7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A drama based on the autobiography by Li Cunxin. At the age of 11, Li was plucked from a poor Chinese village by Madame Mao's cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet...
Starring: Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan, Joan Chen, Amanda SchullDrama | 100% |
Romance | 79% |
Biography | 62% |
Music | 55% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Black Swan brought ballet back to the big screen last year in a big way, but it wasn’t the only recent film to explore the behind-the-scenes drama of a troubled artiste-in-tights. Mao’s Last Dancer—a 2009 Australian production by Driving Miss Daisy director Bruce Beresford —might be thought of as the anti-Black Swan; where the latter is a dark, psychosexual fugue that ends in a kind of artistic self-immolation, the former is a feel-good true story that celebrates the triumph of expression over oppression. It seems appropriate, somehow, that these two films would balance one another out like this, and anyone who hasn’t seen either of them yet could do much worse than to watch them both back to back as a double feature. For Beresford, whose last film was 2006’s straight-to-video flop The Contract, Mao’s Last Dancer is something of a return to form, and although it occasionally overindulges its own sentimentality—as feel-good films are wont to do—the story is uplifting and likeable. If the film’s propensity to jerk tears comes across as slightly forced, the dance sequences exude authenticity, which should at least leave ballet fans nodding in approval.
You'll notice two distinct visual styles in Mao's Last Dancer, and if you watch the behind-the-scenes featurette included on the disc, the film's cinematographer, Peter James, explains his rationale for both. To give an older look for the scenes set in Maoist China, James effectively reduced the frame size of his 35mm film stock by half—creating an image that's intentionally softer and grainier—and used selective color toning to give the picture a rugged, gloomy cast. When the film shifts to Houston, he reopens the frame to its full size for a more conventional, glossy, naturally colored look. Both styles are represented well by the Blu-ray's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer, which looks wonderful. The print is in perfect shape, grain is rich and untouched by DNR, and there are no traces of edge enhancement or any other kinds of unnecessary boosting. The degree of clarity in the picture, I imagine, is exactly as intended. Scenes shot and set in China are noticeably softer—thanks mostly to the chunkier grain structure—while the Texas scenes show off lots of fine, high definition detail, especially in facial and clothing textures. Color is also strong throughout, with a foundation of deep blacks and tight contrast. Finally, there are no digital anomalies or compression-related problems to report.
Mao's Last Dancer features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that's grounded and dynamically expressive. The key element to this track is the music, from Christopher Gordon's evocative score—which melds Western orchestration with Chinese violin and other specifically Eastern sounds—to the varied use of classical ballet music, like sections from Stravinski's Rite of Spring, a ballet that caused a literal riot when it first debuted. (And let's not forget the clichéd, post-implied-sex-scene usage of Rick James' "Superfreak.") All of the music sounds fantastic—rich and clear throughout the range—and it's frequently spread out between all 5.1 channels, filling the soundspace powerfully. In most other respects, this is a quiet, dialogue-driven track, and voices are always clean and intelligible, with no muffling or crackles. The rear speakers do also host hushed ambience on occasion, but nothing that stands out. And perhaps this is a good thing. Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles are provided, and automatic subtitles kick in for the sections of the film in Mandarin.
While the film's Canadian release also included several deleted scenes, a stills gallery, and a trailer, the only supplement included on this U.S. disc is The Making of Mao's Last Dancer (SD, 19:21). Thankfully, it's well worth watching, with generous behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with all the key players.
The "inspirational true story" genre is often overrun with gratuitous schmaltz, but Mao's Last Dancer knows how to use its sentiment well, and I'll even admit to getting a bit bleary eyed during two of the final scenes. (Even if the triumphant freeze-frame ending is a total visual cliché.) Ballet followers will appreciate the film's use of real dancers, but this is by no means a movie strictly for dance fans—Li Cunxin's story has powerful universal relevance. The Blu-ray disc from Fox looks and sounds wonderful, and do note that this release is a Target exclusive until July 26th, when it hits Amazon and other retailers. Recommended!
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