7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A global journey to explore the undeniable connection of our cities on land to the vibrant parallel world beneath the sea. Flying across iridescent tropical reefs, brushing through a cloud of a million jellyfish, and swimming along sub-arctic seawalls pulsating with anemones and crustaceans - and considering what it would mean if one of these wonderlands were to become the last reef.
Director: Luke Cresswell, Steve McNicholasDocumentary | 100% |
Short | 36% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.43:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
There’s a brief, shining moment early on during The Last Reef: Cities Beneath the Sea when the hopeful viewer might think, “Whew— this isn’t going to be another depressive tale of a rapidly disappearing habitat.” Somewhat hilariously, this “hope” plays out against images of nuclear bombs going off, for in an intentionally whimsical opening sequence, The Last Reef: Cities Beneath the Sea weaves together quasi- newsreel footage that includes everything from nuclear test sites in the south Pacific to the (not so coincident) emergence of the bikini. The sight of a mushroom cloud thrusting its nuclear fist up angrily at the sky which plays to La Mer, the French chestnut by Charles Trenet, may perhaps intentionally recall a somewhat similar conceit in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, an odd reference which wouldn’t seem to be the typical fare for a large format “nature” spectacular. Ironically the information being imparted here is how the coral reefs around the Bikini Atoll had an almost miraculous resurrection after nuclear tests in the area left everything radioactive and hardly fit for any kind of life. Of course this “joy” is short lived, for the ever portentous narration warns that a greater threat than nuclear holocaust awaits this fascinating undersea life form.
The Last Reef: Cities Beneath the Sea is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 (some
brief sequences are in narrower aspect ratios, including parts of the opening "newsreel" section). This is a very impressive video presentation, one which
exploits
a great range of tones, especially those in the blue to green spectrum, with hues like turquoise and teal being especially memorable. Coral reefs are often
known for their incredible colors, and this documentary certainly exploits those colors, with the palette fairly bursting at times with everything from bright
primaries to some very subtle interstitial hues. Detail levels are often jaw dropping, even in the underwater scenes, which are typically remarkably clear
looking. Some of the relatively brief views of urban environments offer superb detail levels and excellent clarity, along with very impressive depth of field.
Note: Shout! sent the combo 4K UHD + 3D/2D Blu-ray package for review purposes. Therefore the main menu screenshot (number 10)
included with this review touts the "3D" version. My hunch is the 2D Blu-ray will offer the same menu without the 3D additions.
The Last Reef: Cities Beneath the Sea offers a great sounding Dolby Atmos track (with a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core). While this isn't a carnival of sound effects, there is consistent immersion (again, no pun intended) and surround activity due to the virtually nonstop music score, one which tends to ply a kind of Cirque du Soleil ambience, with "world music" proclivities that tend to offer massed percussion, including loud LFE-ish thunks of what sounds like a Taiko drum, as well as other colorful instruments like dulcimers. There's very nice attention paid to positioning individual instruments in discrete channels (that dulcimer for example emanates from the rear channels on occasion). Otherwise, there's not much to talk about in terms of the sound design, for the narration is understandably anchored front and center and all other elements tend to be in the ambient environmental category. The documentary does tend to "breathe" at moments, quieting the music and letting subtler sounds like the lap of waves on beaches or the gentle rustling of breezes fill the surround channels. Fidelity is excellent and there are no problems of any kind to address in this review.
- Ocean Acidification (1080p; 2:44)
- Filming in Bimini (1080p; 1:56)
- Editing and Scoring (1080p; 2:52)
- Jellyfish Lake (1080p; 2:22)
- Macro Filming in Palau (1080p; 3:37)
- Reef and the City (1080p; 2:16)
- Statues Under the Sea (1080p; 2:04)
There's a bit of a disconnect between The Last Reef: Cities Beneath the Sea'a assertion that nature is inherently resilient and its simultaneous warning that disaster is imminent, but if you're able to look past that logical disparity, this documentary offers visual delights galore and quite a bit of fascinating information. This is one of the most impressive looking large format documentaries Shout! has released and even those not agreeing with its environmental angle may find this reference quality material in terms of video and audio. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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