Out of Africa Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Out of Africa Blu-ray Movie Review

It may not be an entirely flawless redux, but it's well worth the upgrade...

The difference between Universal's problematic 2010 Blu-ray presentation of Out of Africa and this newly produced 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer is, at times, staggering. The film itself has always been prone to softness, swarming grain, and the sort of inherent catalog quirks (shoddy green-screen work for one) that typically leave casual viewers pointing fingers at studios and assigning blame for an otherwise faithful image. That wasn't the case with the 2010 presentation, though. Hindered by an outdated master, overzealous edge enhancement, and a variety of other issues, it left purists and, yes, even casual viewers disappointed. It also earned a place atop a very specific list at Universal: classic titles that deserved a better treatment. Fast forward to 2012 and the studio's second go at Out of Africa. The words "digitally remastered and fully restored from high resolution 35mm original film elements" greet anyone who glances at the back cover, making it clear that Universal is confident their freshly minted transfer will finally deliver.

Out of Africa Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

And, by and large, it does just that, addressing complaint upon complaint while paying notable respect to its source. Is it perfect? Unfortunately no, and it's best everyone knows that right up front. Edge halos, while far less distracting and debilitating than before, still appear from time to time (the worst of which sully the funeral proceedings near the end of the film) and make a nuisance of themselves. Thankfully, they range from mild to negligible, and only undermine the quality of the presentation on occasion. Noise reduction has also been applied to varying degrees, although with a far more judicious hand than before. Fine textures have been honored on the whole, even though viewers that are sensitive to the side effects of such techniques (as I am) will notice some intermittent smearing and semi-waxy faces. (Artificial grain has been employed when necessary as well, albeit for consistency's sake more than anything else. But don't worry. It's extremely difficult to spot the difference, if you feel the need to even try.) Still, the DNR, inconspicuous as it tends to be, is fairly easy to look past. For the uninitiated (or perhaps more so for the overly principled), it's important to note that nearly every restoration involves some form of noise reduction; whether you notice it or not is an entirely different matter, but it's almost always there, even in those catalog transfers somewhat misleadingly declared quote-unquote DNR-free. But I digress. Edge halos are the prime eyesore videophiles will contend with, and they never become that unruly.

My reservations end there, though. Out of Africa has, quite simply, never looked better on home video than it does here. Universal's ground-up restoration and subsequent transfer represents a significant improvement over its previously released BD (which received decent yet disgruntled reviews in 2010) and simply has too much to offer to pass up. Colors have been fine-tuned and primed to perfection, skintones are more lifelike, contrast is truer to David Watkin's original photography, and black levels are as rich and savory as they should be. Detail is reasonably refined and generally filmic too (only a few passing shots will raise eyebrows), and closeups, particularly those captured in scenes with ideal lighting, will leave a lasting impression. The African sunsets and vistas are lovely, fabrics are natural and nicely understated, hair and pores fare well (at least when Watkin's cameras push in on Karen and Denys), stalks of straw and blades of grass hold their own, and a faint veneer of grain is present throughout. It only helps that troublesome artifacting, banding, crush and other such issues don't factor into the presentation, and that there isn't any serious print damage to discuss.

Again, Out of Africa's restoration and transfer aren't perfect per se, but they come close enough to warrant an unflinching recommendation. If I had the ability to score in quarter-point increments, I'd score the disc's video quality with a 4.25. And while I could round up to a 4.5, I have a hard time giving a 4.5 to anything that has the kind of edge halos that pop up from time to time here. Much improved? Absolutely. Eliminated? Not quite. Call me a stickler, but I'd rather hold to a 4.0 and watch as expectations are exceeded than to go with a 4.5 and watch expectations be set a bit too high.

Note: an effort was made to take at least five screenshots of this encode specifically for comparison purposes. Although poring over screenshots will never trump comparing two transfers in motion (particularly in a properly lit environment when seated at a proper distance), our hope is these comparison shots will give you an idea of how the image has been improved.

Out of Africa Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While Out of Africa's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track remains unchanged, no one should lose any sleep over it, especially when the lossless mix in question is as capable as it is. From Jeffrey Kauffman's review: "This isn't the most robust or immersive DTS-HD MA 5.1 track you've ever heard, but it gets the job done rather nicely, and in fact does provide some wonderfully rich and satisfying recreations of the African soundworld. From the quietest buzzing of insects to the thundering roar of a devastating fire, we're offered a perhaps somewhat subdued rendering, especially in the low end, that nonetheless is clear and for the most part quite convincing. Dialogue is uniformly front and center, with foley effects and underscore filling the surround channels. Some of the ambient effects are very pleasing indeed, from the rustle of leaves and gurgling of water to the sounds of African wildlife. Barry's score and the source cues are all mixed very well into the proceedings, though I found the balance between dialogue and score to be a bit unevenly weighted to the score's detriment. There's not a lot here that is going to set your subwoofer jumping across your floorboards, but all in all this is a crisp and nicely directional outing that calmy envelops the listener in the soundfield."

Out of Africa Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary: The late Sydney Pollack candidly weaves a tale of a challenging adaptation and delivers a thorough and thoughtful analysis of a sweeping film, touching on every aspect of the production along the way. An engaging blend of technical details, personal anecdotes and notes about filming on location make this one to listen to, even if Pollack tends to grow silent too often and for too long.
• A Song of Africa (SD, 73 minutes): Though sadly presented in standard definition, this terrific documentary from writer/director Charles Kiselyak (which first appeared on the 1999 Out of Africa Collector's Edition DVD) delves into the life of author Karen Blixen, Pollack's interest and approach to her book, the adaptation and production of the film, and the casting, performances and, more importantly, the real men and women upon whom the characters are based. Chapters include "Pearls are Like Poets' Tales," "A Dream of an Old Woman," "Young and Aimless," "East Africa 1913," "Farah," "Marriage to Bror," "Kamante," "Denys Finch Hatton," "Scheherazade," "Safari with Denys," "Romance with Denys," "Flying with Denys," "School," "Parallel Lives," "Possession," "Land for the Kikuyu," "Titled Removed Due to Spoiler," "Return to Denmark" and "One of Africa's Favorite Children."
• Deleted Scenes (SD, 15 minutes): A worthwhile collection of deleted and extended scenes is available, albeit, again, presented in standard definition.
• Theatrical Trailer (SD, 3 minutes)

Out of Africa Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Universal's second run at a Blu-ray release of Out of Africa is more successful than its first. While its extensive 35mm original elements restoration and subsequent video transfer still exhibit too many unsightly edge halos for my tastes, noise reduction has been applied judiciously, the image renders both its DVD and Blu-ray counterparts obsolete, and the restoration and technical encode represent a substantial improvement over the new release's 2010 predecessor. The accompanying DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track and special features remain unchanged, though, so purchasing the new edition of Out of Africa comes down to how much value you assign its restoration, transfer and Digibook packaging. There will no doubt be those who walk away from this release grumbling about one thing or another, but unwavering principle -- not the transfer's limited flaws -- will emerge as the real villain here.