6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Depicting 24 hours in the life of four Israeli paratroopers at the outset of the 1982 Lebanon invasion, the film follows the soldiers on a mission to clear a Lebanese area of hostile fighters. Filmed almost entirely from inside the tank in which they are travelling, the film follows the men as they cope with the deteriorating state of the tank, the stress, intense heat and cramped conditions inside, the occasional failure of the communication equipment, navigational problems and the inevitable quarrelling.
Starring: Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen, Ashraf Barhom, Reymonde AmsallemDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 69% |
War | 41% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080/50i
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Hebrew: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Hebrew: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Winner of the prestigious Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, Samuel Maoz's "Lebanon" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distirbutors Metrodome Video. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with director Samuel Maoz; "Views from the Frontline"; "Background to the First Lebanon War"; and the film's original theatrical trailer. In Hebrew, with optional English subtitles. Region-B "locked". Please be advised that the film contains disturbing footage that is not appropriate for minors!
Man is steel. The tank is only iron.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080/50i transfer, Samuel Maoz's Lebanon arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Metrodome Video.
Before I comment on the quality of the high-definition transfer the British distributors have used for this Blu-ray release, I would like to mention that I did not get a chance to see Lebanon theatrically and therefore have no point of reference as to what its intended look is.
Generally speaking, fine object detail is good, particularly during the daylight footage. Clarity, however, fluctuates a lot; the footage from inside the tank is typically very dark, at times making it incredibly difficult to see clearly everything the camera is focused on. The color-scheme is certainly unique - greens, yellows and blues are subdued, browns warm, and blacks rich and truly overwhelming. Because of the manner in which the action is film, there is hardly any natural balance - the dark colors are the prevalent ones. Edge-enhancement is not an issue of concern; neither is macroblocking. Mild motion-judder, however, is at times easy to spot. Last but not least, I did not see any purely transfer-related anomalies to report in this review. (Note: The main feature on this Blu-ray disc is encoded in 1080/50i. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B player and a TV set capable of processing the 1080/50i encoded data, or a Region-Free player that will also convert the 1080/50i data to 1080/60i in order to access the disc's content in North America).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Hebrew DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Hebrew Dolby Digital 2.0 (both with portions of Arabic and English). For the record, Metrodome Video have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
The Hebrew DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is solid. The bass is powerful and punchy, the rear channels not overly active but effective, and the high-frequencies not overdone. When the tank moves, or gets hit, you will definitely get a good feeling of how well your audio system can perform. The dialog is mostly crisp, clean, stable and easy to follow. Even the occasional radio transmissions are easy to follow. There are no balance issues with Nicolas Becker and Benoit Delbecq's ambient score either. Finally, while viewing the film I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review.
Background to the First Lebanon War - a factual summation of the First Lebanon War highlighting key events. In text format. (1080p).
View from the Frontline - writer and director Samuel Maoz, production designer Ariel Roshko, director of photography Giora Bejach, and actor Yoav Donat address the production history and message of Lebanon. In text format. (1080p).
Theatrical trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the for the film. In Hebrew, with imposed English subtitles. (3 min, 1080/50i).
Commentary - an interesting audio commentary with writer and director Samuel Maoz. Mr. Maoz addresses the production history of his film, how specific scenes were shot, what obstacles his production team had to overcome, etc. Mr. Maoz also talks about his participation in the First Lebanon War. In English.
Samuel Maoz's Lebanon is a raw, powerful, very intense war film. In my opinion, it was also one of the top films to be released theatrically last year. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Metrodome Video, looks and sounds very good. It is, however, Region-B "locked". Let's hope that a local distributor will bring Lebanon to North America as well. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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