6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 1.5 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
Handsomely-mounted historical epic concerns the birth of the Islamic faith and the story of the prophet Mohammed
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, Michael Ansara, Michael Forest, Garrick HagonWar | 100% |
History | 89% |
Biography | 41% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i (upconverted)
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 1.5 | |
Audio | 2.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
Does the name "Moustapha Akkad" sound familiar? It should, this being a movie website and all. For those who don't immediately see pumpkins and butcher knives and Donald Pleasence at the mere uttering of the name, here are a few more hints: October 31, candy, murder, sequels, spiritual successors, a remake, a remake of a sequel, and one big, hulking, virtually invulnerable son-of-a-gun. Yes, it's Halloween, and outside of the names Curtis, Pleasence, and Carpenter, Moustapha Akkad may be the most readily identifiable under the venerable fan-favorite franchise's banner. But Akkad isn't just the proverbial one-trick producing pony. Before Halloween, he both produced and directed The Message (and would follow that several years later with Lion of the Desert), a beautifully crafted film about the early history of Islam and the tumultuous time of the rise of Muhammad, Allah's prophet. The Message stands in stark contrast to the dark chills, synthesizer beats, and genre-defining stature of John Carpenter's film and the series it spawned. A true epic and a satisfying cinema journey through one of history's most crucial times with one of the most influential, revered, and even controversial figures in human history, The Message shares the compelling story of world-shaping spiritual change of many centuries ago.
I wish my message could reach a WIDER audience.
The Message features a highly disappointing transfer that sports pretty much the same set of issues found in its companion release, Lion of the Desert. The film arrives with a 1.78:1-framed presentation rather than in its native, wider 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Strike one. The picture reads as 1080i rather than the 1080p listed on the back of the box. Strike two. Strike three? Pick 'em. The image offers flat, uninspired colors and pasty details. Where brilliant shades of red, green, purple, and yellow should appear on clothing is instead a collection of dull colors that never pop and lack even a hint of vibrancy. Basic skin textures, earthen terrains, and other bland colors are fairly presented, but there's absolutely no life to the palette. Details are wholly disappointing. The image does enjoy a basic uptick in overall clarity thanks to the higher resolution the format offers, but there's no life to anything, not clothing, not sandy floors, not any element in the film. Faces are pasty, and close-ups fail to reveal anything but the most basic definition. Worse, the image takes on a scrubbed-down appearance. It's also littered with the occasional speckle, a fair bit of noise, a few edge halos, and infrequent soft focus elements. All around -- the botched aspect ratio, 1080i rather than 1080p, bland colors, and relatively poor details -- this transfer proves a loser.
The Message's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack fares better than the video, but that's not saying much. And the track isn't much of anything, anyway. It offers all of the basics in working order and nothing more. Some reverberating dialogue heard at the beginning fails to find a true stage balance. There are additional moments that sound off-kilter, and one sequence, just past the twenty-minute mark, features certain lines accompanied by a low rumble effect. Musical delivery is often harsh and shrill, particularly in the 5.1 track. The LPCM 2.0 presentation comes across as a little more shallow but does lack that ear-piercing shrieking that often accompanies music. Sounds of battle are suitably chaotic and spread around the stage, but not to any sort of realistic effect. Instead, the track often sounds like a jumble of sounds left for the listener to sort. All told, this is a fairly miserable, but ultimately passable (barely) track from Anchor Bay.
The Message contains no bonus features.
The Message is a high quality picture about one of history's most important figures, a figure who goes completely unseen and unheard through the course of the film. This may be the only film in cinema history that has accomplished such a feat with so much grace and flow to it. It's a shame Moustapha Akkad didn't direct more pictures, and it's even more tragic that is life was cut far too short, prohibiting him from doing so, were he so inclined. Unfortunately, Anchor Bay's Blu-ray doesn't do his film the justice it deserves. No supplements, bad video, and low-end audio don't ruin one's ability to enjoy and appreciate the film, but The Message needs a superior release. The film comes very highly recommended, but the Blu-ray does not.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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