7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
The true story of the Soviet slaughter of thousands of Polish officers and citizens in the Katyn forest in 1940.
Starring: Andrzej Chyra, Maja Ostaszewska, Artur Zmijewski, Danuta Stenka, Jan EnglertDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 75% |
War | 62% |
History | 53% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Polish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Partial Russian language
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Poland's Official Submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards, Andrzej Wajda's "Katyn" (2007), arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an interview with director Andrzej Wajda, making of, and trailers. With optional English subtitles. Region-Free.
The end
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer,
Andrzej Waida's Katyn arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.
Artificial Eye released Katyn on SDVD approximately six months ago, but the image was
cropped to 1.78:1. For the Blu-ray release, the distributors have secured a 2.35:1 transfer that
looks absolutely fabulous. Fine object detail is striking, clarity pleasing and contrast levels
consistent throughout the entire film. The color-scheme is also very impressive. For example, the
light blues and greens Katyn is saturated with look fresh and very strong. Edge-
enhancement and macroblocking are never an issue of concern. I also did not detect any heavy
digital artifacts or ringing to report in this review. There is no background flickering or banding
either. There are only a couple of scenes where I detected some extremely mild noise creeping
in. Finally, I did not spot any disturbing flecks, scratches, debris, or cuts to report in this review.
All in all, director Wajda's Katyn looks very impressive on Blu-ray, and I cannot
recommend it highly enough to you. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore,
you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the
record, there is no forced PAL content preceding the disc's main menu).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Polish/Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and
Polish/Russian Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, Artificial Eyr have provided optional English
subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar
below it.
The Polish/Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very strong. The surround channels are not
overly active, but when they are, they are very effective; the bass is strong; the high frequencies
are not overdone. Award-winning composer Krzysztof Penderecki's score benefits greatly from
the loseless audio -- the low strings, in particular, are incredibly rich. The dialog is clean, crisp and
easy to follow. I also did not notice any balance issues with the music score to report in this
review. I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hiss either.
The Polish/Russian Dolby Digital 5.1 track is, as expected, inferior. During a number of key
scenes, for example, the music sounds flat and lifeless. Generally speaking, the dialog remains
clean and easy to follow.
Note: All of the supplemental features on this disc are in PAL. Therefore, if you reside in
North America, or another region where PAL is not supported, you must have a Region-Free
player capable of converting PAL to NTSC, or a TV set capable of receiving native PAL data, in
order to view them.
Interview - a long and very informative interview with director Wajda in which
he talks about his desire to shoot Katyn in Poland, not abroad; what the Katyn massacre
meant to him and his family; the type of message he wanted to deliver with the film; its
production history; etc. In Polish, with imposed English subtitles. (50 min)
Making of - a standard featurette following director Wajda and his crew during
the shooting of Katyn. In Polish, with imposed English subtitles. (27 min).
Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. In Polish, with imposed English
subtitles. (2 min).
Artificial Eye trailers - trailers for Waltz with Bashir, Chungking
Express, Hidden, and Lou Reed's Berlin.
Katyn is a powerful, exceptionally moving and terrifically acted film directed by legendary Polish director Andrzej Wajda. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye, looks and sounds great. It also contains a long and very informative interview with the Polish director. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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