7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 2.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
In the early 1900s, strong-willed Karen Blixen runs a coffee plantation in Kenya with her philandering husband. To Karen's astonishment, she soon discovers herself falling in love with the land, its people, and a mysterious white hunter.
Starring: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Gough, Michael KitchenDrama | 100% |
Romance | 85% |
Period | 58% |
Melodrama | 38% |
Epic | 34% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD/DVD)
BD-Live
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Sydney Pollack had one of the longest, most venerated careers in the annals of Hollywood. In fact, Sydney Pollack had three of the longest, most venerated careers in the annals of Hollywood, for this multifaceted talent carved rather respectable bodies of work not only as one of the most acclaimed directors of the second half of the 20th century, but also as producer and actor. It’s fun if you’re a denizen of TV Land to see Pollack pop up as a bit actor in several late 1950’s and early 1960’s television episodes, often with either a trademark earnest quality, or interestingly enough with an alternative smarmy, almost edgy feel. He’s a background player in episodes of everything from The Twilight Zone (in the charming “The Trouble with Templeton,” about an actor trying to regain his lost glory) to Playhouse 90’s adaptation of Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Somewhere along the line in the early 1960’s, Pollack began directing scores of episodic television, until by the mid-1960’s he was starting to make his mark in features with such pieces as The Slender Thread and his first Oscar nominated best director outing, the marvelous They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?. In the 1970’s, Pollack struck up a rather successful collaboration with Robert Redford, helming several blockbuster Redford films like The Way We Were and Three Days of the Condor, as well as some less successful, but no less interesting attempts like Jeremiah Johnson and The Electric Horseman. Just as some people may have rolled their eyes when I mentioned The Way We Were as a Redford commodity (come on—it’s a Babs flick, and we all know it), they may be similarly disinclined to think of Pollack’s epic 1985 opus Out of Africa as anything other than a showcase for the redoubtable Meryl Streep, and I don’t think I’d be up for much of an argument. Despite Pollack and Redford’s long history of working together, the actor delivers an almost alarmingly laconic performance in Out of Africa, perhaps only too aware that Streep was going to chew the scenery to such an extent, relatively speaking at least, that it was pointless to do anything other than sit back and watch.
Meeting cute.
I'm about to commit heresy, if not outright blasphemy, so I am prepared for the brickbats. I never saw Out of Africa in the theaters, but I have owned it on both VHS and DVD, and I have found each home video incarnation to be remarkably ugly from an image standpoint, something that has nothing to do with Watkin's exceptional cinematography. Unfortunately, that trend continues with a lackluster Blu-ray presentation, delivered via an AVC codec in 1080p and an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. First, the good news: contrast is noticeably better than the SD-DVD, though that is offset somewhat by a rather peculiar color shift toward the red side, especially in the skin tones. But the many night scenes offer a new wealth of detail due to wonderfully rich black levels and good, solid contrast. The bad news is sadly more dramatic. First of all, some of the disappointment is simply due to the superior resolution of the Blu-ray, which offers a sometimes unwanted peek into the filmmaker's craft. For instance, I had never before realized that the two shots of Streep and Brandauer early in the film were obviously made before either a green screen or rear projection, something that is all too apparent in this incarnation. But even more troubling is an omnipresent softness, coupled with a lot of grain, that just gives a sort of dirty feel to a lot of the film. There are also the ugly halos of edge enhancement, which you can spot as early as in the scene with the biplane, where the support struts clearly show the effect. The source elements themselves also show occasional specks and other damage.
Things aren't uniformly depressing. There is certainly an uptick in clarity and depth of field is quite dramatic at times. Close-ups certainly fare better in the detail department, as might be expected, but overall there is a noticeable improvement, albeit slight, over the SD-DVD. I just don't think it's enough of an improvement for anyone to get too excited about.
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.
Two superb extras have been ported over from the Collector's Edition DVD, a really excellent commentary track from Pollack, and the equally superb documentary Song of Africa (SD; 72 minutes) which gives us a lot of fascinating background on the real Blixen before launching into a remembrance of the film itself. Deleted Scenes (SD; 15 minutes) and the Theatrical Trailer round out the extras on the disc itself, which is also equipped with BD Live capability. And of course the SD-DVD is offered on the "flip side" of this BD 59.
Out of Africa is that rare film which is able to recreate not just a place, but a time. Africa between the two world wars was a place of mystery and intrigue, and this film admirably recreates that alien feeling, coupling it with the time-honored tradition of starcrossed romance. The Blu-ray itself is marred by a lackluster image, but there may be enough of an improvement, however minor, over the SD-DVD to make this recommended for the film's many devout fans.
1985
1985
Universal 100th Anniversary | Remastered
1985
1985
Universal 100th Anniversary | Remastered
1985
Academy Awards O-Sleeve
1985
1996
2012
2008
70th Anniversary Edition
1939
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1960
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1942
2005
1992
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1965
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1993
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2003
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1996
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1971
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1948
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1990