7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Contemporary fable about two teenage boys who get caught up in the world of copper theft, inspired by Oscar Wilde’s story of the same name. Set in a struggling working-class community in Bradford, England, ‘The Selfish Giant’ tells the tale of two schoolmates, 13-year-old Arbor and his best friend Swifty. Excluded from school and outsiders in their own neighborhood, the two young boys meet local scrap-dealer Kitten, and begin collecting scrap-metal for him using a horse-and-cart. However, when Arbor begins to emulate Kitten by becoming greedy and exploitative, tensions soon start to build leading to a tragic event, one which transforms them all.
Starring: Conner Chapman, Shaun Thomas (II), Sean Gilder, Lorraine Ashbourne, Ian BurfieldComing of age | 100% |
Drama | 74% |
Crime | Insignificant |
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
English: LPCM 2.0
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Winner of Label Europa Cinemas Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Clio Barnard's "The Selfish Giant" (2013) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; alternative ending; an video interview with director Clio Barnard, Conner Chapman and Shaun Thomas. In English, without optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Arbor
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Clio Barnard's The Selfish Giant arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.
Shot with the Arri Alexa camera, The Selfish Giant looks very impressive in high-definition. The film has the appropriate clean and smooth look and detail is simply terrific. Contrast and sharpness levels remain stable. There is a wide range of subdued, frequently rather cold but natural colors. Color stability is outstanding. Additionally, there are no stability issues to report in this review. The encoding and compression are also excellent. To sum it all up, The Selfish Giant looks fantastic on Blu-ray, and I am convinced that its fans will be very pleased with the technical presentation once the get a chance to experience it at home. (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 access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Artificial Eye have not provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
I viewed the film with the lossless 5.1 track but later on did some random comparisons with the 2.0 track and in my opinion the difference between the two is very small. The film has a very organic sound design and in terms of dynamic intensity there aren't any serious discrepancies. Also, with the 5.1 track you should not expect to hear any serious surround movement. This being said, the dialog is exceptionally crisp and stable. However, optional English SDH subtitles should have been included because the majority of the accents in the film are very thick.
I liked Clio Barnard's The Selfish Giant quite a lot, but there is a part of me that also wants to see young British directors move away from the canons of social realism Ken Loach introduced years ago. This is probably not an easy thing to do because Loach's style is so effective, but I feel that a new vision is needed. Artificial Eye's technical presentation of The Selfish Giant is excellent. However, I think that without optional subtitles some North American viewers might have a difficult time following and understanding what is said in the film. RECOMMENDED.
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