6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A band of medieval mercenaries take revenge on a noble lord who decides not to pay them by kidnapping the betrothed of the noble's son. As the plague and warfare cut a swathe of destruction throughout the land, the mercenaries hole up in a castle and await their fate.
Starring: Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Susan Tyrrell, Tom Burlinson, Jack ThompsonPeriod | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Two years before he delivered “RoboCop” to the masses, director Paul Verhoeven attempted his first connection to Hollywood-style filmmaking with 1985’s “Flesh + Blood.” Remaining true to his European sensibility, Verhoeven didn’t simply deliver a big screen adventure with swinging swords, damsels in distress, and castle battles, but a picture with distinct elusiveness, eschewing heroes and villains to create a war movie with a sophisticated morality. And rape. Lots of rape. “Flesh + Blood” doesn’t display the helmer firing on all cylinders, but it’s an interesting chapter in his gore-stained career, unleashing his signature cinematic roar on an industry that often had no clue what to do with him.
The AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation is strange, with cinematographic anomalies frequently popping into view, including a slight vertical stretch and outright distortion in one travel scene. It doesn't seem to be a question of poor materials, but there are distractions to those sensitive to such matters. Some mild sharpening appears, but nothing too distracting, while coloring is odd at times, drowning many moments in a suffocating glaze of red. Detail is satisfactory, isolating the grit of the era and its physical decay. Blacks are passable, with comfortable delineation during low-lit encounters. Grain is heavy, and the print shows no overwhelming signs of damage.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix requires some volume riding to master, emerging with a slightly quieter quality than the average BD release. Scoring is hearty, with blazing orchestral sweeps, delivering satisfying instrumentation that's balanced well with action sequences. Dialogue is somewhat problematic, offering a shrillness that's hard on the ears when received at top volume. This could be inherent to the original design, but it's disappointing, sounding sharp and flat. Hiss is minimal.
"Flesh + Blood" is diverting, shares select moments of cleverness, and pursues a satiric tone at times (organized religion receives a pantsing), but it's also miscast, with Leigh way out of her league as a singular temptation, while Hauer can't keep up with Verhoeven's gusto. The movie just doesn't live up to the helmer's glorious sense of screen madness, more consumed with establishing ugliness than embracing the potential for a ripping medieval quest.
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1982
1935
2017
2015
1924
影 / Ying
2018
2014
Warner Archive Collection
1952
1971
影武者
1980
1926
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1956
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