8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Daigo Kobayashi is a young married cellist who played in an orchestra that has just been disbanded. Suddenly on the street without a job, Daigo decides to move back to his hometown with his wife. There he gets a job as an undertaker. He sees himself as a sort of gatekeeper between life and death. However, Daigo's work is despised by all the people around him. But it is through his relationship with death on a daily basis that Daigo begins to understand what life is really about.
Starring: Masahiro Motoki, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ryōko Hirosue, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Takashi SasanoForeign | 100% |
Drama | 39% |
Music | 4% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Japanese: DTS 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Yojiro Takita's "Okuribito" a.k.a. "Departures" (2008) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Films. The supplemental features on the disc include making of documentary, "Encoffinment", and the film's original theatrical trailer. In Japanese, with imposed English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Masahiro Motoki
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Yojiro Takita's Departures arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Films.
This is a strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is excellent, clarity very good and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. There are a variety of close-ups in the film and practically all of them look terrific. The panoramic vistas from the Japanese countryside also look good. Furthermore, the film's color-scheme is convincing - blues, yellows, greens, grays, whites and blacks are lush but at the same time natural looking. Film grains is also prominent. Finally, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. This being said, there is some some extremely mild but consistent edge-enhancement that creeps in during a few outdoor scenes. The most obvious example is the scene at the river where the main protagonist remembers the gift his father gave him many years ago. Still, this is a very strong high-definition transfer that should please fans of this highly decorated film. (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: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and Japanese DTS 2.0. For the record, Arrow Films have provided imposed English subtitles for the main feature (they cannot be turned off).
The Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is very good. It has a terrific, notably nuanced dynamic amplitude that treats Joe Hisaishi's wonderful music score very well. The long cello solos, for instance, sound great, while the dialog is crisp, stable, clean and very easy to follow. Like the actual film, however, it is rather subdued. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review.
As expected, the Japanese DTS 2.0 audio track cannot reproduce the nuanced dynamics of the Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The dialog, however, is just as clean, stable and easy to follow.
Making of documentary - a rather long featurette focusing on the film's production history and success. There is an abundance of raw footage from the shooting of the film here as well as numerous comments from cast and crew members. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (35 min, 720p).
Encoffinment - the unique Japanese ritual performed by Masahiro Motoki. Without sound. (15 min, 720p).
Trailer - the original trailer for the film. In Japanese, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).
Departures surprised a lot of people when it won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009, mostly because many of them did not know anything about it. Now that the film is available on Blu-ray, I hope that many of you will find the time to see it. I guarantee that after you do, you will have a greater appreciation for life. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Arrow Films, looks and sounds very good. Keep in mind, however, that it is Region-B "locked". VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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