5.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
Set in France during the mid-1970s, Vanessa, a former dancer, and her husband Roland, an American writer, travel the country together. They seem to be growing apart, but when they linger in one quiet, seaside town they begin to draw close to some of its more vibrant inhabitants, such as a local bar/café-keeper and a hotel owner.
Starring: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Mélanie Laurent, Melvil Poupaud, Niels ArestrupRomance | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
BD-Live
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Writer/Director Angelina Jolie Pitt's (Unbroken) By the Sea paints a portrait of a couple (played by Jolie Pitt and her real-life husband Brad) in crisis, midlife and married for 14 years who, on their idyllic retreat for answers, find others at different stages of life and love around them. Next door is a young newlywed couple (Mélanie Laurent, Melvil Poupaud), fresh with sexual vigor and a passion for one another's company. A peephole serves as a lens into their world but more importantly a reflection on the struggling couple's past lives and the love they once shared. Below is a widower (Niels Arestrup) of a year whose wife passed in pain, his only regret that he could not take her place in death. In the middle, their struggles magnified, their passions dimmed, their future uncertain, their love at a crossroads, they must find a way to save their marriage or allow their rut to ruin their lives.
The couple.
By the Sea's 1080p transfer comes sourced from a clean and accurate digital shoot. The picture is regularly clear and strongly detailed. Rocky seaside French countryside, handsome upholstery and fabrics in the hotel room, cruder wood grains in the bar, resplendent fabric textures, and naturally complex faces are all the beneficiaries of Universal's immaculate clarity and the source's impressive period production design. Colors are attractive, too, dominated by beautiful bright blue sea water. Elegant beiges and browns dominate much of the rest of the film's basic attire and location set pieces. Black levels are healthy, as are flesh tones. Light aliasing appears on a curtain around the 22-minute mark. Otherwise, the image is clean and absent any significant artifacts.
By the Sea features a rather gentle and simple DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Music, generally, plays with healthy clarity but not much vigor or surround detail. Things open up occasionally, but by-and-large there's a very reserved feel to music and, indeed, much of the track. Light ambient effects creep in from time-to-time. The movie is largely dialogue intensive. The spoken word does enjoy excellent clarity and lifelike definition from its firm front-center placement.
By the Sea contains several deleted scenes and two featurettes. A voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy is included with purchase.
By the Sea is a competently made and oftentimes engaging picture that thrives on its nuanced performances and gorgeous setting, but it never feels as if it's saying anything new. The movie is a rare breed that oozes authenticity and depth but never a sense of dramatic importance or novelty. It's worth a look, and Universal's Blu-ray does the film justice, but it feels as if it could have been more.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Warner Archive Collection / Includes German-Language Alternate Version
1930
2017
2008
2015
Includes "Him", "Her", and "Them" Cuts
2014
Limited Edition to 3000
1960
1999
50th Anniversary
1973
2008
2013
1971
1937
1988
1990
2001
2015
2014
Original Uncut Version
1986
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1980
2011