6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Romantic drama from writer and director Hal Hartley following the comic antics of two brothers determined to trace their missing father, a former baseball champion and student radical, who is somewhere on Long Island. With the brothers' search leading them to two different women, they encounter passion and insight into the father they have not seen for so long.
Starring: Robert John Burke, Bill Sage, Karen Sillas, Martin Donovan (II), Joe Stevens (I)Drama | 100% |
Romance | 29% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Hal Hartley's "Simple Men" (1992) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include a long video interview with the American director and an informative featurette. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
No, you seduced me...
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Hal Hartley's Simple Men arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.
There appears to be a a little bit of cropping on the top of the image frame, but it never becomes distracting. Detail and depth are very good, both during close-ups and panoramic shots. Clarity is also consistently pleasing. There are no traces of excessive degraining corrections. There are absolutely no traces of post-production sharpening adjustments either. Color reproduction does not disappoint - there is a good range of warm and very natural greens, blues, grays, browns, and blacks. Unsurprisingly, from start to finish the film has a solid organic look. Serious compression anomalies, such as heavy banding and aliasing, are nowhere to be seen. Also, there are no large damage marks, cuts, debris, or stains to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Artificial Eye have not provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
Overall dynamic intensity is limited, but depth and clarity are outstanding. The guitar solos from Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo's tracks that are heard throughout the film sound particularly impressive. The dialog is very crisp, clean, and always easy to follow. (While it is unfortunate that there are no optional English SDH subtitles, the dialog in Simple Men is indeed very clear and easy to follow). Lastly, there are no audio dropouts, pops, hiss, or distortions to report in this review.
Simple Men is one of American director Hal Hartley's best films - it is very funny, incredibly witty, and impeccably acted. I cannot imagine anyone seeing the film and not being amused by its bold rejection of cinematic cliches. I think that it as good and as effective as the very best of Jim Jarmusch's films. If you have even the slightest interest in American independent films, I urge you to pick up Simple Men. Also, take a look at all the other Hartley films Artificial Eye and Olive Films have already released on Blu-ray. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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