7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Four interviews done in the 1970s with women who survived the Holocaust.
Starring: Claude Lanzmann, Paula Biren, Ruth EliasForeign | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Hebrew: LPCM 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah is one of the undeniable monoliths of 20th century documentary filmmaking, a harrowing set of interviews Lanzmann conducted with various survivors of the Holocaust, all told in a relatively minimalist style that probably only adds to the visceral impact of listening to the tragedies these people were forced to endure. As if the actual content of Shoah weren’t devastating enough, Lanzmann had so much material at his disposal that the film ran for over nine hours, necessitating screenings to often be split over subsequent days, with Part One showing on one day and then Part Two on the next in many markets (the film was so long each part had an intermission, at least in some screenings). Perhaps amazingly, then, it has become apparent in the decades subsequent to the initial release of Shoah that Lanzmann had considerably more interview material in his archives, and what have been called “Shoah satellite” pieces like A Visitor From the Living started appearing in the late 1990s. Shoah: Four Sisters is perhaps too strongly linked to its progenitor to even be termed a “satellite”, since it follows in the same frightening footsteps as the longer piece, giving voice to a quartet of women who managed to survive almost unimaginable horrors, all while quite young. (One of the interesting things about watching Shoah: Four Sisters is seeing how relatively youthful these survivors, and indeed Lanzmann himself, are in the film, since so many of us interested in the Holocaust or with survivors in our own families are used by now to only seeing rather elderly people in this particular demographic.)
Shoah: Four Sisters is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Media Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. I haven't been able to track down much authoritative data on the technical side of things, but Shoah was originally shot on 16mm, and at least some of this presentation looks to have been sourced from the same smaller format. As such, detail and especially fine detail levels can vary pretty dramatically, and there are some pretty noticeable generalized differences between some of the separately filmed interview sequences. For instance, the beachside interview with Paula Biren has marginal clarity and detail levels at times (see screenshot 12 for one example), along with a slighly splotchy looking grain field that isn't really in evidence in the other three "episodes". With an emphasis on close-ups, even with some variable clarity, certain fine details like fabrics on chairs or dresses can look quite good. The palette is a bit faded looking at times, skewed slightly toward browns at various moments. There is occasional minor but noticeable age related wear and tear, arguably most evident in the Elias interview, where a number of white flecks appear with fair regularity, often around Elias' face or mouth.
The back cover of Shoah: Four Sisters lists DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks, but I think that is probably just a template that was incorrectly ported over to this release, as the only audio I was able to find was an LPCM 2.0 mono track that is either in English or Hebrew, depending on the preferred language of the interview subject (optional English subtitles are unfortunately only utilized for the Hebrew sections, and I personally would have preferred them to have been available for some of the pretty heavily accented English language sections as well). There's not much to the sound mix here, other than Lanzmann's questions, and the often harrowing answers, though there are a fair number of ambient environmental sounds including things like background clatter and even the more appealing sounds of water at the beach. Fidelity is fine, with no damage to report.
It has been my privilege to have been asked by a local Rabbi here in Portland to be a reader at a number of Holocaust Remembrance ceremonies which are held annually on Yom ha Shoah (this year's event was on May 1 and May 2), and it has been a real struggle for me at times to maintain emotional equilibrium as I'm reading absolutely devastating accounts from survivors who had to endure manifest horrors in various concentration camps or in other frightening conditions. Reading something like that is one thing, though, while actually watching an actual survivor recount her (or his) own experiences is something else entirely, and something I personally feel can be a cathartic experience for anyone trying to come to terms with the very darkest elements of human behavior. There is of course undeniable sadness surging through all four of these accounts, but there's also a steely resilience and even hints of joy. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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