, "Birdsong" comes off overlong, obsessing over gruesome details and shattered men to a point where it numbs the entire effort. While cinematography and set design accomplishments are excellent, capturing two periods with true artistry, the program comes off as a highly decorated bore, glacially moving across the years after a promising opening. The severity of the emotional wounds on display is fascinating, but there's little reason to care about the welfare of the characters. A sad story explored with grace and balance can be a wonderful thing, bringing out a richly cathartic feeling from the viewer. "Birdsong" dwells in the darkness for what seems like forever, unable to conjure the feel for hope and psychological depth it's leisurely hunting for.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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