7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In an oppressive future, a fireman whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task.
Starring: Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, Cyril Cusack, Anton Diffring, Jeremy SpenserThriller | Insignificant |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Drama | 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
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
German, English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Screened at the Venice Film Festival and nominated for the prestigious Golden Lion Award, François Truffaut's "Fahrenheit 451" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of German label Koch Media. The supplemental features on the disc include original English and French trailers for the film; audio commentary with Julie Christie; making of featurette; video interview with author Ray Bradbury; archival interview with director Francois Truffaut; archival interview with Julie Christie; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring an article by Fritz Gottler. In English, with optional English and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
The firemen
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, François Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of German label Koch Media.
The high-definition transfer has been struck from a dated source with serious issues. There are traces of moderate to heavy denoising corrections throughout the entire film that have seriously affected definition and clarity. Indeed, even during close-ups with plenty of natural light definition can be extremely poor (see screencapture #16). During some of the darker indoor footage clarity is also very disappointing (see screencaptures #3 and 13). There are traces of strong sharpening corrections that further destabilize the image. In fact, plenty of the daylight footage looks unbearably harsh. Color reproduction is also problematic. Excluding some of the intended fluctuations during the TV footage, most of the prominent colors -- the reds, greens, and the different variations of browns and grays -- look very flat. Perhaps the only good news here is the fact that there are no serious stability issues, but there is quite a bit of dirt, some flecks, and even a few random scratches. All in all, this is a disappointing presentation of Fahrenheit 451 which will surely frustrate its fans. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Koch Media have provided optional English and German subtitles for the main feature.
The lossless English track is excellent. The dialog is exceptionally crisp, free of background hiss and very easy to follow throughout the entire film. Bernard Herrmann's beautiful orchestral score is also notably vibrant. The shootouts sound remarkably crisp, while the unique special effects are very easy to identify. Indeed, the improvements in the audio department are very impressive.
German label Koch Media's Blu-ray release of Francois Truffaut's first color film, Fahrenheit 451, is disappointing. It uses a high-definition transfer that has been struck from a dated source with serious issues. Naturally, my advice to you is to wait for the film to be properly restored and then transferred to Blu-ray. AVOID.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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