7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In 1917 in a cellar at Passchendaele Private Hamp awaits court martial for desertion. Detailed to defend him, Captain Hargreaves, a correct, efficient, young officer realises from Hamp's simple replies that he is an innocent victim of war nerves and fatigue after three years active fighting.
Starring: Tom Courtenay, Dirk Bogarde, Leo McKern, Barry Foster, Peter CopleyWar | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.75:1
English: LPCM 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region B (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Joseph Losey's "King & Country" (1964) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include new program with Tom Courtenay; archival interview with Dirk Bogarde; and production stills. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region "locked".
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, King & Country arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.
The release introduces a very beautiful new 4K restoration of King & Country. Indeed, the quality of the visuals is so strong that I do not think that this film can look any better in 1080p. Delineation, clarity, and depth are either excellent or outstanding, though I must mention that there are a few segments with stock footage where noticeable density fluctuation can be observed. But these are inherited fluctuations that are part of the original cinematography. The grayscale is very convincing, too. Blacks are solid but do not crush, and there are very nice ranges of grays and whites. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks very healthy, too. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The audio is very healthy. In a few areas it can sound a tad thin, but this is almost certainly an inherited limitation. (The film was shot with a very modest budget and quite quickly, so it quickly becomes obvious that the soundtrack was not a top priority for the filmmakers). Dynamic intensity is very modest. While viewing the film, I did not encounter any audio dropouts or distortions to report in our review.
Real soldiers do not like deserters. During a time of war, soldiers become brothers, and they readily risk their lives to protect each other. If one of them commits an act of betrayal, either by walking away or joining the enemy, which is what desertion is, they do not think of him as a hero. This is hardly news, and to argue the opposite is a waste of time. Many real soldiers detest war too, but this is an entirely different subject. King & Country attempts to convince that a soldier who has abandoned his brothers can be a sympathetic character but fails to convincingly explain why he should not be tried as a deserter. Its message about the futility of war is not particularly convincing, either. Joseph Losey most likely directed King & Country because of his admiration for Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory, but aside from some small thematic similarities these films do not have much in common. If your take on King & Country is drastically different, this release from StudioCanal should be on your radar because it introduces a fabulous new 4K restoration of the film. RECOMMENDED to the fans.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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