7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A humanizing depiction of Christ's life including a vision of how his life may have continued had he not been crucified.
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Paul Greco, Steve Shill, Verna BloomDrama | 100% |
History | 12% |
Epic | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.86:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Winner of Filmcritica Bastone Bianco Award at the Venice Film Festival, Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include a collection of sketches made by costume designer Jean-Pierre Delifer; production and publicity stills by photographer Mario Tursi; behind the scenes footage shot by director Martin Scorsese in Morocco; video interview with composer Peter Gabriel; and an audio commentary by director Martin Scorsese, actor Willem Dafoe, and screenwriters Paul Schrader and Jay Cocks. Also included with this Blu-ray disc is a leaflet featuring an essay by film critic David Ehrenstein. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Speak to me
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.86:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"Supervised and approved by cinematographer Michael Ballhaus and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, this high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a 35mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS, Pixel Farm's PFClean, and Image System's Phoenix.
Telecine supervisors: Michael Ballhaus, Maria Palazzola, Thelma Schoonmaker.
Telecine colorist: Gregg Garvin/Modern Videofilm, Los Angeles; Ron Stetler/The Tape House, New York.
5.1 surround remix by: Skip Lievsay/C5, New York."
The Blu-ray release represents a massive upgrade in quality over the old DVD release Criterion produced in 2000. Despite being struck from an interpositive (as opposed to the original negative), the high-definition transfer boasts fantastic organic qualities. As many of the screencaptures we have provided with our review show, during close-ups detail is excellent (see screencapture #6), while the panoramic shots look notably fluid (see screencapture #4). Contrast levels have also been stabilized, and as a result the desert sequences look notably stronger. Furthermore, none of the macroblocking patterns that plagued the nighttime sequences on the standard definition transfer are present on the high-definition transfer. Unsurprisingly, these sequences now look far crisper and tighter, as they should.
Some very careful noise corrections have been performed, but light grain is present and evenly distributed throughout the entire film. Post production sharpening corrections have not been applied. Also, Criterion have made every effort to remove various small scratches, damage marks, and debris without affecting the integrity of the film, and the results are indeed very impressive, though a couple of inherited light marks still remain (see screencapture #12, upper left side). Lastly, there are absolutely no serious stability issues whatsoever. All in all, this is a very strong and very competent presentation of The Last Temptation of Christ that is guaranteed to please its fans. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"The 5.1 soundtrack was mastered from the original six-track magnetic masters. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated workstation."
The English DTS-HD Master 5.1 track is a revelation. It boasts a wide range of nuanced dynamics and literally adds a new dimension to Peter Gabriel's beautiful score - there is richness and color to the music that are simply missing from from the lossy track on Criterion's DVD release. I also noticed that the high frequencies are far better defined. The dialog is always crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow. There are no sync issues or audio dropouts to report in this review.
I sincerely hope that the controversy that once surrounded Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ is a thing of the past. This is a beautiful, respectful and enormously moving and thought-provoking film that ought to be admired, not condemned and ridiculed. If you have never before experienced The Last Temptation of Christ, now is the right time to do it - the film looks gorgeous on Blu-ray, the best it ever has. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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