7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Best buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers' pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio's favelas.
Starring: Douglas Silva, Darlan Cunha, Jonathan Haagensen, Rodrigo dos Santos, Camila MonteiroDrama | 100% |
Crime | 83% |
Foreign | 43% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.84:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Portuguese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Portuguese: LPCM 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Brazilian director Paulo Morelli's "Cidade dos Homens" a.k.a "City of Men" (2007) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Studio Canal. The only extra on the disc is a standard behind the scenes featurette with raw footage from the shooting of the film and short comments from various cast and crew members. In Portuguese, with imposed English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
The friends
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.84:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Paulo Morelli's City of Men arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Studio Canal.
The film essentially has two entirely different looks. The first favors blown out contrast and oversaturated colors that make certain sequences looking very harsh (see screencaptures #1 and 6). Clearly, these are stylistic adjustments that imitate some of the flashbacks from Fernando Meirelles' City of God. The second favors more natural colors and contrast levels (see screencapture #5). However, many close-ups still look quite harsh and at times unusually crisp. It is important to note here, though, that neither the harshness nor the crispness are related to excessive sharpening/edge-enhancement. The film simply has a very unique raw look, which compliments the tense atmosphere very well. Despite the contrast and color fluctuations, detail is very good, particularly during the daylight sequences. There are no scratches, debris, flecks, or cuts to report in this review either. Some extremely light banding is present during a couple of scenes, but overall this Blu-ray release does offer a solid upgrade in quality over the Lionsgate Films R1 DVD release of City of Men. (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: Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Portuguese LPCM 2.0. For the record, Studio Canal have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
The Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a good enough reason to recommend replacing your DVD release of City of Men. Most of the shootouts are short but very intense. A couple of the nighttime chase sequences are also very effective. Admittedly, there isn't a great deal of surround activity and the overall intensity of the lossless track does not match that of recent action productions, but depth and crispness are indeed very good. (If you enjoyed the rawness of the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track from City of God, you will appreciate this one as well). The dialog is crisp, clean, and stable. The English translation is very good.
Paulo Morelli's City of Men is a raw and intense film that has plenty in common with Fernando Meirelles' City of God. I think that the latter is a slightly more focused and overall better executed film, but both are very much worth seeing. Studio Canal's presentation of City of Men is very good. It would have been nice to see some new supplemental features, but the featurette included on this release was also the only extra on the old R1 DVD release which Lionsgate Films produced not too long ago. RECOMMENDED.
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