7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Two billion years ahead of us, a future race of humans finds itself on the verge of extinction. Almost all that is left in the world are lone and surreal monuments, beaming their message into the wilderness.
Narrator: Tilda SwintonForeign | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.68:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 CD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
I'd wager at least 75% of you will come away from Last and First Men mumbling, "what the hell was that?" The same 75%, actually, who hated, and I mean hated, writer/director Kyle Edward Ball's hyper-abstract chiller, Skinamarink, which emerged last year as one of the most cult-y cult horror movies in recent memory. But grant me the audience to argue that Last and First Men is something truly unique and special. No actors. No plot. No visions of a technologically advanced sci-fi future. Grainy 16mm black-and-white photography. A haunting score lamenting the passing of an age. Somber narration recounting the fallen culture and nations of humanity's final hurrah. It's a baffling but brilliant work of minimalism that, quite literally, brought tears to my eyes at one point. Why? I have no earthly idea. I wasn't feeling anything... until I suddenly was. It's simply that affecting. If, that is, you're open to the deliberate, languid spell it slowly casts. Last and First Men not only defies convention (and then some), it serves as a strange, otherworldly piece of fictional future-history that's both a cautionary tale and document of the heartache and loss that would feasibly accompany mankind's extinction. I've never seen anything like it, and I think I loved it.
Metrograph Pictures brings Last and First Men to Blu-ray with a faithful 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation that clings to its source and delivers and delivers a distraction-free experience. Filmed in 16mm, the future-history documentary is extremely grainy by design, and that grain has been preserved without much at all in the way of inconsistencies or artifacting. (Ignore screenshots in this regard as the images' compression to .jpeg may feature misleading anomalies that are not indicative of the film in motion.) There's hardly any color to speak of, but contrast is eye-catching, gradient grays are free of banding, and black levels are deep and inky. There is some specks, scratches and even hairs present in the cinematography. However, this is all keeping with the filmmakers' intentions. Last and First Men isn't just meant to be a documentary; it's meant to evoke a dated, aging glimpse into the past, thus the throwback qualities of the presentation (as is also the case with the 1.68:1 aspect ratio and rounded edges at the four corners of the image). The verdict? Jóhannsson's film couldn't look much better than it does on Blu-ray.
Don't be disappointed with Last and First Men's reserved sound design. Metrograph's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is a strong representation of the film's sonic intentions and original mix. Swinton's narration hovers naturally over the waters of the soundfield; never dominating, never straining to be heard. The rear speakers are also surprisingly engaging, with subtle but precise directionality, and the subwoofer makes its presence slowly known. Dynamics are excellent, despite the often whispery softness and quiet sadness haunting the film, and the Yair Elazar Glotman and Jóhannsson's score is layered in perfectly. This isn't a DTS-HD Master Audio track that'll wake the neighbors (or people upstairs for that matter) but it is a terrific presentation of the documentary's sound mix that proves as disarming as the material itself.
The only supplement features on the Blu-ray disc of Last and first Men is the film's 2-minute HD trailer. However, this Deutsche Grammophon
release also includes an audio CD of Yair Elazar Glotman and the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson's music score, which, in my opinion, is
well worth the increased price of admission. The audio quality is excellent and the CD offers every bar of music that graces the film. (Just one word of
warning for vintage media collectors: the Universal Import vinyl edition available on Amazon under the same listing as this 2-disc Blu-ray/Audio CD
edition reportedly does not include a Blu-ray of the film itself.)
The Audio CD track list is as follows:
Cards on the table: most of you will probably loathe Last and First Men, or at least come away sleepy and bored. For those who are keen to give into its spell, though, this future-history documentary will be a unique and otherworldly testament to the power of minimalistic filmmaking. Thankfully Metrograph's AV presentation is outstanding, without much in the way of anything to complain about. It would have been nice to see some special features, particularly surrounding the career of the late Jóhann Jóhannsson, but so it goes.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Ruusujen aika / Slipcover in Original Pressing
1969
Voyage to the End of the Universe
1963
Tômei ningen arawaru
1949
Daikaiju Baran
1958
1981
Oro
1934
2002
Les quatre soeurs
2018
2023
Je Serai Seule Après Minuit
1931
Château de rêve
1933
Slipcover in Original Pressing
1987
1998
2012
Kamikaze 1989 / Slipcover in Original Pressing
1982
Misiunea spatialã Delta
1984
2023
La muerte silba un blues
1964
2021
宇宙快速船 / Invasion from a Planet
1961