8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Centers on the Nanking Massacre that occurred in December, 1937, when Japanese aggressor troops occupied the eastern Chinese city and killed over 300,000 citizens.
Starring: Ye Liu, John Paisley, Hideo Nakaizumi, Wei Fan, Yiyan JiangForeign | 100% |
Drama | 71% |
War | 42% |
History | 36% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.20:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 2.0
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 5.1
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Winner of the coveted Golden Seashell award at last year's San Sebastian Film Festival, Chinese director Lu Chuan's powerful "City of Life and Death" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors distributors High Fliers. Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features on the disc. In Mandarin, with imposed English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
At the gates of Nanking
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.20:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Lu Chuan's City of Life and Death arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors High Fliers.
This high-definition transfer is practically identical to the one Hong Kong-based distributors Mega Star used for their Blu-ray release of City of Life and Death. Generally speaking, fine object detail is very good, clarity pleasing, and contrast levels consistent. There are, however, traces of mild noise reduction, most of which are noticeable during selected close-ups. Mild edge-enhancement is occasionally easy to spot as well. The color-scheme, however, is impressive; there are a variety of rich blacks and gentle grays and whites; many of the panoramic vistas from inside the city are simply stunning. Lastly, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. I also did not see any annoying cuts, marks, stains, or debris. (Note: This is a 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 disc: Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 and Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0. For the record, High Fliers have provided imposed English subtitles for the main feature. For the record, they appear inside the image frame.
It is rather disappointing to see that High Fliers did not manage to port the powerful Mandarin Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track Mega Star's Blu-ray release of City of Life and Death boasts. Though there are no specific technical issues with the Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 track, there are certain scenes that simply aren't as effective with it. For example, the machine gun fire during the mass execution sounds flat. The ritual dance at the end of the film (and specifically the sound produced by the giant Japanese drums) is also not as impressive as it is on the Mega Star disc. This being said, the dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow. I also did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, hissings, or dropouts to report in this review.
Most unfortunately, there are absolutely no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray disc whatsoever.
Lu Chuan's City of Life and Death is an incredibly powerful film. It was the best Asian film I saw in 2009. If you have not yet seen it, I strongly suggest that you do so as soon as possible. Now, I don't have a problem with the fact that there are absolutely no supplemental features on High Fliers' Blu-ray release, but the lack of a loseless audio track is very disappointing. Therefore, the best all-around English-friendly Blu-ray release of City of Life and Death remains the one Mega Star produced in Hong Kong. RENT IT.
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