7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
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: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS 2.0
Italian: DTS 2.0
German: DTS 2.0
Spanish: DTS 2.0
English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hindi, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
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 Universal Pictures-UK. The supplemental features on the disc include an original theatrical trailer for the film and video interview with director Martin Scorsese. In English, with optional English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hindi, Icelandic, Norwegian, Japanese, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
"I am going to baptize everybody with fire..."
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Pictures-UK.
The high-definition transfer used for this Pan-European release has little in common with the one Criterion used for their Blu-ray release of The Last Temptation of Christ in the United States. It appears to have been struck from a dated source with different issues and more often than not it definitely shows. For example, edge-enhancement is easy to spot practically throughout the entire film. It is not always distracting, but its presence is certainly felt (See screencapture #11). There are also traces of light to moderate denoising corrections, some of which make select sequences look quite flat (see screencaptures #1 and 16). Even close-ups with plenty of natural light often look rather disappointing. The color-scheme is also not identical to that of Criterion's release. Orange and brown, in particular, are a lot more prominent during the desert sequences (compare screencapture #14 with screencapture #12 from our review of the Criterion release). Lastly, while viewing the film I also noticed some light banding. All in all, I think that viewers with mid-size screens (46'-55') will probably have a fairly easy time tolerating most of the issues noted above, but viewers with larger screens, and especially those who project their films, will most likely find them to be quite distracting. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).
There are five standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French DTS 2.0, Italian DTS 2.0, German DTS 2.0, and Spanish DTS 2.0. For the record, Universal Pictures-UK have provided optional English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hindi, Icelandic, Norwegian, Japanese, and Swedish subtitles for the main feature.
The lossless track is every bit as impressive as the one from the Criterion release. Depth, clarity, and fluidity are indeed excellent. I think that anyone who has previously experienced The Last Temptation of Christ only on DVD and is now going to view it for the first time on Blu-ray is guaranteed to be overwhelmed by the power and beauty of Peter Gabriel's score. I truly think that it sounds quite incredible. The dialog is very crisp, clean, and easy to follow.
Note: The supplemental features included on this release are perfectly playable on North American Blu-ray machines, including the PS3.
If you reside in a Region-B territory and can play Region-A discs, my advice to is to consider importing Criterion's very good Blu-ray release of The Last Temptation of Christ. Not only does it use a notably stronger high-definition transfer, but it also has a better selection of supplemental features. Fans of the film, however, should also consider picking up this release from Universal Pictures because it has a very good interview with director Martin Scorsese that is not included on the Criterion release.
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