The Other Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

The Other Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 17, 2015

Robert Mulligan's "The Other" (1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The only supplemental feature on the disc is an original trailer for the film. Also included with this release is a 24-page illustrated booklet with a new essay by Aaron Hills and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Niles

The Other tells the story of two 10-year-old brothers (Chris Udvarnoky and Martin Udvarnoky) living on a small farm somewhere in Connecticut. The place seems peaceful, but there is something here that makes one feel very uncomfortable.

While Niles and Holland play together various bits from their family’s history are revealed -- their father has died in an accident while their widowed mother Alexandra (Diana Muldaur, TV's Born Free: The Complete Series) has been partially paralyzed. The boys’ Russian grandmother, Ada (Uta Hagen, The Boys From Brazil), has also witnessed a terrible accident.

When a cousin dies in yet another accident, the relationship between the two brothers gets complicated. At first they casually begin questioning each other and then later on they begin challenging each other -- or so it seems for awhile. Around the same time, it is also revealed that Ada has taught the boys how to temporarily ‘borrow’ the identities of different animals and human beings. Niles, in particular, likes the game a lot and it seems like he can even see things that other people around him can’t. But is what he sees real or not?

The film is based on actor Tom Tyron’s (The Cardinal) best-selling novel and is directed by Oscar nominated director Robert Mulligan (To Kill a Mockingbird). It is slow, very moody, and beautifully lensed -- in fact, almost too beautifully as the manner in which the camera moves very quickly creates the impression that the film’s main objective is to impress with style rather than substance. Indeed, as the story progresses, this rather odd desire to select seemingly the best angles to observe the action and experiment with unusual cuts, zooms, and aerial shots becomes distracting and eventually even borderline annoying.

To work as intended the film also needs one to accept a major character transformation as it occurs -- at the right time with all of the revealing pieces that bring logic to the film. This, however, is a risky requirement, to say the least, as a number of different sequences do precisely that long before the scripted climax.

The Udvarnoky twins had no prior acting experience, but both look remarkably relaxed in front of the camera. Hagen, who made her acting debut in The Other, is also very good as the Russian babushka. Muldaur, however, seems too distant and ultimately unconvincing as the tormented widow.

The film was lensed by multiple Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Surtees (Ben-Hur, The Bad and the Beautiful). The very moody soundtrack was created by the great Jerry Goldsmith (Planet of the Apes, The Great Train Robbery). Apparently, however, during the post-production process a large portion of the music Goldsmith composed for the film was cut.

The Other Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Robert Mulligan's The Other arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

The high-definition transfer has been struck from a pre-existing master (the same is true for the U.S. release). Generally speaking clarity and detail are pleasing, but there are areas of the film where light noise sneaks in and affects definition (see screencapture #9). Grain is present, but it is clear that it can be better resolved -- a new scan of the original elements will unquestionably improve grain distribution (see screencapture #14). Still, when there is plenty of natural light the majority of the close-ups look quite good, while the larger panoramic shots convey decent fluidity. Edge-enhancement is not an issue of concern, but occasionally light halo effects can be spotted (see screencaptures #2 and 3). Colors remain stable, but saturation can be improved (the airy cinematography isn't responsible for some of the color flatness). Finally, overall image stability is very good. Also, there are no large cuts, damage marks, or debris to report in this review. All in all, very clearly there is room for important improvements, but the film does have a fine organic appearance. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to acceess its content).

The Other Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

Jerry Goldsmith's moody soundtrack enhances the tense atmosphere without taking over entire sequences -- simple themes casually enter and then exit the narrative. The dialog is stable and easy to follow, but some extremely light hiss occasionally makes its presence felt. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in this review.

The Other Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for The Other. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Booklet - 24-page illustrated booklet with a new essay by Aaron Hills and technical credits. (4 min).

The Other Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are some interesting similarities between Robert Mulligan's The Other and Spanish master Víctor Erice's The Spirit of the Beehive, which were competed at approximately the same time. They are both set in rural areas and tell stories about troubled children that see the world around them differently. Their atmosphere is also comparable, though Erice's film manages it far more effectively and eventually produces some fascinating observations about Franco's regime. I'd recommend seeing Erice's film first, but if you have already done so and liked it, consider spending a night with The Other.