7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.7 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A true story. It's the summer of 1984. Margaret Thatcher is in power, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is on strike, and at the Gay Pride March in London a group of gay and lesbian activists are campaigning to raise money, to support the families of the striking miners. But there is a problem. The Union seems embarrassed to receive their support. Undeterred, the activists decide to ignore the Union and approach the miners directly. Identifying a tiny mining village in Wales, the group sets off to make their donation in person...
Starring: Bill Nighy, Andrew Scott, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton, Paddy ConsidinePeriod | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The last few years have seen a couple of time machine-style "equal rights" movies set in the not-too-distant past England: Made in Dagenham and Pride. While the former deals in gender equality, the latter, directed by Matthew Warchus and written by Stephen Beresford, tells the (mostly) true story of 1980s homosexual advocates finding common ground with striking UK miners. The film champions togetherness and equality under a common banner of humanity. It's very well made, carefully assembled to be at once deeply meaningful and lightly humorous. It features excellent lead performances and a wide swath of characters whose evolutions prove as predictable as the greater story they inhabit, but the film rises above type and the absence of mystery as a champion for its values in an easily accessible and fun little journey back several decades to a critical turning point in a divided nation's fight for unity.
We are L.G.S.M.
More often than not, Pride looks terrific on Blu-ray. Problems are relatively few, but can be bothersome. The image can go a bit soft and brightness seems artificially increased. In other places, black levels waver between appearing lightly washed out and purple-tinted to somewhat heavy-handed and crushed. Noise, likewise, can infest some lower light interiors and darker backdrops. Otherwise, however, this is a terrific image. Detail is frequently impeccable. Faces and clothes, save for some softer medium-distance shots, are frequently revealing and complex. Building façades, worn paint on a van, and other little but critical elements are also very well defined. Colors, despite that push up towards a feeling of excess brightness, are vivid and cheery but also balanced and accurate down with the less-than-loud hues. Pride is often of reference quality, but a few shortcomings hold it back from perfection.
Pride marches onto Blu-ray with a high end DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 losses soundtrack. Music is rich and robust, playing with wide spacing but even placement all around the stage. The track features plenty of aggressive ambience, particularly at marches where chants, whistles, footsteps, and other sonic odds and ends play in natural harmony. Dialogue can be a touch drowned out by the din in these scenes, but it's otherwise spot-on perfect in its center-focused delivery, with special note of a few moments of excellent natural reverberation when the scene demands it, such as when Dai addresses a gathering inside a club in chapter three. The low end is prominent when called upon, notably during a dance club scene and, later, at a reception featuring the miners and gay activists in chapter six. Specific sound effects play with excellent stage presence and accuracy; a ringing telephone heard for several moments and in an otherwise quiet, empty area is particularly wonderful. Overall, this is a fantastic listen and another excellent lossless audio presentation from Sony.
Pride contains several deleted scenes and a featurette. A UV digital copy code is included in the Blu-ray case.
Pride is a rock-solid, well-made movie that's less about striking miners and gay pride activists and more about the power of solidarity, togetherness, and championing equality and acceptance. It's at its best when their alliance, and all of the both serious and humorous ramifications of it, are the subject. It slows down a bit in its more individual character-focused second half, but the film nevertheless remains a quality experience that yields wonderful production design and cast performances. Sony's Blu-ray release of Pride features splendid video and tip-top audio, but fans will rightly be disappointed with what is a rather scant collection of extras. Recommended.
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