7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
That day Sergey Sobolev, police officer, is driving to the hospital where his wife is about to give birth to their child. High from happiness, he's driving too fast and when he sees a boy on a passage walk, it's too late. The boy died, and now the major has only two options: go to prison or conceal his crime and stay free. All the characters in this film have to choose - to cross or not to cross the line, when the price for your choice is life... yours and of the ones you love.
Starring: Denis Shvedov, Irina Nizina, Yuriy Bykov, Boris Nevzorov, Dmitriy KulichkovForeign | 100% |
Drama | 61% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Russian: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Nominated for the Critics Week Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Yury Bykov's "The Major" (2013) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent U.S. distributors Olive Films. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original trailer for the film. In Russian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The one they could not trust
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Yury Bykov's The Major arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.
Shot digitally, with the bulk of the footage shot on the Red camera, the film has a clean, very smooth and fluid appearance. The outdoor footage looks particularly strong, especially when there is an abundant natural light. During the indoor footage depth could fluctuate a bit, but clarity and fluidity remain very impressive. The color scheme favors cold and neutral primaries with limited nuances that remain solid. Image stability is excellent. There is a whiff of very light banding that pops up early into the film, but otherwise the technical presentation is outstanding. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The film's soundtrack is very effective. It blends organic sounds and noises with wonderful minimalistic ambient themes the give the film a very special dreamy atmosphere. Dynamic intensity is modest, but during the chase and the shootouts separation and clarity are superb. The dialog is very clean, crisp, and easy to follow. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in our review.
Yury Bykov's The Major is the best film that I have seen this year that no one talks about. To be honest, I liked it a lot more than Andrey Zvyagintsev's Leviathan, and I think that it is actually a lot more effective. It all depends on what type of exposure Bykov's films get in the future, but if they are promoted right at major festivals around the world, there is no doubt in my mind that he will soon be one of Russia's biggest directors. Olive Films' technical presentation of The Major is excellent. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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