7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A compassionate young man, raised in an orphanage and trained to be a doctor there, decides to leave to see the world.
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Delroy Lindo, Paul Rudd, Michael CaineRomance | 100% |
Melodrama | 68% |
Period | 52% |
Coming of age | 24% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Most of us who grew up in the United States can passably pull off at least a few dialects, like a Southern drawl or a Western twang or that brash accent that typifies a New Yorker. Most of us can even do a creditable British accent, as if it had been genetically encoded into us from generations past. Why is it so surprising, then, when we hear a British person do a great American accent? To borrow a term used by my own British relatives, I was literally gobsmacked when I heard The X Files’ Gillian Anderson speaking with a clipped British accent on a talk show included as a supplement on a Blu-ray. Anderson may be cheating, at least somewhat, as she actually was American born, but later emigrated to England at a young age. But there are many British actors who have spent most of their lives in their native country who some audience members might be shocked to find out weren’t born with that authentic sounding American patois. While “everyone” knows that Kenneth Branagh or Toni Collette don’t really sound like their characters in, say, Dead Again or The Sixth Sense, some Law and Order fans might be surprised to find out Linus Roche is a Brit through and through. Projects as disparate as L.A. Confidential and House M.D. prove how capable our British cousins are at aping our ways of speech, but it still comes as something of a surprise to hear how artful the best mimicry often is. Add Michael Caine’s work in The Cider House Rules to that list, work that Caine himself evidently was impressed by, at least evidenced by some laughing reminiscences in the commentary by Lasse Hallström and John Irving on this new Blu-ray. Caine took home his second Oscar for his performance as the sweet but ultimately sad Dr. Larch in this film, and at least part of that little statuette was probably awarded to Caine on the technical merits of how well Caine managed to sound “American.”
The Cider House Rules is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Whatever qualms viewers may have with Irving's adaptation and Hallström's glossy veneer, there's little doubt that this is one of the most gorgeous looking films in the director's oeuvre, one which perfectly captures an autumnal glow throughout many of the location shots. Cinematographer Oliver Stapleton loves shots with diffused lighting, with effulgent auras surrounding structures and even people at times. All of that is wonderfully represented on this new Blu-ray, which sports excellently saturated and accurate color, a nicely intact grain structure, and excellent contrast. There is some noticeable edge enhancement at likely places like horizons in backlit shots, but otherwise this is a clean and solid looking presentation which wonderfully recreates the original film's look.
The Cider House Rules is offered with an excellent lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 mix. Surround activity, while never overwhelming, is consistent and extremely well rendered on this track. The boisterous clatter of children running through the orphanage, the entrance of a nice vintage car, or the sounds of migrant farm workers in an apple orchard all offer great moments of discrete channel utilization. Fidelity is excellent throughout the track, and Rachel Portman's gorgeously elegiac (and Oscar nominated) score sounds absolutely wonderful, with those heart tugging strings seeming to reach through the speakers to do the tugging with visceral impact. Dialogue is always crisp and clear, and occasionally is nicely directional (listen in some of the outdoor scenes as widely displaced people are well positioned in the soundfield). This isn't a knock your socks off kind of aural experience, but it's extremely well done and should easily please the film's many fans.
This is one of those films where lovers of the original source novel almost always say, "The book was better." That may seem odd, given that this is one of those very rare occurrences where the original novelist actually adapted his own work for the screen. But Irving's books are often extremely convoluted affairs, filled to the brim with intriguing and often eccentric characters, and, as they say, something had to give. What's left here isn't exactly what The Cider House Rules was in printed form, but it is nonetheless a very affecting and effective film if it's approached with certain diminished expectations. The best things here are the very well wrought performances as well as Hallström's always keen visual sense, which makes The Cider House Rules one of his most auspiciously evocative films. This Blu-ray looks and sounds great and it comes Recommended.
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Awards O-Ring Slipcover
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