6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Nazis set up a secret base on the moon in 1945 where they hide out and plan to return to power in 2018.
Starring: Julia Dietze, Peta Sergeant, Götz Otto, Udo Kier, Christopher KirbyAction | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 78% |
Comedy | 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 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Some scenes in German with English subtitles
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Iron Sky premiered in 2012 to mostly withering reviews and less than spectacular box office, but its admittedly goofy premise of a bunch of lunar Nazis (that is not a typo) zooming to Earth in a gigantic interstellar Hindenburg (that is not a typo) was intriguing enough to make the film an instant cult item, especially once it debuted on Blu-ray. Now about a year and a half after the release of the film’s theatrical version on Blu-ray, Entertainment One has gone back to the Reichstag to bring out this expanded director’s cut in deluxe steelbook packaging. The added footage incrementally helps to develop some of the back story as well as a few of the gags, but ironically this release may be more attractive to those who didn’t spring for the first version rather than those who want more of the same middling thing. For sheer audacity of premise, you’d be hard pressed to come up with a more outrageous setup than that which is front and center in Iron Sky. In this film’s (literally) lunatic alternate universe, a horde of Nazis has managed to get to the dark side of the moon during the closing days of World War II, building a swastika shaped moon base while raising several generations of Aryans who are primed to return to Earth to instill their particular brand of order. In the meantime, a Sarah Palin-esque President of the United States has decided her best chance of getting reelected to a second term is by sending a new mission to the moon, replete with a handsome black model as one of the astronauts. When these two radically different worldviews collide, you get the weird and wacky world of this film which fairly screams “high concept”. Funny Nazis may strike some as an anachronism, but of course everyone from Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator to Mel Brooks in The Producers has mined this seemingly questionable material for considerable laughs. Iron Sky is perhaps a bit too outré for its own good, however, and while it does deliver some significant chuckles along the way, it’s also so odd so much of the time that many viewers may be scratching their heads in consternation rather than laughing out loud.
Iron Sky is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Entertainment One with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. The video quality here is exactly the same as with the first release, with the new, interpolated sequences looking completely at home with the rest of the footage. Substitute 300's ancient Greece and golden hued ambience for Iron Sky's retro-futuristic Nazis and slate gray palette and you'll have a good idea of what this largely green screen shot feature looks like. Close-ups reveal some excellent fine object detail. The CGI has an intentionally artificial look which also has a sort of smooth, flat ambience that is quite reminiscent of 300's similarly intentionally shallow appearance. Also like 300, the artificially created sets and backgrounds often have a smooth, textureless appearance. While there hasn't been an overt amount of color grading applied in post here, there is a slight tendency toward desaturation and the gray side of things which tends to keep midrange and wide shots from really popping. Unfortunately, the gray look of the film is only increased by some of the new footage which shares a similar palette. On the whole, though, this is a very sharp, clear and appealing looking transfer that should easily satisfy most videophiles.
Iron Sky features a very nicely rendered lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that is mostly in English, but which also contains several scenes in German with English subtitles. There is some very fun (and even funny) use of sound effects throughout this film, with clear pans as spaceships zoom by and good LFE via the rat-tat-tat of submachine guns and other explosions. Dialogue is cleanly and clearly presented and the film's score, which quotes liberally from Richard Wagner (in "new, improved" versions which almost verge on disco at times), sounds great. Fidelity is top notch, there's decently consistent immersion and dynamic range is quite wide.
This new Director's Cut doesn't add anything spectacular and in fact at times tends to make the film drag even more than the original version did. Still, as with the theatrical version, there's just enough whimsy here to buoy what is sometimes a floundering execution. My personal hunch is those who checked out the theatrical cut might well be disappointed that there isn't anything really that mind boggling in this new, extended version, though the steelbook packaging may at least provide a bit of a marketing edge. Those who haven't checked out Iron Sky yet could well find this version preferable, both for the packaging as well as for the longer making of featurette, even if the original's audio commentary isn't included. Recommended.
Iron Sky 2
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25th Anniversary Edition
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