8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
In 1939, Guido, an Italian Jew, falls in love with Dora, who isn't Jewish. He woos her away from the Fascist official she has been dating, and they get married. Their son Giosue grows up among growing anti-Semitism. As the war progresses, Guido and Giosue are arrested and taken to a concentration camp. Dora goes too, determined not to separate the family. In the midst of the horrors of the camp, Guido protects his son by pretending that survival in the concentration camp is an elaborate game with which Giosue must play along or be sent home.
Starring: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano, Sergio Bini BustricDrama | 100% |
Period | 59% |
Romance | 41% |
War | 35% |
Foreign | 4% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, French
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Winner of more than 40 international awards, Roberto Benigni's "Life is Beautiful" (1997) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Canadian distributors Alliance. The supplemental features on the disc include a standard making of featurette, Academy Awards TV commercials, and the film's original U.S. theatrical trailer. In Italian and German, with optional English and French subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Now you see me, now you don't
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Canadian distributors Alliance.
This is a surprisingly strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is very good, clarity pleasing, and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. Color reproduction is outstanding, and arguably the key area where the high-definition transfer impresses the most - there are a variety of rich yellows, greens, reds, blues, browns, grays, and blacks that look beautiful. This being said, some traces of mild edge-enhancement are occasionally easy to spot (for example, there are quite a few during the wedding announcement); macroblocking, however, is not an issue of concern. There are also traces of mild denoising. The fine film grain, however, is mostly intact. There are no serious stability issues. I also did not see any large damage marks, cuts, scratches, debris, or stains to report in this review. All in all, Alliance's Blu-ray release of Life is Beautiful represents a substantial upgrade in quality over the old R1 SDVD version of the film Miramax produced in 1999. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are four audio tracks on this Bu-ray disc: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1, and French Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, Alliance have provided optional English and French subtitles for the main feature.
The Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is excellent - it has a wide range of dynamics and pleasing fluidity. Throughout the entire film the dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. There are no serious balance issues with Nicola Piovani's terrific soundtrack either. Lastly, while viewing the film I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, hissings, or audio dropouts to report in this review. The English translation is also very good.
Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful is an exceptionally bold, magical film that captivated the hearts and minds of audiences around the world. It is not yet available on Blu-ray in the United States, but this Canadian release, courtesy of local distributors Alliance, looks and sounds very good. It is also very attractively priced. Of course, we HIGHLY RECOMMEND it.
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