5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A French anthropologist moves to Los Angeles and is followed by the evil spirits of an extinct tribe he once uncovered.
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Lesley-Anne Down, Anna Maria Monticelli, Adam Ant, Mary WoronovHorror | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
It’s not quite at the death defying level of the opening sequence of Billy Wilder’s immortal Sunset Boulevard, where the viewer discovers that the narrator of the film is in fact already deceased, evidently telling the story from some great cinematic beyond, but the early John McTiernan effort Nomads does in fact offer the putative death of its hero almost from the get go, as a seemingly incoherent vagrant is brought into an emergency room. The man, scruffy in appearance and evidently babbling some largely manic version of French, needs to be forcibly restrained, and the thought is if he isn’t just flat out stark raving bonkers, he’s obviously high on some dangerously hallucinogenic drug. When the guy ends up biting an emergency room doctor named Flax (Lesley-Anne Down), the film indulges in what will become at once an arresting but often confusing gambit wherein the lunatic’s memories are transported to the health care worker, making her a repository for everything he's been through. That approach then leads to the basic storyline, where somewhat similarly to the iconic Wilder film, the back story leading up to the death is detailed. Nomads is a bit of a hodgepodge, but from a content standpoint and also tonally, and some audience members may find themselves teetering precariously between gasps of shock at some admittedly frightening sequences and guffaws of hilarity at some fairly risible dialogue and hyperbolic performance styles. But the film has a palpable mood that is quite stifling and ultimately very effective, at least if taken on its own small scale merits.
Nomads is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The elements utilized for this transfer have their fair share of issues, including quite a bit of dirt and dust, a couple of rather substantial scratches, and regular minus density and/or white flecks. There's enough grain here to suggest a dupe element source, though compression is generally good, only occasionally lapsing into splotchy yellow chunks. The overall look is fairly soft and detail, while decent, never pops in any overly dramatic fashion. There are recurrent issues with crush in several dark scenes, to the point that those wearing dark tones or black tend to become floating heads. The palette looks reasonably accurate, if slightly on the warm side at times.
Nomads features a generally well detailed DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track which capably supports the film's dialogue, effects and synth laden score by Bill Conti. There's some very effective sound mixing in parts of the film (listen to the amped up hyperventilating by Pommier when he's running by the beach late in the film) which exhibits quite a bit of force at various points. Prioritization is fine, and there are no issues of any kind to mention in this review.
On a certain level (meaning fairly low expectations), Nomads is just good old fashioned goofy fun. Its very silliness is part of what gives it a bit of momentum even when its structural weaknesses threaten to send it veering over the veritable cliff. Performances are generally great (I was struck however by how much Down resembles Sharon Stone in this film) and McTiernan at least keeps things moving at a generally brisk pace. Technical merits are generally decent (video) to excellent (audio), and there are a couple of appealing supplements for those considering a purchase.
2015
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