8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
The story of Venezuelan revolutionary Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, who founded a worldwide terrorist organization and raided the 1975 OPEC meeting.
Starring: Edgar Ramírez, Alexander Scheer, Fadi Abi Samra, Lamia Ahmed, Karam GhosseinDrama | 100% |
Biography | 13% |
Crime | 13% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BDs)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Screened at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, Olivier Assayas' "Carlos" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features included on this release are a making-of featurette, interview with Edgar Ramírez, and an exclusive interview with director Olivier Assayas. In French, Russian, English, German, Spanish, Hungarian, and Arabic, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Edgar Ramírez as the notorious terrorist Carlos
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Olivier Assayas' Carlos arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.
This is a strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is excellent, clarity pleasing, and contrast levels very good. The color-scheme does not disappoint either - though as the action moves from the 70s to the 80s and 90s, yellows, blues, greens, browns, and blacks change; certain parts of the film also have a very effective faded look. Additionally, because Carlos was shot on locations throughout Germany, Austria, France, Hungary, Morocco, Sudan, Lebanon, and Yemen, contrast and color balance often varies rather dramatically. Edge-enhancement is not a serious issue of concern (there are only a few scenes where I noticed a whiff of edge-enhancement popping up - see the first screencapture in our review); neither is macroblocking. I also did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction. As a result, the film's grain structure is indeed very much in tact. This being said, there are a few scenes from Episode 2 where I noticed some very minor compression artifacts creeping in. Still, the overall quality of the presentation is indeed solid. Lastly, while viewing Carlos I did not see any purely technical anomalies with the high-definition transfer to address in this review. (Note: This is Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS 2.0 (please note that the audio is actually comprised of relatively large chunks of dialog spoken in a number of different languages, including Russian, English, German, Spanish, Hungarian, and Arabic). For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.
The French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is excellent. The bass is very strong and well rounded, the surround channels not overly active but very intelligently used (the exotic music score benefits greatly), and the high-frequencies not overdone. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow. I must note, however, that it would have been great if there were optional English subtitles for the English dialog as some of the key characters in the film do have rather thick accents, and a couple of times I had a difficult time understanding exactly what was being said. This said, I did not detect any problematic pops, cracks, hissings, or audio dropouts to report in this review.
Note: The following supplemental features appear on the third disc included in this 3BD set:
Theatrical Version - the shorter Theatrical Version of Carlos, running at approximately 166 minutes. Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and encoded with MPEG-4 AVC. Please note that the Theatrical Version comes with two audio tracks: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS 2.0 (the audio is actually comprised of relatively large chunks of dialog spoken in a number of different languages, including Russian, English, German, Spanish, Hungarian, and Arabic). For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.
Making of Featurette - a standard featurette with plenty of raw footage from the shooting of the film and specific comments by director Olivier Assayas. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (22 min, PAL).
Interview - a short interview, recorded exclusively for Studio Canal, with Edgar Ramirez. The actor discusses the difficult role he was approached to play. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (5 min, PAL).
Interview - a fascinating interview, recorded exclusively for Studio Canal, with director Olivier Assayas in which he discusses how Carlos came to exist. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (20 min, PAL).
Olivier Assayas' Carlos is practically impossible to describe in a single review. The amount of factual information the film contains is extraordinary. I saw the shorter theatrical version of it earlier this year and was very impressed, but now I am convinced that this is one of the year's best films. It is absolutely fascinating, and I will be viewing it again shortly. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Optimum Home Entertainment, looks and sounds terrific. Also, thus far this is the only Blu-ray release Carlos has seen worldwide (even in France the film is only available on SDVD), so kudos to the British distributors for giving it the treatment it rightfully deserves. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Part 1: Killer Instinct / Part 2: Public Enemy Number 1
2008
1982
2017
À bout de souffle / Vintage World Cinema
1960
Vintage World Cinema
1970
2014
2013
1967
40th Anniversary Edition
1975
La femme du Vème
2011
2014
2008
2013
2018
StudioCanal Collection
1965
40th Anniversary | Limited Edition
1984
1965
2013
Remastered / 25th Anniversary | Reissue
1995
Beirut
2018