8.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
A futuristic society faces extinction when no children are born and the human race has lost the ability to reproduce. England has descended into chaos, until an iron-handed warden is brought in to institute martial law. The warden's ability to keep order is threatened when a woman finds that she is pregnant with what would be the first child born in 18 years.
Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Clare-Hope AshiteyDrama | 100% |
Mystery | 36% |
Thriller | 15% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
From the vantage point of 2019, Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men may arguably seem even more prescient than it seemed to many of us “way back” in 2006 when it was released, even if the film itself supposedly depicts events taking place in 2027. While cursory Googling can bring up all sorts of supposed datapoints about infertility rates increasing globally (one of the chief plot points of the film), what really stood out to me in watching this viscerally compelling story again for the first time in several years is how its treatment of what might be called “fear of ‘the other’” seems to so frighteningly presage much of what is in evidence today, in what might almost be thought of as a “ripped from the headlines” approach. Cuarón of course plays things somewhat hyperbolically in his tale of a world where no new baby has been born in about a generation, and where a shaky but still standing United Kingdom is in the throes of a major “build the wall” push, trying to stanch the tide of an onslaught of so-called “illegal aliens”. It would be a lot for any film to handle cogently, let alone without that much of a hint of screed like political rants, but one of the things that is so fantastically impressive about Children of Men is how it treats what could arguably be perceived as metaphysical issues in what is an undeniably visceral, indeed virtually physical at times, way.
Children of Men is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet has the following pretty generic information on the transfer:
Children of Men is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with 5.1 surround sound. The High Definition master was provided by Universal.The lack of any further information leads me to believe this is probably culled from the same master that provided the basis for the now long ago U.S. Blu-ray, but the good news is, despite Universal's somewhat spotty record for high definition releases back in those days, Children of Men was by and large a rather nice looking release. Color timing looks very similar if not absolutely identical to the domestic U.S. release, and detail levels are impressively high throughout the presentation, this despite a prevalence of grading which keeps things decidedly into cool blue and gray territory quite a bit of the time. Part of the generally excellent detail and fine detail levels may be due to the fact that, despite this being a 2006 production, the IMDb lists this as having been finished at a 4K DI. There are occasional variances in sharpness and clarity, as there were on the Universal release, with some moments looking just slightly fuzzy (the horrifying sequence in the car which is attacked by terrorists is a good example). Grain resolves naturally throughout this presentation, and to my eyes at least looks perhaps just slightly "tighter" in the Arrow version.
Children of Men features very effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks. The surround track benefits from some extremely boisterous LFE in moments like the unexpected terrorist explosion that occurs early on, or even later when the car carrying Julian and Theo is attacked. The rabble of crowds (caged or otherwise) spills quite effectively through the surrounds in several outdoor scenes, and even "little" things like the panning of motorcycles tooling through burning urban streets can also be very evocative. Dialogue is always presented cleanly and clearly. The film has a rather nice score John Taverner that is quite elegiac, and that also spreads through the surrounds, providing a nice "bed" for several key scenes.
- The Possibility of Hope (HD; 27:16) arguably gets into some more "screed like" aspects that the film is able to largely elide, with a number of philosophers and commentators taking on the sociopolitical subtext of the story.
- Comments by Slavoj Zizek (HD; 5:44)
- Delivering a Baby (HD; 3:07) looks at some of the SFX in this sequence.
- Futuristic Design (HD; 8:33)
- Theo and Julian (HD; 4:40)
- Under Attack (HD; 7:36) focuses on what Cuaron calls the "real time" use of long, unedited takes in the film.
I was frankly actually kind of gobsmacked by Children of Men watching it again after several years in preparation for this review. I was certainly not immune to its emphasis on immigration the first time I saw the film years ago, but that whole aspect really resonated incredibly strongly for me this time around, perhaps due at least in part to the prevalence of some recent headlines here in the United States. Even if you disagree strongly with some of the foundational elements of the screenplay (in terms of the politics at least being hinted at), my hunch is you may still be well moved by this story of one man's search for redemption, in a world without hope and where huge swaths of the population have been overtaken by fear. Technical merits are solid, and as usual Arrow has assembled a really impressive slate of supplements. Highly recommended.
2006
Universal 100th Anniversary / Limited Edition
2006
10th Anniversary / Limited Edition
2006
2014
2016
The George Lucas Director's Cut
1971
2016
2009
Twelve Monkeys | Special Edition
1995
2013
2011
2017
Young Ones
2014
2012
1965
2007
Limited Edition
2015
2011
1936
2005
Utopia: Series 1 / Utopia: Season 1
2013
Professione: reporter / Indicator Series
1975
2006