7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A mute American makeup artist working on a slasher film in Russia witnesses a brutal murder on the movie set.
Starring: Marina Zudina, Fay Ripley, Evan Richards, Oleg Yankovsky, Igor VolkovHorror | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: LPCM 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 0.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Is there some Hitchcock movie we never knew existed? On the back cover of Mute Witness, some potentially confusing verbiage may make it sound like it, stating the film is "an updated take on the Hitchcockian thriller in which the only witness to a brutal crime can neither speak nor cry out in terror". Now that definite article before the legendary director's surname may help to clarify that "Hitchcockian thriller" is being used as a genre unto itself, but for those still confused and who read that sentence to mean Mute Witness is an update of a specific Hitchcock film, there never was an actual Hitchcock film with this particular premise (at least that I know of), though kind of hilariously there was an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents that featured a crying infant as the sole "witness" to a killing. The mute witness in this case is not a baby, but instead an adult makeup artist named Billy Hughes (Marina Zudina) who has the bad luck to be locked in a Moscow studio after hours and who stumbles on a pornographic snuff film being shot (and/or stabbed, as the case may be).
Note: Screenshots are sourced from Arrow's standalone 1080
release of the film. Per Arrow's standard operating procedure, this release does not include a 1080 presentation, which is why the 2K
score above has intentionally been left blank.
Mute Witness is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet
provides only the following fairly generic verbiage about the restoration:
Mute Witness is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with stereo sound. The restored 4K master was approved by director Anthony Waller and provided by Jinga Films.I'd love to have a bit more information on whatever source element and/or elements may have been utilized, as this 4K rendering of the film takes some obviously quite wide variances in densities and color temperature, along with clarity and grain structure, that are already well in evidence in Arrow's 1080 release of the film, and then kind of "turns them up to 11". There's a rather long optically printed credits sequence at the head of this film, which understandably offers a kind of "dupey" look and really thick, splotchy and yellow grain, but even once that sequence has ended, the grain field doesn't really tend to dramatically tighten or minimize. Perhaps even more curious is the widely variant densities and color timing, which can range from rather nicely suffused and vibrant to wan, and also from almost desaturated coolness to at least some passingly inviting warmth that can emphasize orange-ish tones. In fact, the warmer looking scenes here probably have even more or a slightly orange skew than the 1080 version, courtesy of HDR. HDR probably aids a bit in some shadow definition but I'd argue not by a whale of a lot. As with the 1080 presentation, there's noticeable wobble on some of the printed credits, and a few lingering signs of damage that have made it through the restoration gauntlet.
Mute Witness features a hyperbolic LPCM 2.0 track that offers some really wide dynamic range, courtesy of some fun sound design choices that can range from Billy's "silent type" moments to bursts of screams or other activity for those characters who can emit sounds. There's just the very slightest hint of crackling breakup at peak amplitudes, but it's not a major problem. There's some fairly wide imaging here at times with some layered sound effects. Wilbert Hirsch's over the top score is well presented. Dialogue is rendered cleanly, though it looks like at least some of the actors were probably post looped, and so sync as they say can be loose. Optional English subtitles are available.
Mute Witness has some needlessly goofy moments, but it also has some rather effective examples of "high anxiety" as well (to allude to another film with a supposed Hitchcock connection). While video has fairly wide variances, and this 4K UHD version probably emphasizes them, technical merits are generally solid, and the supplements, including two well done commentaries, are excellent. While I once again have a hunch some may actually prefer Arrow's 1080 version to this one, with caveats noted, Mute Witness comes Recommended.
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