6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Van's father, Stan, is fond of video, always taping scenes of daily family life. But he does not take care of Van's grandmother, Armen. Although he could afford having her at home, she is spending her days watching TV in an old people's home. Van often visits her. He meets Aline, whose mother is in the next bed. Van wants to get his grandma out of the old people's home. Aline will help. Actually, Van, whose mother left, years ago, is looking for a real family life.
Starring: David Hemblen, Gabrielle Rose, Arsinée Khanjian, Aidan Tierney, Selma KeklikianDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.32:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Winner of Best Canadian Feature Film Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, Atom Egoyan's "Family Viewing" (1988) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. There are no supplemental features on this release. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Are you biting hard?
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.32:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Atom Egoyan's Family Viewing arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.
Family Viewing looks as healthy as the rest of the Egoyan films which Artificial Eye have already released on Blu-ray (Next of Kin, Speaking Parts, and The Adjuster). The film footage boasts excellent depth and clarity, especially during close-ups with plenty of light (see screencaptures #3 and 7). Contrast levels have a tendency to fluctuate, but the effect is clearly intentional. Understandably, the video footage Egoyan blends with the film footage looks softer (see screencaptures #10 and 13). The frequent transitions from film footage to video footage and back to film footage, however, are intended to enhance the film's dreamy atmosphere. Colors are healthy and stable. There are no traces of excessive degraining corrections. Edge-enhancement is also not an issue of concern. Lastly, there are no large damage marks, cuts, debris, or scratches to report in this review. Overall image stability is also very good. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English Dolby Digital 2.0. For the record, Artificial Eye have not provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
I would have preferred to have a lossless track, but once again I must say that the lossy track is in fact very good (this was also the case with the lossy track on Speaking Parts). The dialog is fairly limited but it is always clear and very easy to follow. In select sequences Mychael Danna's music has enough depth and richness to effectively enhance the dreamy atmosphere. For the record, there are no pops, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.
Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray release.
Artificial Eye's Blu-ray releases of Atom Egoyan's early films are some of the year's best treats. I cannot recommend them highly enough. These are bold, very stylish, and hugely entertaining films directed by a true master. If you could play Region-B "locked" discs, I urge you to consider adding the following titles to your library: Family Viewing, Speaking Parts, The Adjuster and Next of Kin.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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