7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
After he dies suddenly, the hapless advertising executive Daniel Miller finds himself in Judgment City, a gleaming way station where the newly deceased must prove they lived a life of sufficient courage to advance in their journey through the universe. As the self-doubting Daniel struggles to make his case, a budding relationship with the uninhibited Julia offers him a chance to finally feel alive.
Starring: Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, Lee Grant, Buck HenryDrama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Albert Brooks' "Defending Your Life" (1991) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailer for the film; new program with the director; and archival interviews; and new program with theologian and critic Donna Bowman. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Defending Your Life arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:
"Approved by director Albert Brooks, this new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on Lasergraphics Director film scanner from the original 35mm camera negative at Warner Bros. Motion Pictures Imaging in Burbank, California. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI Film's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for jitter, flicker, and small dirt. The original 2.0 surround soundtrack was remastered from the original 35mm LTRT magnetic tracks using Avid's Pro Tools and iZotope RX. Please be sure to enable Dolby Pro Logic decoding on your receiver to properly play the Dolby 2.0 surround soundtrack.
Transfer supervisor: Albert Brooks.
Colorist: Lee Kline."
The film looks terrific in high-definition. Everything from delineation and clarity to depth and fluidity looked rock-solid on my system. I even upscaled a portion of the film in 4K and all I have to add is that the quality of the presentation was as good as I imagined it would be. There are no traces of problematic digital work. Grain is very nicely exposed and evenly distributed, as you should be able to tell from the screencaptures that are included with our review. The grading job is fantastic as well. The primaries are lush, stable, and very nicely balanced. There are excellent ranges of supporting nuances as well. There are no image stability issues. The entire film looks spotless. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
There are no technical or encoding anomalies to report in our review. The audio is very clear, sharp, and nicely balanced. Dynamic intensity is unlikely to impress folks that appreciate modern sound designs, but some of the nuances that emerge during the more intimate moments could surprise. There are no traces of age-related imperfections.
If the afterlife looks and functions even remotely like the place Albert Brooks presents in Defending Your Life, then it is probably best to skip it because it is painfully obvious that it is run by a different crop of opinionated elitists. I am sorry, but I found the manner in which the hosts repeatedly dismissed the supposedly intellectually inferior character Brooks plays beyond revealing about the place they are supposedly in charge with. I would not want to be a guest there, and I certainly would not trust the hosts to determine the next phase of my existence -- whatever it may be. On top of this, I found the acting quite unconvincing as well. Criterion's release of Defending Your Life is sourced from an excellent new 4K master, so if you have a different, much more positive take on the film and want it in your library, place your order with confidence.
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