7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Based on Patrick DeWitt's novel, The Sisters Brothers revolves around the colourfully named gold prospector Hermann Kermit Warm, who's being pursued across 1000 miles of 1850s Oregon desert to San Francisco by the notorious assassins Eli and Charlie Sisters. Except Eli is having a personal crisis and beginning to doubt the longevity of his chosen career. And Hermann might have a better offer.
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed, Jóhannes Haukur JóhannessonWestern | 100% |
Dark humor | 53% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Sisters Brothers never really seemed to connect with audiences when it was first released for theatrical exhibiton in 2018, and it frankly also didn't seem to cause much of a stir when what was then known as 20th Century Fox released it on Blu-ray in 2019 for the Region A market (a release I reviewed, and will link to below). As Brian Lowry's visual essay included on this Arrow release mentions, perhaps it's time for this interesting film to have a reassessment, and this release at least will allow it easy access in Region B for Arrow's 1080 version, and worldwide for their 4K UHD release (per Arrow's standard operating procedure, they're releasing the separate formats as standalones).
The Sisters Brothers is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with a 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains only the following fairly generic information on the transfer:
The Sisters Brothers is presented in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio with 5.1 surround sound. The high definition master was provided by Universal Studios.As I mentioned in my review of the 20th Century Fox Blu-ray, Arri Alexa cameras were used and while this particular data point wasn't yet on the IMDb when I published that review, so I guessed, it's since been confirmed this had a 2K DI. While there are some arguable minor differences in the Arrow and 20th Century Fox 1080 presentations, I'd argue they're virtually interchangeable a lot of the time. At selected moments, the Arrow release can look just slightly darker looking, though kind of ironically (if understandably) that's probably most noticeable in some of the brightly lit outdoor scenes, as when Eli awakens after a horrifying interaction with a spider. Otherwise, though, to my eyes the palette looks virtually identical in the two releases, and detail levels are also pretty much interchangeable. As I mentioned in my original review, some "arty" effects like lens flare and askew framings in what are often supposedly "naturally lit" scenes can lead to definite variances in fine detail levels.
The Sisters Brothers features a nicely forceful sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix which I personally found indistinguishable from the DTS- HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the old 20th Century Fox Blu-ray, and so I'll repeat some of my comments from my older review here. I'd bet that the sound design team had a blast (figuratively and literally) adding a bit of "oomph" to the recurrent gunshots that populate the film, because they really erupt with considerable energy almost all of the time. There's good directionality in the shootout scenes, and other crowd scenes, like the brothers' stop at the Mayfield inn and brothel, also provide excellent surround activity. Alexandre Desplat's fun score resides in the side and rear channels very winningly, and dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly throughout the presentation. Optional English subtitles are available.
As is discussed in some of the supplements on this release, the very title The Sisters Brothers may have led some to believe they were going to see some kind of satiric romp a la Blazing Saddles or some such entry. That's hopefully obviously not the case, but The Sisters Brothers is still a rather "unusual" western, and one that is rife with almost Freudian undertones at times. Arrow provides a release with solid technical merits and some very enjoyable supplements. Those without region free players who didn't pick up the Region A 20th Century Fox release should be well pleased with this one. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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