7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Radical youths, arrested for their political activities, are given a choice between incarceration and participation in a potentially deadly game which finds them racing across a punishing desert landscape with armed law enforcement officers in pursuit. The scenario presented is intended to reflect the profound tensions and frustrations fracturing American society in the late 1960s.
Starring: Patrick Boland, Kent Foreman, Carmen Argenziano, Luke Johnson, Katherine QuittnerDrama | 100% |
War | 14% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM 2.0
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Screened at the Cannes Film Festival, Peter Watkins' "Punishment Park" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a lengthy introduction to the film by director Peter Watkins and an audio commentary by Dr. Joseph A. Gomez, founding Director of Film Studies at North Carolina State University. The Blu-ray disc also arrives with a 40-page illustrated booklet featuring an extract from a 1971 press kit for "Punishment Park", an extract from Dr. Gomez's book "Peter Watkins", and Peter Watkins' essay "The Creative and Political Meaning of Punishment Park, a Self-Interrogatory Dialogue". In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
The hunters
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Peter Watkins' Punishment Park arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.
The newly restored high-definition transfer for Punishment Park - which was shot on 16mm and recently remastered from a new 35mm print struck from the restored 35mm blow-up negative held in Paris - is impressive. When compared to the R2 DVD release, detail is substantially better and clarity more pleasing. Many of the close-ups (see screencapture #16), for instance, convey wonderful depth, while the darker interrogation sequences (see scneecapture #2) have the lost the blockiness and light noise from the DVD release. There is also a wider range of nuanced colors, and in particular, yellows, blues, and browns. Edge stability is also improved. This being said, some small specks, scratches, and even a few damage marks remain. Overall, however, the film has a terrific organic look that is enormously satisfying. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
The appears to have been optimized as best as possible. I tested a few scenes with my DVD and the sound has marginally improved clarity and crispness that are most obvious during the shootouts. The dialog has also been slightly elevated, with clarity and stability also improved. Overall, however, the dynamic amplitude of the English LPCM 2.0 track is fairly limited. Lastly, there are no sync issues or audio dropouts to report in this review.
In 1971, Peter Watkins' Punishment Park could have been dismissed as a hysteric political film - but not anymore. Unfortunately, a lot of the film's speculations have been proven right, and a few have even become a fact of life. The film's first appearance on Blu-ray is impressive. Let's hope that some of the British director's other controversial films will make it to Blu-ray as well. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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