6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Each night in a seemingly disused cinema a girl, a boy, the old projectionist Téo and their friend, a scops owl, gather together to design and enact fantastic tales inspired by the folklore and art of different lands and times, assisted by Téo's machines which bring their drawings to life.
Director: Michel OcelotForeign | 100% |
Animation | 62% |
Family | 44% |
Fantasy | 7% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
One of the greatest pleasures of being a reviewer is suddenly being introduced to an artist who was previously unknown to you, and discovering a whole new world of fanciful whimsy. Such an occurrence happened to me several years ago when I was writing for another site and was assigned a title I had never heard of, Azur and Asmar: The Prince’s Quest (a film that is fairly screaming to be released on a domestic Blu-ray). I’m not quite sure what I expected to see, but I what I did see was one of the most magical tales in recent memory, told in a completely ingratiating animated style that was quite unlike anything from either the “usual suspects” like Disney and/or Pixar or the world of anime. The film’s creator turned out to the rather fancifully named Michel Ocelot, and I soon found out that he had a long and distinguished history in France, including many international awards for what is considered his best known work, Kirikou and the Sorceress. (For my money, Azur and Asmar: The Prince’s Quest is a much more enjoyable and satisfying film than Kirikou is.) Ocelot is equally at home in both traditional as well as computer generated animation styles, so one never knows quite what to expect with any new offering from the writer- director. Tales of the Night fits into one of Ocelot’s more recent obsessions, namely silhouettes. Virtually all of this kind of quasi- portmanteau is done via shadowed versions of all the characters, with only the background providing visual relief and depth of field. It might be assumed that this would be a really boring and flat style that might provide little if any visual interest, but under Ocelot’s masterful guidance, the film is actually a riot of ingenuity and some amazing design aesthetics.
Tales of the Night is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of New Video Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.77:1. As stated above in the main body of the review, Tales of the Night was released theatrically in 3D, but this Blu-ray offers only a 2D presentation. (This is therefore the second recent New Video Group Blu-ray title to do this, the other being Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai.) Tales of the Night exploits an extremely unusual silhouette technique, one which posits all foreground objects solely (or at least mostly) in black, with color and depth being provided only through the backgrounds. Even a cursory glance at the screenshots accompanying this review will prove what an astounding variety of textures and styles, not to mention palettes, Ocelot has brought to this project, and this Blu-ray offers it all with beautifully saturated color and well delineated detail between the black foregrounds and colorful backgrounds. There are occasional very minor stability and density issues (notably deeply saturated colors surrounding silhouetted heads), but otherwise this is a sterling presentation that should easily delight videophiles.
Tales of the Night features an English dub presented via a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, and the original French language track presented via DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. The French mix is very charming, but noticeably less aggressive than the 5.1 mix. The 5.1 mix doesn't really provide a hugely immersive soundstage, but there are some great effects along the way, most noticeable in such segments as the young boy who plays the magical tom-toms in one sequence. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is quite wide.
If you're the sort of viewer who requires "in your face" entertainment 100% of the time, you should no doubt stay far, far away from any of Michel Ocelot's small scale, charming animated offerings. But for those of you who enjoy a decided change of pace, one which is more like a leisurely stroll through an enchanted wonderland rather than a hectic collision with nonstop hustle bustle, Ocelot's oeuvre is a delicacy to be savored. I've been hoping against hope that Azur and Asmar: The Prince's Quest would be released on domestic Blu-ray (it's currently available only as an extremely pricey Japanese import), but until that long held dream becomes a reality, Ocelot fans and other curious types can at least revel in Tales of the Night. A beautifully animated little collection of folk tales (or quasi-folk tales), this gorgeously wrought film is unlike any other animated film you've probably seen, which in and of itself ought to be enough to incite interest in at least a few of you. This Blu-ray offers excellent video and audio, and some appealing supplements. Highly recommended.
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