6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In order to keep his ailing son alive, an impoverished man agrees to sneak a herd of sheep across the border.
Starring: Yilmaz Guney, Pervin Par, Erol Tas, Aydemir AkbasForeign | 100% |
Drama | 83% |
Crime | 2% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Turkish: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Lutfi Akad's "Law of the Border" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include a filmed introduction by Marty Scorsese and new video interview with filmmaker Melvut Akkaya. In Turkish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
On the border
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer,
Lutfi Akad's Law of the Border arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The release is sourced from a new 2K restoration of the film which was essentially made possible only because the daughter of one of the film's producer somehow preserved a positive print that remains the only surviving element. (Apparently, during the military coup in Turkey in 1980, the original film elements were destroyed). Unfortunately, was also either badly damaged or stored improperly and as a result plenty of scratches, cuts, damaged frames and transition issues are basically retained. There are also obvious drops in density and clarity, as well as contrast and brightness issues that have further destabilized the integrity of the visuals in certain areas. The good news is that even with such uncharacteristic source limitations plenty of fine detail is retained and there are even large segments with pretty decent fluidity (see screencapture #5). Rather surprisingly, the overall grading is also quite consistent. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Turkish: LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
Clarity and at times even depth are actually quite good, but from time to time there is some noticeable unevenness. Again, much like the quality of the visuals, the quality of the audio depends entirely on nature of the surviving elements. The important thing that I wish to make clear is that even with the inherited limitations there are no enormously distracting anomalies.
I have seen some of the films that Yilmaz Güney has directed, but I was completely unfamiliar with Law of the Border in which he plays a conflicted smuggler. The film is quite interesting as it reveals plenty of similarities with the work of the Italian neorealists and shows Turkey during a transitional period looking for a new identity, in a way very much as the country is at the moment but in an entirely new environment. The film looks a bit rough in high-definition, but the restoration credits that are provided by Criterion make it quite clear that had it not been for Marty Scorsese's efforts and The Film Foundation, it was probably only a matter of time before it would have been completely lost. Law of the Border is included in the Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 2 Blu-ray box set. RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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