6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Two white South Africans, imprisoned for working on behalf of the ANC, determine to escape from the notorious white man's 'Robben Island', Pretoria Prison.
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Daniel Webber, Ian Hart, Mark Leonard Winter, Nathan PageThriller | Insignificant |
Period | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French (Canada): DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, French SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Daniel Radcliffe will always be known for playing Harry Potter, but in Escape from Pretoria he also works some magic in Houdini style, planning a daring and impossible escape from prison by painstakingly crafting wooden keys over the months and years of his twelve-year sentence in 1970s Apartheid South Africa. Escape is his plan, and meticulous attention to detail, human cunning and ingenuity, and extreme patience (not to mention a few strokes of good luck) aid in his evolving plan and steadfast determination to escape a harsh and inescapable prison. The film necessarily shares in common many of the core qualities from the general "prison escape" film landscape, which is one of the richer in cinema history. While Escape from Pretoria adds nothing absolutely new to the genre, it does make for a very good entry, defined by a somewhat novel approach to the escape and an excellent lead performance from Radcliffe. Based on a true story.
The 1080p Blu-ray presentation for Escape from Pretoria delivers an excellent watch. The film was shot digitally but it never looks too terribly smooth. While grain and film stock might have given the film more of a period-authentic character, there's no denying that the image looks good as it is, offering good, stable, and nicely defined base details on faces, hair, clothes (both the lesser prison garb and the crisper guard uniforms), and of course the various worn and dingy prison surfaces, both inside and out. Inside, much of the action is gray and devoid of much light to really soak in the details, but shots taking place out in the yard under bright, sunny conditions offer more opportunity for soaking in the full clarity that the image has to offer. Colors are likewise spread between the gray and blue prison interiors where only splashes of color break up the monotony, and the exterior where colored brick, natural greens, and other tones spring to life with a contrasting robustness and vividness that is necessarily absent inside. Black level depth is terrific, especially at night and in shadows during the scenes where the men sneak through the prison to try out and hone the shape of keys. Whites are crisp and pleasing, notably on prison guard shirts. Flesh tones look good. There is a hint of noise and banding throughout, the former never really cause for concern and the latter only looking drastic in a couple of spots, notably during the scene when Tim is read his prison sentence around the eight minute mark.
Universal brings Escape from Pretoria to Blu-ray with an excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation is robustly defined throughout, offering wonderful depth and detail, especially as sounds reverberate around the dank, enclosed prison spaces. There's a very tangible sense of place, space, and close confines at play as footfalls, slamming prison doors, and other elements reverberate throughout the soundstage with both surround and subwoofer usage to truly draw the listener into the location. The track also offers excellently defined music which is likewise perfectly spaced and well supported by the LFE channel. Dialogue is centered, clear, and well prioritized for the duration.
This Blu-ray release of Escape from Pretoria contains a few supplements. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does
not ship with a slipcover.
One of the pleasures of watching Escape from Pretoria is reveling in the human ingenuity at work. Set in a world where lock-and-key was still the only thing keeping prisoners in and out, there is ample opportunity for creativity and high tension in the escape. Today, of course, the story would not work because of the computerized nature of things, but here the world of mind- and wood-conquer-steel makes for a compelling and robust story that is well worth a watch. Universal's Blu-ray delivers solid all-around video and audio presentations in addition to a few worthwhile extras. Highly recommended.
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