6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Military doctor General Klenski is arrested in Stalin's Russia in 1953 during an anti-Semitic political campaign accused of being a participant in so-called "doctors' plot".
Starring: Yuri Tsurilo, Nina Ruslanova, Aleksandr Bashirov, Olga Samoshina, Alexander LykovForeign | 100% |
Drama | 74% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Russian: LPCM 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Maybe you’ve heard or seen a few news reports lately about Russia’s interference in our elections (yes, that’s a joke). Maybe one reason the Russians seem so interested in our elections is that their “elections” may not have always had the best outcomes for the assembled citizenry, especially during the Soviet Era, and they may be indulging in a bit of "misery loves company" (yes, that's another joke). Case in point: Khrustalyov, My Car!, a blistering if somewhat fragmented accounting of the end of Stalin’s reign of terror circa 1953, in what is a rather barbed indictment of various excesses of that period of time in Russian (and/or Soviet) history. As is discussed in an equally fragmented commentary track (more about that below in the Supplements section of the review), Khrustalyov, My Car! isn’t always easy to follow from a purely narrative standpoint (something that led the French distributor to add a text prologue supposedly “explaining” context, something that’s included on this release), but from a baseline emotional standpoint, the film is devastatingly clear about the horrors of a sociopolitical system that treats humans like so many cogs in so many wheels.
Khrustalyov, My Car! is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. This is the very rare Arrow release where there's something of a discrepancy in descriptions of the provenance of the transfer on the back cover and the insert booklet. The back cover states that this is a "new 2K restoration from the original camera negative", while the insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:
Khrustalyov, My Car! has been exclusively resotred by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ration of 1.37:1 with stereo sound.My personal hunch is that the booklet is correct, though (as usual) if anyone can point me to authoritative data to the contrary, I'll happily post an update here. The bottom line is this is an often ravishing presentation, but there are a few variances at play. Contrast is generally superb, but as can be easily gleaned from many of the screenshots accompanying this review, German and cinematographer Vladimir Ilin frequently push things to the point that whites can bloom slightly, something which in turn can offer kind of effulgent glows around objects (and people), and at least occasionally mask fine detail levels. There are some pretty noticeable fluctuations in clarity along with variances in overall contrast, though the fact that this was evidently shot over the course of several years may come into play with regard to these differences (it almost looks like different stocks were used for different sequences). The film offers a glut of midrange and close-up shots, and those often offer very impressive detail levels. The restoration gauntlet has removed any major signs of age related wear and tear. Grain can also be slightly variable, but resolves naturally throughout the presentation.
The original 35mm fine grain positive was scanned in 2K resolution on an Arriscan at Eclair, Paris. The film was graded and restored at Dragon DI, Wales. Picture grading was completed on a Pablo Rio system and restoration was completed using a combination of PFClean and Revival software.
Khrustalyov, My Car! features an LPCM 2.0 track in the original Russian which didn't strike my ears as providing a ton of really wide stereo imaging, but which offers excellent fidelity which supports both voice over and dialogue, as well as a lot of ambient environmental effects. The sound design here is occasionally intentionally chaotic, including some almost Hawksian overlapping dialogue.
Khrustalyov, My Car! is one of the more visceral viewing experiences I've had lately, though I would be the first to admit there are whole swaths of this film which are left unexplained, or at least undeveloped. As such, it's probably best to approach this as a "mood piece", and to let the really ravishing (if at times disturbing) visuals take control. It's always interesting to see someone from any given culture and/or nation take on some of the peculiarities of the culture and/or nation's history, and German offers a rather scathing assessment of Soviet era abuses (both macro and micro). Technical merits are excellent, and as usual Arrow has assembled some really interesting supplements (I'd almost advise that interested viewers start with some of the supplements rather than the film itself). Highly recommended.
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