Once Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Once Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 1, 2009

Filmed with a digital camcorder by the former bassist of the Irish band The Frames, John Carney, "Once" (2006) debuts on Blu-ray courtesy of UK-based distributors Icon Home Entertainment. Porting all of the extra features initially supplied for the DVD release of the film, the Blu-ray disc is also Region-Free.

On the streets of Dublin

Once is a low-budget film about a heartbroken man (Glen Hansard) and a lonely girl (Marketa Irglova) who meet by chance in a busy district of Dublin. He is street musician who dreams of making it big; she is an immigrant from the Czech Republic who has come to Ireland looking for a better life. Both are having trouble realizing their dreams.

He and she become friends. Time goes by, she asks about his past and he opens up his heart – he tells her about a girl he loved who left him for someone else. Then, he meets her daughter and her mother who barely speaks English. She plays the piano for him and, eventually, they end up recording his songs.

Well, if prior to reading this review you did not know anything about Irish director John Carney’s Once, then it is safe to say that you are not a person who follows the film industry closely. Winner of an Oscar for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song (Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová for “Falling Slowly”), Once has become quite the phenomenon. Voted by hordes of critics as one of the best films to be released in 2008, and loved by practically everyone who has seen it, this is indeed the most complete Irish film I have seen in quite some time.

The film’s charm is hidden in its unpretentious tone. Shot in a raw, documentary-like fashion, Once bets on a duo of actors who do very little acting; most of the time Hansard and Irglová are simply being themselves. This adds a very unusual flavor to the story which keeps it fresh and free of the sour sentimentality Hollywood films are often plagued with.

Interestingly enough, apart from each other, the two characters appear quite ordinary. In fact, when they are not together in front of the camera is precisely when Once loses a lot of its appeal; Hansard’s reticent behavior is particularly difficult to like. When they meet, however, the film exudes a type of energy that is absolutely impossible to resist.

It is the wonderful soundtrack, however (all of the songs in the film are composed by Hansard, leader of the Irish band The Frames, and Irglová) that truly transforms Once into something very, very special. The songs are incredibly well arranged and, more importantly, performed in a manner that allows us to quickly embrace the main characters and begin understanding their dilemmas.

Once Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Carney's Once arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of UK-based distributors Icon Home Entertainment.

Those of you expecting to see a Quantum of Solace-esque type of 1080p transfer for this low-budget film will be disappointed with what Icon Home Entertainment have delivered. So, it is probably best that you skip the rest of the review and look for a different Blu-ray disc that would meet your expectations. Those of you, however, hoping for a solid and truthful to the original source presentation of Once will be delighted with the UK distributor's efforts. Similar to their marvelous treatment of Franco Rosso's Babylon - a real treasure of a film and, arguably, amongst the best Blu-ray discs to be released in the UK thus far - Once looks fantastic; the 1080p transfer preserves the low-budget look of the film while it enhances contrast, clarity and fine detail. Obviously, there are plenty of image limitations here (the film was shot with a SONY HVR-Z1 camera) that most of you will immediately detect. For example, a lot of the nighttime scenes look very subdued and soft. Furthermore, clarity, especially when the camera zooms, is somewhat inconsistent. Yet - and this is very important to clarify, so you could understand how good this disc looks – this is precisely how John Carney envisioned his film. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing scratches, debris or stains to report here. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc which you could play on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Once Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. As far as I am concerned, the audio treatment is as solid as the video presentation. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 is well balanced, with solid basics and absolutely no issues (pops, cracks, or hissings) that I could detect whatsoever. This being said, though I did not see Once at my local theater, I am fairly confident that the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track basically replicates what the original Dolby SR track did for this film. Finally, Icon Home Entertainment have also provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

Once Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Good news! The special features from the SDVD release of Once are on this Blu-ray disc. Making A Modern Day Musical is a very informative featurette where John Carney talks about his film, what he wanted to relate to his audience with it and how everything was put together. Here, you will also hear plenty of comments from the cast. More Guy, More Girl is yet another featurette where the director of Once talks about the history of his film, how it came to exist, what the characters in it symbolize. There are also two commentaries on this Blu-ray disc. The first one is with writer/director John Carney and actor/musician Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova. It is very entertaining and informative, and it focuses mainly on the actual story. The second commentary, titled simply "musical commentary", is once again with writer/director John Carney and actor/musician Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova though here the focus of attention, obviously, is the marvelous music soundtrack (please note that there are large gaps between the individual comments the two actors and the director offer).

Once Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Icon Home Entertainment have put together a terrific Blu-ray package for the Irish charmer Once. Boasting a solid AVC-encoded transfer as well as a top-notch DTS-HD Master Audio track, this Blu-ray disc is also Region-Free. On top of everything else, it is also very attractively priced. We cannot but Highly Recommend it.