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: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: LPCM 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
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).
Mute Witness is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p 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.Both this 1080 release and Arrow's simultaneous 4K UHD release of Mute Witness offer some of the same pretty wide variances in any number of aspects we typically focus on in reviews, including densities, color temperatures, clarity and grain structure, to the point that I'd frankly have loved to have more information on exactly what element and/or elements may have been used for these transfers. To cut to the chase, while both versions show some of the same differences in all of those aspects, they may be less pronounced in this 1080 version, which may then make it a more relatively homogenous and pleasing viewing experience. 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 are 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. These are very much in evidence throughout this 1080 presentation, but are arguably even more noticeable in Arrow's 4K UHD presentation, for better or worse. Some wobble attends the opening printed credits and there are occasional 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, technical merits are generally solid, and the supplements, including two well done commentaries, are excellent. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
2014
2016
Collector's Edition
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2016
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Special Edition | Phantom of the Cinema
1991
1988
2012
1995
2005
2003