7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Other | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Music: LPCM 2.0
Music: Dolby Digital 2.0
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
There’s always a certain amount of hype that attends even minor home video releases. You know the drill, it includes everything from pull quotes from some reviewer in Podunkville to breathless, purple prose adorning the keepcase insert. One quickly learns to take all of the public relations hoo-hah with a grain (or even a pillar) of salt. When every film or home video release is deemed “A masterpiece!” by at least one voice in the wilderness, the only thing that ultimately matters is how you personally respond to a piece. Of course, that’s the only that really ever matters, isn’t it? Which is why if I tell you that these new AMOS (more about that acronym in a moment) offerings from Topics are really a mini-revolution in their own way, if not quite at true masterpiece level, you might roll your eyes, especially when you do a little research and see that I’m talking about this much maligned genre I’ve termed “ambient television.” This is, after all, fare you’re not even really supposed to pay much attention to, a sort of “easy viewing” (akin to that equally much maligned idiom of music, “easy listening”) that’s there, but which never requires much attention and doesn’t reward that attention (should it be deigned to be given) with much other than a passing pleasure or two. When you’ve muddled through other ambient television fare like I have, sometimes interminable affairs that strain the reviewing brain cells to their breaking point, something like Rebel (and the recently released companion piece Rise which I reviewed here) such a breath of fresh air that I’m perhaps more prone to critical hyperbole than I would be otherwise. But much like watching those first music videos which sputtered across MTV in its opening few weeks, and then comparing them to the high-tech wonderment of current offerings, becomes a lesson in cultural (if, sadly, not musical) evolution, comparing these new AMOS releases to some of the other ambient television fare out there (including, in fact, some other releases by Topics itself) is a wonderful lesson in how this new genre is slowly starting to stretch the video (and aural) envelope to deliver something that truly at last can actually be called entertaining.
The sun's going down, the workday's over, and it's time to play!
Rebel, like its sibling Rise, is a spectacular feast for the eyes (perhaps even more so than Rise), with a sterling AVC encoded 1080i transfer (in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio). Despite some fairly heavy post-processing effects, and an interlaced image, there are no egregious artifacts to report. Instead we get a blisteringly sharp image that may not depend on the beauty of nature as much as Rise does, but which supplements the basic source material with a wealth of gorgeous effects, including some very nice filtering. We're offered a really (as in really) wide array of subject matters here, including everything from racecar drivers to molecules to outerspace to weird, hallucinogenic beaches, and it's all presented with brilliant sharpness and gorgeously saturated color.
It's rather odd that Topics, which is really jumping to the head of the line in this genre with these new AMOS releases, would have their Blu-rays default to a Dolby Digital 2.0 mix when the Blu's come with not one, but two, uncompressed lossless audio options, a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and an LPCM 2.0. It's even stranger that the slipcase and insert hawk the Dolby option and not the lossless options. That said, these are extremely robust soundtracks, with some pretty overpowering low end, especially in the "Fast" option, which is a sort of techno-trance 80bpm compilation that is very, very bass heavy. The "Slow" option tends more toward ambient, soothing "Spa"-type music (to use XM-Sirius verbiage), with spacy synth washes playing out against relaxed percussive beats. Both of these soundtracks are exceptional, and someone needs to give these musicians the credit they deserve.
No supplements are included on this budget priced disc.
Rebel proves that Rise was no fluke, and that Topics has an extremely potent new brand with these AMOS releases. If you ever bought some of those old VHS tapes that featured compilations of the then-nascent CGI genre, you might have some idea of the fun and variety that Rebel has in store. Yes, this is niche marketing at its perhaps most obscure. But take a chance on these AMOS releases, and I doubt you'll be disappointed. Rebel comes very highly recommended.
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