6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Eulis 'Sonny' Dewey is a preacher from Texas living a happy life with his beautiful wife Jessie when suddenly his stable world crumbles.
Starring: Robert Duvall, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Bob Thornton, Miranda Richardson, Walton GogginsDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.84:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
As a supplement included on this disc gets into, so-called "men of the cloth" haven't always been portrayed as heroes on the screen. Any number of films from Elmer Gantry to First Reformed have offered depictions of ostensible "holy men" who were in the worst cases anything but and in the best interpretations, seriously troubled. In that regard, The Apostle is considerably more nuanced and multi-layered. It's easy to dismiss focal preacher Sonny Dewey (Robert Duvall) as the same kind of charlatan Elmer Gantry was, especially since he's in the same quasi- evangelical "mode" as Sinclair Lewis' legendary character was, and yet, Sonny also is a man of kindness and generosity, possessing a certain spirit (no metaphysical pun intended) that would also seem to suggest he has a moral compass.
The Apostle is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint and Via Vision Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The back cover of this release offers only a generic statement of "1080p high definition presentation by Universal Pictures". This is a curiously processed looking transfer at times, one that has signs of sharpening, which in motion can give the perception of clarity and detail, but which upon further inspection can reveal things like (admittedly relatively minor) ringing, something that can be especially noticeable in brighter outdoor scenes where edges can be backlit against blue skies. This may also contribute to a slightly unnatural and again kind of digital looking grain field, though for those acquainted with some of Universal's early high definition masters, at least in this case, there is a grain field. Things actually look relatively good in motion, and some may feel my score of 3.0 is not charitable enough. With that in mind, if I had the ability to, I'd probably up this to around the 3.25 level.
The Apostle features a great sounding LPCM 2.0 track that offers secure support for the film's dialogue and especially for some of its rousing music, which can be either source cues, underscore, or actual church service programming. There's not huge width to the soundstage, but fidelity is solid and I noticed no issues whatsoever with regard to any damage. Optional English subtitles are available.
It's kind of interesting and perhaps salient to note that even as this review is being written, The Eyes of Tammy Faye is offering yet another troubled preacher, which suggests that this kind of curious subgenre has yet to be fully explored. A lot of films about ministers have tended to portray them as either morally black or white, and one of The Apostle's saving graces (sorry) is that it has the courage to show a deeply flawed but perhaps basically good man. Video is somewhat processed looking, which may bother some viewers, but audio is fine and the supplemental package very enjoyable. With caveats duly noted, Recommended.
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1973
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