6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A love triangle develops between an Armenian medical student Michael, an American journalist based in Paris named Christopher and an Armenian-born woman raised in France, Ana, during the final days of the Ottoman Empire in 1914.
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, Christian Bale, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Shohreh AghdashlooHistory | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Whether Pearl Harbor, The Promise, or any number of other like films, the cinema medium has been no stranger to the stories of love in times of upheaval and war. Like any other genre or grouping, there are distinct demarcations of excellence, with films that tell a familiar story but in some way elevate the material well beyond tropes and types and capture real emotion beyond the crude maneuverings of the heart and the battlefield coming to the top. The Promise comes closer to that top than do many of its peers, but the film, from Director Terry George (Hotel Rwanda, Reservation Road), can't quite reach the zenith. Though technically strong, boasting good performances, playing with an even cadence, and telling an important central story, the film falls just short of breaking through, satisfying more often than not in terms of intimately exploring the complex, destructive world at its center but never quire realizing the full potential of its love story, which plays with a mostly generic, uncreative vibe.
The digitally photographed The Promise impresses on Blu-ray. The 1080p image delivers a dense and detailed picture, leaving behind much of the flatness associated with digital and revealing a pleasantly complex picture rich in textural wonder. Certainly faces and clothes are the basic bedrocks, and both reveal superb definition along the way. But the film's environments are the standouts. Whether more finely appointed areas around the medical school or the dusty, earthy, roughly textured rocks and terrain of a labor camp, the image sparkles with density and attention to detail that's hard to top. Colors are well saturated. The film takes on a fairly neutral, and pleasant, color scheme. Primaries are bold, support and earthen shades hold steady, flesh tones are natural, and black levels are appropriately dense. Light noise creeps in at times, visible, occasionally, even in very well-lit scenes, but no other major intrusions are evident.
The Promise features a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack that's equally comfortable with gentle dialogue and romantic scenes and chaotic moments of war and horror. Certainly it's the latter that allows the track to stand out and stand apart. The low end is deep and dense, heavy and relentless as it's needed but nicely complimentary to the greater sound needs. Explosions are particularly powerful, and the debris field that flies through the stage is largely faultless. Around the 49-minute mark, a train rumbles through the stage, and a moving train exterior scene follows, defined by visual darkness and some terrors and scares but audibly by a driving, stinging rain that saturates the stage, missing only a dedicated top layer to truly immerse the listener. Music is wide and well defined throughout the range. Support din is wonderful, whether pained sounds at a labor camp or more welcoming elements around town or the medical school. A number of discrete effects impresses as well, including a ringing bell signaling the start of class early in the film. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized for the duration. It further enjoys natural front-center placement.
The Promise contains deleted scenes, a trio of brief featurettes, and a commentary track. A DVD copy the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes
digital
copy are included with purchase.
The Promise is one of those movies that's very good, just not great. It tiptoes around cheesy romantic excess but goes full-on in its depictions of the horrors of war and genocide, both on personal, intimate levels and sweeping, large-scale levels as well. Altogether it doesn't differentiate itself from the field, but it's nevertheless well done and engaging; it just doesn't appear to be a movie with any serious legs, at least as far as its greater narrative arc is concerned. Universal's Blu-ray is excellent, offering high quality video and audio as well as a fair offering of bonus content. Recommended.
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