7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Joe, a brooding ex-convict, meets and unexpectedly becomes friend and mentor to a 15-year-old drifter with an alcoholic, violent father. Before long, Joe is faced with the choice of redemption or ruin.
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan, Gary Poulter, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Adriene MishlerComing of age | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Drama | 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: LPCM 2.0
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Winner of Marcello Mastroianni Award and Christopher D. Smithers Foundation Special Award at the Venice Film Festival, David Gordon Green's "Joe" (2013) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Film World/Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and making of featurette. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
"I just wanna know... Why you wanna go back, Joe?"
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, David Gordon Green's Joe arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Film World/Artificial Eye.
Shot with the Arri Alexa Plus camera, the film has the appropriate clean and smooth appearance. Detail and clarity are outstanding, even in areas of the film where light is restricted, while fluidity is wonderful. The daylight outdoor sequences, in particular, look very impressive. Many of the well-lit close-ups can be mistaken for digital photographs. Colors are lush, stable and natural. Overall image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no encoding anomalies to report in this review. All in all, this is a wonderful technical presentation of Joe which makes it very easy to appreciate the unique style and vision of the film's creators. (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 are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Curzon Film World/Artificial Eye have not provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
The film has a very effective organic sound design -- random nature sounds and noises further enhance the tense atmosphere without ever becoming distracting. Jeff McIlwain and David Wingo's ambient soundtrack has a very important role, through it is also used primarily to support specific aspects of the existing atmosphere. I viewed the film with the 5.1 track and can confirm that it certainly opens up the film far better than the 2.0 track, but you should not expect to hear impressive surround movement. The dialog is crisp, clean, and stable, but optional English SDH subtitles should have been included as some viewers might have trouble with a few of the thicker accents.
Joe is David Gordon Green's best work to date. It is easy to tell that it was a very personal project for him and the end result is absolutely fantastic. Frankly, I don't know if there is another contemporary American director that consistently sees and films the South as well as Gordon Green does. If you don't yet have Joe in your collections, I urge you to consider purchasing a copy. As far as I am concerned, it is one of 2014's best American films. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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