7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The French intelligence service alerts the U.S. about a Soviet spy operation during the height of the Cold War, which sets off an unfortunate chain of events.
Starring: Diane Kruger, Willem Dafoe, Guillaume Canet, Fred Ward, Alexandra Maria LaraForeign | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, French director Christian Carion's "L'affaire Farewell" a.k.a. "Farewell" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of NeoClassics Films Ltd. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original U.S. theatrical trailer and a gallery of stills. In French, Russian, and English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
"I can change the world"
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC nad granted a 1080p transfer, Christian Carion's Farewell arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of NeoClassics Films Ltd.
It appears that this Blu-ray release uses the same high-definition transfer French distributors Pathe used for their local Blu-ray release of Farewell - which is very good news. Indeed, fine object detail is excellent throughout the entire film, while clarity and color reproduction are outstanding. The outdoor footage, in particular, looks great - there is tremendous depth and fluidity; contrast is also well balanced. This being said, very early into the film I noticed some extremely light artifacting, but I doubt most viewers will spot it as it appears during a single, rather short sequence. Edge-enhancement, halo effects, or ringing patterns do not plague the high-definition transfer. There are absolutely no serious stability issues to report in this review either. All in all, Farewell looks very strong on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French Dolby Digital 2.0 (with portions of English and Russian). For the record, NeoClassics Films Ltd. have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
The French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is solid. Farewell is complimented by a dreamy soundtrack that enhances the suspenseful atmosphere wonderfully well. In fact, portions of the film where the main protagonists are seen contemplating their lives very much reminds Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's The Lives of Others. The dialog is always crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow. For the record, there are no problematic pops, cracks, hissings, or audio dropouts to report in this review.
They say that history is what powerful people want it to be. For more than half a century this was certainly the case in the U.S.S.R. and its satellites where ordinary people were taught to believe the unbelievable. Ironically, it might turn out that the rest of the world and especially the Western democracies were just as badly manipulated. History tells us that President Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War, but Christian Carion's Farewell argues otherwise. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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