7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Recently divorced career woman Alex Greville begins a romantic relationship with glamorous mod artist Bob Elkin, fully aware that he's also intimately involved with middle-aged doctor Daniel Hirsh. For both Alex and Daniel, the younger man represents a break with their repressive pasts, and though both know that Bob is seeing both of them, neither is willing to let go of the youth and vitality he brings to their otherwise stable lives.
Starring: Peter Finch, Murray Head, Peggy Ashcroft, Glenda Jackson, Tony BrittonDrama | 100% |
Romance | 32% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: LPCM Mono
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Nominated for four Oscar Awards, John Schlesinger's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailer for the film; new video interviews with actor and musician Murray Head, cinematographer Billy Williams, and production designer Luciana Arrighi; audio excerpts from a seminar given by John Schlesinger; interview with author William J. Mann; and a new video interview with photographer Michael Childers, John Schlesinger's longtime partner. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring essays by film critic Terrence Rafferty and cultural historian Ian Buruma, as well as screenwriter Penelope Gilliatt's 1971 introduction to the film's screenplay. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
It is just the way things are...
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Schlesinger's Sunday Bloody Sunday arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"This new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit 2K Datacine from a 35mm interpositive struck from the original camera negative, and was color corrected under the supervision of director of photography Billy Williams. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Pixel Farm's PFClean, while Digital Visions' Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.
Transfer supervisor: Rita Belda/Sony Pictures, Culver City, CA.
Colorists: Dan Hermelin/Deluxe Digital, Burbank, CA; Trevor Brown/Deluxe Soho, London."
This release comes from a new high-definition digital restoration of the film which has been supervised by director of photography Billy Williams. A quick comparison with the old and out of print R1 DVD release of the film, which MGM produced in 2003, immediately reveals massive upgrades in every single area of importance - from detail to contrast stability to color reproduction. The many close-ups throughout the film convey excellent depth and great definition. Even when light is restricted there is hardly any softness present. The larger shots boast very good clarity. Color reproduction is also excellent - there is a good range of warm but natural colors that remain stable from start to finish. Furthermore, there are no traces of excessive degraining. Also, problematic sharpening corrections have not been performed. Needless to say, the film has a very pleasing and very stable organic look. I specifically would like to mention that a thorough clean-up has been performed as well. As a result annoying scratches, flecks, dirt and specks are nowhere to be seen. Lastly, excluding a few tiny artifacts, compression is also excellent. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
The audio is well rounded and has pleasing depth. The recurring theme from Mozart's Così fan tutte is always well defined and there are no sudden drops or spikes in dynamic movement. The dialog is consistently crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow. For the record, there are no audio dropouts or problematic distortions to report in this review.
One of the true groundbreaking films of the '70s and arguably director John Schlesinger's best work, Sunday Bloody Sunday has transitioned to Blu-ray in spectacular fashion. Indeed, releases such as this one are a prime example why Criterion are the best of the best - this terrifically acted film has never looked this good before and the Blu-ray contains excellent new supplemental features produced by Criterion. Sunday Bloody Sunday is easily one of the year's best releases. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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