Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 21, 2012

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

Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Once Upon A Time in Anatolia, which won the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011, is effectively divided into two rather large parts. The first and bigger one takes place on a dusty road somewhere in Anatolia. There, in the wee hours of the night, a group of men begin searching for a corpse. Amongst the men are two self-confessed killers (Firat Tanis and Burhan Yildiz), a jaded prosecutor (Taner Birsel), a quiet doctor (Muhammet Uzuner), a bubbly driver (Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan), and an aggressive police chief (Yilmaz Erdogan).

One of the killers, an unshaved man who has been drinking, is repeatedly asked to remember where the corpse is, but he repeatedly fails to do so. As the men drive around the area looking for the spot where the body was buried, it gets colder and windier. Eventually, the police chief goes berserk and hits the killer. The prosecutor does not like what he sees but understands the police chief’s frustration. Meanwhile, it gets even colder and windier.

All of the men are tired and wishing they were in their homes, sleeping in their beds. Some of them are also hungry. The prosecutor asks one of his assistants to call the mayor (Ercan Kesal) of a nearby village and tell him that they are coming for tea and snacks. The driver does not like the idea because his wife is from the same village and people there do not like him, but his protests are ignored.

The men spend a couple of hours in the village, eating and relaxing in the mayor’s home. He asks the prosecutor to assist him with a project that means a lot to the village – the local cemetery needs a new wall to keep the wild animals away. Then the mayor’s beautiful daughter serves the men hot tea. While they wait for the electricity to come back on, the men agree that the girl will have a very difficult life in the village. In these parts of the country, beautiful girls always suffer.

Eventually, the men leave. They go back to the same area they came from. In the early morning hours, not too far away from the village, they finally discover the corpse. The disgusted police chief goes berserk again. The prosecutor asks one of his assistants to type a quick report. Then the doctor announces that the corpse will be taken to the nearest hospital for autopsy.

The film looks deceivingly simple – a group of men look for a corpse over the course of a single night. But it is not. It is a fascinating character study directed by a filmmaker whose style is reminiscent of such giants of cinema as Michelangelo Antonioni, Ingmar Bergman, and Andrey Tarkovskiy.

As it was the case with Ceylan’s previous films, most notably Climates and Uzak, Once Upon A Time in Anatolia is a slow and moody film in which nature and silence have prominent roles. The focus of attention is not on the protagonists’ minor triumphs and failures, but on the social environment they belong to as well as the unique rhythm of their lives.

There are relationships that are only suggested and secrets that remain unrevealed. It also feels like danger is somewhere in the back, but Ceylan isn’t interested in dealing with it. What matters to him is the bigger picture - a male-dominated society in transition in which life often could be utterly absurd.

Cinematographer Gokhan Tiryaki’s (Three Monkeys) lensing is terrific. The wide panoramic shots from the night-shrouded Anatolian steppes are truly extraordinary.

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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).

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Once Upon A Time in America. In Turkish, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

• Making of Documentary - an enormous amount of raw footage from the shooting of Once Upon A Time in Anatolia as well as numerous interviews and comments from various cast and crew members. In Turkish, with optional English subtitles. (93 min, PAL).

• Interview - in this video interview, conducted for a Turkish TV program at the Cannes Film Festival, director Nuri Bilge Ceylan discusses the production history of Once Upon A Time in Anatolia, some of the obstacles the tech team had to overcome while shooting the nighttime footage, the main characters, etc. In Turkish, with optional English subtitles. (24 min, PAL).

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.