7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The discovery of pristine territories, of wild fauna and flora, and of grandiose landscapes as part of a huge photographic project which is a tribute to the planet's beauty.
Starring: Sebastião Salgado, Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, Hugo Barbier, Jacques BarthélémyDocumentary | 100% |
Biography | 75% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Anyone can create art, at least "art" in the crudest definition of the term. Anyone can put pen to paper or ink to canvas, pound on the piano, or put eye to viewfinder and click the shutter button. But it takes an artist, someone blessed with the gift, to create something more than that, something that turns a head, catches an eye, speaks to the heart, moves the soul, something that tells a story, defines an emotion, excites the senses, recreates life. Fine art -- in this case fine photography -- isn't simply about capturing a moment, it's about emotional investment in the subject, depicting the deeper meaning behind the subject, and depicting through a single image a much broader array of content than the moment of time seems to imply. Acclaimed Photographer Sebastião Salgado has that gift, and he, and his photos, are the subject of the wonderful Documentary The Salt of the Earth, a moving -- in more ways than one -- portrait of his still images, a retrospective on a fascinating life and the pictures to which he dedicated his life, pictures which show with great beauty, and sometimes terrible agony, the world as it is truly is and can truly be.
The photographer.
The Salt of the Earth's 1080p presentation is a bit of a hit-and-miss affair, with the former dominating the latter but the latter making a pronounced appearance at certain junctures. At its best, in its black-and-white interview footage with Sebastião Salgado, the image finds intense crispness and boundless definition that are a pleasure to behold. The grayscale is intricate and black levels are beautifully deep. The many still photographs the film displays are likewise sharp and effortless, presenting every little detail of faces, clothes, and terrain evident in them with an exactness one would expect to find if analyzing copies in real life. The film features some lower grade color footage that, at its best, reveals solid detailing and good colors, particularly evident on natural greens. However, various shots demonstrate a number of problems including aliasing, edge halos, banding, blocking, and black crush. None of these are seen in excess but they do interfere with a number of shots. Fortunately, their appearances are limited to certain shots and, while obvious and bothersome, aren't totally destructive to the image.
The Salt of the Earth's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack handles the film's mostly limited presentation very well. Music, whether lighter, airy notes or somewhat deeper, more potently aggressive notes are presented with rich definition and seamless spacing, including a natural surround support structure. Photos are sometimes overlaid with light picture-specific sound effects, such as distinctive background effects in the early mining shots. Live action footage is met with fine basic ambient effects, including birds and insects, blowing wind, and rustling grasses. Dialogue is the key component here, however, and both voiceover narration and direct speech are presented with fine natural definition and front-center placement.
The Salt of the Earth contains a commentary, a featurette, and deleted scenes. Inside the Blu-ray case, buyers will find a DVD copy of the
film.
The Salt of the Earth is an intensely riveting film, a portrait of humanity as seen in the portrait of a man. It's remarkably well done, bringing together crude Documentary bits but at the same time opening up an entire world into what it means to not simply show the world, but to find the world, to uncover that deeply hidden essence in a single instant and tell a much larger story in a snapshot than most can produce in a hefty tome or a lengthy film. The Salt of the Earth will challenge what the audience knows about the world, the art of photography, and the cinematic medium. It will inspire people to do better by themselves, their neighbors, and the world around them. It might even inspire some to pick up a camera and find their own voice in the still images of the corner of the universe they call their own, or beyond. Sony's Blu-ray release of The Salt of the Earth features good video, strong audio, and a fair assortment of extras. Very highly recommended.
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