7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.3 |
A child is born. We see underwater swimmers representing this. He is young, in a jungle setting, with two fanciful "instincts" guiding him as swooping bird-like acrobats initially menace, then delight. As an adolescent, he enters a desert, where a man spins a large cube of metal tubing. He leaves his instinct-guides behind, and enters a garden where two statues dance in a pond. As he watches their sensual acrobatics of love, he becomes a man. He is offered wealth (represented by a golden hat) by a devil figure. In a richly decorated room, a scruffy troupe of a dozen acrobats and a little girl reawaken the old man's youthful nature and love.
Narrator: Ian McKellenFamily | 100% |
Fantasy | 79% |
Musical | 23% |
Short | 15% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0
English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Blu-ray 3D
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
And so began my journey.
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 3D may not be what might immediately spring to mind when thinking of a traditional "circus" act, but this is
nevertheless a sometimes spellbinding and fully entertaining metaphorical story of man as told through the grace and strength of some of the world's
greatest physical performers. Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 3D guides viewers through various landscapes and introduces them to several
unique and gifted individuals as they gracefully strain and fly and lift and spin their way into the hearts of audiences. Most viewers will leave the film
breathlessly
satisfied with the visual wonder that's played out but perhaps not quite certain what, exactly, it is that the film tries to accomplish. The
underlying story is simple but sometimes a bit hard to fully grasp through the many superficial splendors that surround and sometimes define it; at its
core it's
very simple, but the front-and-center visual elements that often seem to defy all of man's natural capabilities of strength, flexibility, endurance,
movement, and
physical conditioning blur the film's true purpose and keep it from coming fully into focus. In that case, better see it twice just to be sure.
Behold! Cool human feats in 3D!
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 3D arrives on Blu-ray 3D with a fair and even but not exactly perfect 1080p Blu-ray 3D transfer. The film begins with a dazzling three-dimmensional star field that takes a great natural shape to it and almost fools the viewer to believing he or she is floating in space. The credits push out of the screen and crumble as they retract back in, a wondrous 3D effect and, sadly, maybe the best the movie has to offer. While the remainder of the film sees fair natural depth, nothing else proves all that remarkably impressive. The various stunts never seem to leap out of the screen, even if that seemed to be the intent with the way the film was shot. While trees and rocks and even a thick layer of fog prove, for the most part, naturally shapely, the image never really achieves a high level of total three-dimensional immersion. A touch of "ghosting" hinders a few odd corners around the frame, neither helping nor really hindering what is a fairly plain 3D image. On the other side of the ledger, the more traditional image attributes fail to greatly impress. The image takes on a glossy, somewhat textureless façade. General details, such as rock faces and clothing, fare well enough, but as a whole there's a feeling of lifelessness and softness that runs through much of the film. Colors are surprisingly dim and the image on the whole is not particularly vibrant. While colors abound, they seem somehow and disappointingly reserved, not leaping off the screen as they should. While blacks and flesh tones are not areas of concern, they're not areas of strength, either. All in all, it would be a stretch to label this transfer as a "disappointment," but the material both suggests and demands more.
Fortunately, Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 3D's 5.1 lossless DTS soundtrack fares a bit better. This is a flowing, pronounced, and fully engaged presentation that makes fine use of every channel around the soundstage in bringing the film's locales to life. Music enjoys first-rate clarity and wonderfully natural spacing. The low end is strong and well-defined but not exaggerated. The subwoofer belts out a few drumbeat lows with authority at the beginning of the film and helps create a more realistic atmosphere for the duration. The surrounds are used extensively and naturally to carry both ambience -- particularly in the early jungle segment -- and supportive musical elements. Narration is focused and effective, the perfect compliment to a soundtrack that's a fine audible support for the many amazing things there are to see in Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 3D.
Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 3D's Blu-ray release contains no special features.
Remember "Interesting, unique, bizarre, fascinating, incredible?" That range of adjectives really does define Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 3D. It's a tough picture to classify, it's not for all tastes, and it engenders a wide range of emotions even within its condensed runtime. Chances are it'll strike the fancy of most viewers if only for its ability to draw in and dazzle with its many wonderfully-realized superficialities, but pay closer attention -- or watch it a second time -- and find a whole new level on which to appreciate it. Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 3D isn't perfect entertainment, but if nothing else, there's one more adjective that just might be enough to pull in most audiences, and that is "different." After all, isn't "different" something of a premium in this day and age of filmed entertainment? Sony's Blu-ray 3D release of Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 3D offers a quality technical presentation but no extras. Fortunately, the studio is selling the disc at a relatively low price, which makes a recommendation all the easier to offer despite the lackluster transfer and absence of extras.
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