7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
A murder has been committed and a man has confessed; all that remains is for him to lead police to the body so they can wrap the case. In the dead of night, two cars and a Jeep carrying the murderer, the police chief and the prosecutor set out to find the burial spot. As the small convoy inches its way through the darkness of the deserted countryside, it becomes clear that the killer can’t locate the place where he left his victim. Cigarettes are smoked; conversations occur and refreshments are served in a local village; nothing significant seems to happen. Yet whether we are aware of it or not, small clues are being planted along the way.
Starring: Muhammet Uzuner, Yilmaz Erdogan, Taner Birsel, Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan, Firat TanisForeign | 100% |
Drama | 97% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Turkish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Turkish: LPCM 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Winner of the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival, Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "Bir zamanlar Anadolu'da" a.k.a "Once Upon A Time in Anatolia" (2011) arrive son Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors New Wave Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original theatrical trailer for the film; video interview with director Nuri Bilge Ceylan; and a long making of documentary film. In Turkish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Somewhere in Anatolia
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Once Upon A Time in Anatolia arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors New Wave Films.
Excluding some extremely light and short banding early into the second half of the film (right before the body of the murdered man is discovered), the high-definition transfer is virtually flawless. Close-ups convey tremendous depth and clarity, both during the first half of the film, which is comprised of nighttime footage, as well as during the second half, where daylight is in abundance. The long panoramic shots from the Anatolian steppes also boast impressive fluidity (see screencapture #1). The color scheme favors natural but extremely sharp light greens, browns, blues, and yellows. The blacks are stable, though due to the manner in which the nighttime sequences were shot some variances appear slightly softer. Additionally, there are no traces of problematic contrast or sharpening corrections. There are no serious stability issues to report in this review either. All in all, this is a very impressive presentation of Nuri Bilge Ceylan's award winning film which should impress its fans. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Turkish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Turkish LPCM 2.0. For the record, New Wave Films have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The Turkish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track opens up very well. For example, during the storm the thunders are incredibly strong. Elsewhere, the strong winds, a barking dog, and some random nature sounds are also exceptionally well captured by the lossless track. In other words, while the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is unlikely to test the muscles of your audio system, you will likely be impressed by its fluidity and wide range of nuanced dynamics. The dialog is always crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow. The English translation is very good.
The success of Once Upon A Time in Anatolia at the Cannes Film Festival is well deserved. This is a deeply poetic, magical film directed by a true master. Together with Andrey Zvyagintsev, Nuri Bilge Ceylan is clearly one of modern cinema's most unique directors. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors New Wave Films, looks and sounds terrific. Some very informative supplemental features have been included as well. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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