7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.6 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
A married couple grieving the recent death of their young daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond.
Starring: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania, Massimo SeratoDrama | 100% |
Horror | 69% |
Psychological thriller | 37% |
Mystery | 29% |
Surreal | 28% |
Supernatural | 7% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Recently named by Time Out magazine the Best British Film of all time, Nic Roeg's "Don't Look Now" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; new video interviews with director Danny Boyle, screenwriter/producer Allan Scott; cinematographer Tony Richmond; and Donald Sutherland; making of featurette; audio commentary with director Nic Roeg and film critic Adam Smith; and more. In English and Italian, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Donald Sutherland as John Baxter
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Nic Roeg's Don't Look Now arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.
The high-definition transfer that has been used for this much anticipated Blu-ray release is a rather frustrating one.
Don't Look Now has been recently restored, and from the materials I was sent it appears that director Roeg personally supervised and approved the new restoration. Unfortunately, I must speculate that after the restoration was completed and during its transition to Blu-ray additional corrections were performed that have affected its integrity.
Specifically, a layer of occasionally thick machine noise has been applied, possibly to sharpen the image and reduce film grain, which has a tendency to degrade detail and clarity. For example, the sharpening and machine noise are fairly easy to see on screencapture #1 (notice how the shadow under Donald Sutherland's left eye breaks up and looks smeary). Elsewhere, some of the panoramic vistas (see screencapture #2) lack depth and have a rather unpleasant electronic look. All of this is very frustrating because it is incredibly easy to see that what is under the machine noise is of very high quality -- color reproduction, shadow definition, and depth are obviously superior to that of previous DVD releases of the film.
This being said, in motion these image degradations are not always as extreme as they might appear on the screencaptures provided with this review. In fact, I would speculate that mostly viewers who project their films on very large screens (100'+) would find the presentation to be unacceptable. On medium size screens (52'-55'), the majority of the subtle image degradations would likely remain unnoticed by most viewers, though the sporadic harshness of the image would still bother those who are sensitive to post-production sharpening. Regardless, given Optimum Home Entertainment's very impressive record with Blu-ray releases of classic films (see Cross of Iron, The Cruel Sea, and Ice Cold in Alex), it is very frustrating that the post-restoration corrections were made. My advice to you is to find a way to rent this release and see if you are bothered by the presentation before considering a purchase. (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 is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0 (with portions of Italian). For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
Unlike the video treatment, the audio treatment is outstanding. The English LPCM 2.0 has a terrific dynamic amplitude that effectively puts to shame the Dolby Digital Mono track from the R1 DVD release of the film. The dialog is crisp, clear, and exceptionally easy to follow, as well as superbly balanced with Pino Donaggio's famous score. I specifically would like to point out that the sudden dynamic fluctuations/dropouts that plague the R1 DVD release of the film have been effectively addressed.
It is obvious that Optimum Home Entertainment (and Studio Canal) wanted this Blu-ray release of Nic Roeg's legendary Don't Look Now to be a special one. Not only did the film undergo a meticulous restoration, but exclusive new supplemental features were also prepared for the Blu-ray release. This makes the issue addressed in the video section of our review that much more frustrating because this easily could have been one of the year's best releases. My advice to you is to rent it first and see how the film looks on your system before considering a purchase. RENT IT.
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