7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Follows a young adventurer who is involved in liberating Nazi-occupied Norway.
Starring: Aksel Hennie, Agnes Kittelsen, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Ken Duken, Christian RubeckWar | 100% |
Drama | 82% |
History | 80% |
Biography | 36% |
Foreign | 34% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080/50i
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Norwegian: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Norwegian: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B, A (C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
A beautifully lensed and superbly acted period drama, Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s “Max Manus: Man of War” (2008) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Revolver Entertainment. Unfortunately, only the documentary from the Norwegian release is offered on this disc. The film is still without a US release date. With imposed English subtitles. Region-B “locked”.
On a mission
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080i/50 transfer, Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg's Max Manus: Man of War arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Revolver Entertainment.
Before I get to the technical analysis, I would like to quickly note that this disc has been encoded in 1080i/50, which is the reason why I have marked it as Region-B "locked" (most every US TV set cannot accept 1080/50 signal, and one needs to have a player capable of outputting 1080/50 signal - native Region-A players don't - to access the disc's content).
Unlike Revolver Entertainment's release of Guillaume Canet's Tell No One, which was also encoded in 1080i/50, Max Manus: Man of War looks very convincing. First, the heavy "ghosting" that plagued Tell No One is practically absent on this transfer. Depending on your TV set, or monitor, the transition from 1080i to 1080p should be fairly successful. Second, at times, contrast and clarity are simply stunning. The film's delicate color-scheme is also captured impressively. Third, I did not detect any heavy noise reduction patterns. On the contrary, there is a good dose of healthy grain that you would see. Fourth, neither edge-enhancement nor macroblocking are an issue of concern. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing specks, scratches, debris, or dirt to report in this review. To sum it all up, if not for the fact that this is a 1080i/50 transfer, I would have given it a perfect score.
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Norwegian Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Norwegian Digital Stereo 2.0. I opted for the Norwegian Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and later on did a few random comparisons with the Norwegian Digital Stereo 2.0 track for the purpose of this review.
The Norwegian Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is very impressive. The bass is powerful and deep, the high frequencies not overdone and the surround channels used very effectively. Whether during the attacks of the Nazi ships or during some of the intimate scenes where Trond Bjerknes' soundtrack is prominent, the audio quality is outstanding. Furthermore, the dialog is crystal clear, crisp and very easy to follow. I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review either. All in all, the Norwegian Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is of near reference quality.
Generally speaking, the Norwegian Digital Stereo 2.0 track is flat, though not disappointing. Simply put, its dynamic range is very limited. This being said, its basics are intact. For the record, the English subtitles on this disc are imposed. This means that you will not be able to turn them off when watching the film. They split the image frame with the black bars underneath it (please take a look at the screencaptures we have provided).
Max Manus – Film & Reality – An exclusive documentary offering an abundance of information about the production history of the film, the shooting, the events the film recreates and the real Max Manus and its comrades. With imposed English subtitles. (MPEG-2, 46 min).
If you can play Region-B discs, and enjoy intelligent period films, then you should certainly take a look at Norwegian directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg's Max Manus: Man of War. Revolver Entertainment's disc is encoded in 1080i/50 but looks and sounds great. Very Highly Recommended.
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