6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Amid a revolution in a South American mining outpost, a band of fugitives are forced to flee for their lives into the jungle. Starving, exhausted, and stripped of their old identities, they wander desperately lured by one deceptive promise of salvation after another.
Starring: Simone Signoret, Georges Marchal, Charles Vanel, Michel Piccoli, Tito JuncoForeign | 100% |
Drama | 47% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.68:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
French: LPCM 2.0 Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region B (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Luis Bunuel's "Death in the Garden" (1956) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British label Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive trailer for the film; new video interview with critic and filmmaker Tony Rayns; archival interview with actor Michel Piccoli; and more. The release also arrives with a 24-page illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by Philip Kemp, alongside archival imagery. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
On the edge of the garden
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.68:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Luis Bunuel's Death in the Garden arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
I don't have any technical details to share, but it is pretty obvious that the release is sourced from a recent remaster. Unfortunately, the end result is surprisingly inconsistent. Indeed, there are large parts of the film that look quite impressive, boasting nice detail and pleasing depth, as well as an all-around very healthy appearance. A lot of the daylight close-ups, in particular, look really good (see screencaptures #4 and 21). Elsewhere even some of the darker nighttime footage can look very convincing (see screencapture #19). However, in different parts of the film there are substantial fluctuations in terms of definition, depth, and even fluidity. Very early into the film, for instance, it literally looks as if there is footage that is coming from a different source -- and given the history of the film this would not be at all surprising -- and though it is very clear that there are native limitations it is also very easy to tell that digital adjustments were made to get some proper balance. There are traces of filtering, however, that are very strong and ultimately very distracting (see screencaptures #12, 13, 15, 16). There are also traces of filtering in other parts of the film, though this time they are far easier to tolerate (see screencapture #17). There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Colors are stable, but because the dynamic range isn't as consistent as it should have been some nuances are lost. The most obvious examples are during darker indoor footage where blacks or grays can appear compromised. Image stability is very good. Ultimately, I find the technical presentation to be quite awkward, as the quality can range from very good to poor literally within second, though fortunately the bulk of the film does look quite good. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The audio is clean, stable and easy to follow, which again leads me to believe that the release is sourced from some sort of a complete recent remaster. I would like to mention that because some cast member spoke their lines in different languages the original audio mix does in fact feature overdubbing, which also means that you are likely to spot some very minor timing discrepancies. In other words, these are native production limitations, not digital errors that were introduced during the encoding process. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.
Death in the Garden is a colorful adventure film that essentially channels many of Luis Bunuel's political views. I believe that it was intended as a warning against a troubling future that the director was convinced Mexico and countries in Latin America were likely to face. It is an enjoyable film, but I think that the final film in the "revolutionary triptych", Fever Mounts at El Pao, is the most effective one. Eureka Entertainment's release of Death in the Garden is sourced from a recent remaster that I found to be quite frustrating. Nevertheless, at the moment it clearly offers the best technical presentation of the film. RECOMMENDED (with reservations).
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