6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
A free-form, part fiction, part documentary piece juxtaposes Rolling Stones performances with images of civilization's destruction.
Starring: The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones (I), Bill WymanMusic | 100% |
Documentary | 79% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080/50i
Aspect ratio: 1.25:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: LPCM 2.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Jean-Luc Godard's "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Fabulous Films. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; Richard Mordant's documentary "Voices"; photo gallery; and cast and film biographies. In English, without optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Sympathy for God(Art)
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.25:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080/50i transfer, Jean-Luc Godard's Sympathy for the Devil arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Fabulous Films.
All Fabulous Films had to do to have an impressive Blu-ray release of Sympathy for the Devil for the UK market is 'borrow' the high-definition transfer French distributors Carlotta Films used for their Blu-ray release of the film a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, it appears that they were either unaware of it or unable to license it.
In addition to the fact that this high-definition transfer is interlaced (1080/50i), it also suffers from some sort of very strange stretching (the French high-definition transfer has an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, while this high-definition transfer has an aspect ratio of approximately 1.25:1). I am not entirely sure what has happened here and why, but appears that the image frame has been squeezed vertically, which is why faces, bodies and objects often look unnaturally long (see screencaptures #10 and 12). Fine object detail and clarity are also problematic. Selected scenes look distractingly soft, at times even blurry, while motion-judder is often very easy to spot. Finally, color reproduction does not impress either. While on the French Blu-ray release the greens, reds, blues, browns, and blacks look rich and well saturated, here they are quite anemic and dull. All in all, I am most definitely not impressed by Fabulous Films' treatment of Sympathy for the Devil. (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 is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Fabulous Films have not provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
Because of the manner in which the film was shot, there are plenty of dynamic fluctuations. Additionally, as I noted in our review of the French Blu-ray release of Sympathy for the Devil, Sean Lynch's lines are also rather difficult to follow, which is why optional English subtitles should have been included. The music, however, is relatively clean and stable.
French distributors Carlotta Films released Jean-Luc Godard's Sympathy for the Devil on Blu-ray a couple of years ago. It is a wonderful, very elegant package. Now the film has appeared on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom, but the presentation is problematic. Therefore, if you wish to have Sympathy for the Devil in your libraries, I strongly suggest that you consider getting the Carlotta Films Blu-ray release. SKIP IT.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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