6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A photographer and his wife travel to Armenia to photograph churches for use in a calendar, employing a native speaking driver to escort them around the country.
Starring: Arsinée Khanjian, Atom Egoyan, Ashot AdamyanDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Taormina International Film Festival, Atom Egoyan's "Calendar" (1993) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include two short films directed by the Canadian filmmaker: "Howard in Particular" (1979) and "Peep Show" (1981). In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
"Leave your camera and come with us..."
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Atom Egoyan's Calendar arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.
The release uses a new high-definition transfer that offers substantial improvements in every single area we typically address in our reviews. The close-ups of the beautiful women the photographer meets at his home boast very good depth. Despite the fact that the camera frequently moves, clarity is also good. The outdoor footage from Armenia is vibrant and clean. (On the R1 DVD release there is plenty of noise and flecks). Contrast fluctuates, but this is due to the manner in which natural light is captured. Color reproduction is very good. The yellows, greens, blues, browns, and blacks look healthy and natural. The film also contains some raw video footage. Understandably, clarity, contrast, and definition in it fluctuate. (See screencaptures #10 and 12). There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Sharpening adjustments also have not been performed. Predictably, the film has a very pleasing and very convincing organic look. Lastly, there are a few minor flecks, but there are absolutely no damage marks, cuts, stains, warps, or splices. Image stability is also very good. All in all, this is yet another competent presentation of an Egoyan film from the folks at Artificial Eye. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English Dolby Digital 2.0. Please note that there are very small portions of the film where foreign languages are spoken that are not subtitled. This is how the film is meant to be experienced. For the record, Artificial Eye have not provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
Some traditional Armenian music is heard during select sequences, but the music does not have a prominent role in the film. Additionally, despite the fact that release comes only with a lossy track, depth and clarity are indeed very good. The dialog is consistently crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. For the record, there is absolutely no background hiss, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.
I cannot recommend Atom Egoyan's Calendar highly enough. It is brilliantly structured and executed, absolutely marvelous film. Kudos to Artificial Eye for bringing the Canadian director's early films to Blu-ray. As far as I am concerned, they are some of this year's most exciting releases. If you can play Region-B discs, I urge you to consider adding Calendar to your collections as soon as possible. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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