6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates. With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.
Starring: Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Josh Rivera, Hunter Schafer, Peter DinklageAdventure | 100% |
Fantasy | 85% |
Action | 72% |
Sci-Fi | 65% |
Teen | 27% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
When a film franchise posts box office returns of around three billion dollars, it's not hard to imagine some studio bean counter desperately asking the series' creator(s), "Hey, where's the next one?" In that regard, the rather involved making of featurette (running over two and a half hours) included on this disc as a supplement offers co-producer Nina Jacobsen and co-producer and director Francis Lawrence insisting that source novel author Suzanne Collins would never write anything just to make a quick buck, and instead both Jacobsen and Lawrence were kind of surprised when they heard from Collins about an unexpected prequel Collins let them know about shortly before it was getting ready to be published. Now, some jaded curmudgeons (ahem) may take those pronouncements with a grain and/or pillar of salt, but the fact is as both Jacobsen and Lawrence state, Collins actually did have some salient things to "say" about a society that seems to require a fascistic presence in order to survive, something that may strike some as applicable to "real life" in this day and age. Whether or not Collins' theses were artfully translated to screen form is really the issue, though, and my hunch is fans of The Hunger Games will probably be split fairly evenly between those who feel the film is rather interesting, especially since it focuses on an ultimate villain, while others may be asking why there's no empowered heroine quite as capable as Katniss Everdeen to help propel the story.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an HEVC / H.265 encoded
2160p
transfer in 2.39:1. Captured at source resolutions of over 4K with Arri Alexas and presumably with a 4K DI (the IMDb has no information as of the
writing of this review, but there are some other online data aggregators stating it had a 4K DI), this 4K UHD version takes an already excellent 1080
presentation and provides sharper, even more crystalline at times, levels of fine detail while rather subtly altering both the palette and available
shadow definition courtesy of HDR/Dolby Vision. The film tends to ping pong between almost sepia grading and cooler blue tones, and this version
certainly highlights (no HDR pun intended) those differences quite invitingly. There are some subtle differences between this version and the 1080
version, with (as lamented as the term has become) some teal undertones in the opening bombed out sequence, which are arguably a bit more on
the
"straight" blue side in the 1080 version. The many brown to yellow sequences hafd even more of a pronounced sepia appearance to my eyes in this
version as well. Detail levels are impressive throughout, and while some of the CGI may not be completely successful, I'd point to the big
explosion scene as an example of the new clarity the 4K UHD version brings to some of that artistry. In this version, you can virtually count the
individual bits of particulate matter that spray out after the explosion. Some of the very dimly lit material in things like tunnels show at least some
improvement in shadow detail. This is just the latest 4K UHD release I've reviewed where digital grain is slightly
less subliminal looking than in the 1080 version. It's still not overwhelming or distractingly unorganic looking, but it's more apparent against some of
the brighter backgrounds in particular than I found it to be in the 1080 version.
The Hunger Games: The ballad of Songbirds & Snakes features a very consistently immersive Dolby Atmos track. From the opening moments of a wartorn urban environment to some of the late third act sylvan material featuring Coriolanus and Lucy, all of the surround channels are frequently abuzz with ambient environmental effects. Some of Lucy's "adventures" to stay alive in the games leads her into echo laden chambers where there is some really fun discrete channelization as her competitors seek her out and sudden startle effects can intrude directionally. The Atmos speakers get a workout, expectedly in some overhead material like when a hovercraft picks up Volumnia's huge cylinder of snakes, but also in a calamitous explosion fairly early on in the proceedings and with regard to any number of combat moments throughout the story. The sound design is beautifully layered, incorporating both Michael Kamen's score and Lucy's own "performances". Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are available.
Note: This is one of the rare examples in my reviewing experience where the 4K UHD disc has all of the supplements on the 1080 disc, plus
some that aren't on the 1080 disc.
4K UHD Disc
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes probably ends up expending its narrative energy long before its two and a half hour running time has expired, and that may be the biggest qualm even fans of the franchise will have with the film. It still has some interesting things to say about "fascistic evolution" (if that's an appropriate descriptor) and even things like mass marketing tragedy in the service of attracting a viewing public. Performances are generally quite involving, and the film's production design is outstanding. Technical merits are solid, and the supplements also very appealing. While I'm sure even diehard fans of the franchise may have some quibbles with this prequel, they will probably find enough here to warrant checking this out, and the general technical excellence of the presentation should help in that regard. Recommended.
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