8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.7 |
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: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.20:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Of all the films I’ve seen so far this year, writer/director Lu Chuan’s City of Life and Death—and I say this with no reservations—has been the
most emotionally affecting. It’s a gut-punch of a cinematic experience, but even that doesn’t begin to describe it. It’s more like a series of gut-punches;
it pummels you with the horrors and indignities of war until you’re left gasping and bruised. The subject is the battle and subsequent “rape” of Nanking
by invading Japanese Imperial forces in 1937, a six-week massacre that claimed some 300,000 lives. Chinese POWs were rounded up, machine-
gunned to death in columns, and tossed into the Yangtze river, while untold thousands of women were pressed into service as prostitutes or just
outright raped in the streets, many mutilated and killed afterward.
City of Life and Death doesn’t shy away from any of this; like the best films about the Jewish Holocaust—and there are certainly nods to
Schindler’s List here—it takes a long, clear-eyed look at these atrocities in order to remind us to never forget that they did, in fact, occur. This
seems especially important in the case of Nanking, as ultra-nationalist Japanese groups since the end of WWII have consistently tried to downplay and
even whitewash the actual events in history textbooks, dismissing the so-called rape as Chinese propaganda. To this day, it’s a sore source of
contention between the two nations.
City of the Life and Death is, quite simply, visually stunning. I have no idea why more contemporary films aren't presented in black and white. It
works so perfectly here—gritty and moody, stark and uncompromising. Somehow, the image looks both appropriately antique and ultra-modern. (I really
can't say enough about how great the cinematography is.) The film was actually shot in color on 35mm and then desaturated in post, and this
presumably allowed for greater control over the gradation and contrast. Highlights are crisp but never overblown, and black levels are inky deep. While
shadow detail is regularly crushed during darker scenes, this is a natural and intentional part of the high-contrast look—I have a feeling the balance is
exactly as intended. The 1080p/AVC-encoded picture is also terrifically sharp, and you'll notice extremely fine detail in the areas of the frame that are in
focus; facial texture is highly resolved, the stitching is visible in the period uniforms and clothing, and the concrete rubble of Nanking looks realistically
pitted, cracked, and pocked. Finally, it's clear that nothing has been done to tamper with the image in any unnecessary ways. There's no evidence of
harsh edge enhancement, film grain is entirely preserved, and I didn't spot any compression problems. I did catch a few small blink-and-you'll-miss-them
white specks on the print, but this is a non-issue. City of Life and Death deserves full marks for a remarkable aesthetic and a practically flawless
Blu-ray presentation.
Do note that while the shooting aspect ratio was 2.39:1, the film is presented as intended, in 2.20:1.
The film's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track also easily earns a perfect score in my book. (Even if we're missing the 7.1 track that came with the film's Hong Kong Blu-ray release.) The mix is not only dynamic and clear and balanced, but it's also consistently immersive. In particular, the sound design for the opening battle sequence is a demo-worthy example of wow-inducing, room-rattling, duck-and-cover audio. Turn it up loud and prepare to be blown away. Gunfire spits hotly in every direction, and when bullets meet concrete, wood, plaster, or stone, chips of debris go flying realistically through the soundfield. Mortar rounds are launched with a satisfying thwonk and explode into buildings, setting off rippling subwoofer waves. Tanks roll in with an aggressive rumble and airplanes roar overhead. This is powerful stuff, and while the rest of the film isn't quite as intense, it's just as engaging. There's almost always some ambient noise in the real speakers—from wind and other environmental sounds to cries and chatter and directional effects—and Liu Tong's orchestral score sounds wonderful, blending western elements with traditional Chinese instrumentation. Dialogue is clean and well-balanced throughout, and the disc includes optional English subtitles in easy-to-read white lettering.
The only special features on the Blu-ray disc itself are a collection of trailers for other Kino-Lorber titles and a photo gallery with 48 stills, but the release also comes with a DVD which contains Matters of Life and Death (SD, 1:53:56), a feature-length making-of documentary that covers every aspect of the film's creation and includes lots of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. A bit slow and perhaps longer than it needs to be, but well worth watching.
City of Life and Death is a powerful, emotionally wrenching experience that you won't easily forget. And that's precisely the point—it asks us to always remember the atrocities that were committed in Nanking. This is one of the very best films I've seen this year, and it's also a stunning experience on Blu-ray, with a gorgeous black and white presentation and a lossless audio track that's seriously intense. This one is not to be missed. Highly recommended!
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