7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
A group of multinational prisoners escapes from a Siberian gulag in 1940 and journeys thousands of miles by foot through five hostile countries on their way to freedom in India.
Starring: Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Dragos BucurWar | 100% |
History | 96% |
Period | 46% |
Drama | 39% |
Epic | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Few directors have had as varied a filmography as Sydney-born Peter Weir. In his nearly forty-year career he’s made—amongst others—a cult classic black comedy (The Cars That Ate Paris), an avant-garde period piece mystery (Picnic at Hanging Rock), a supernatural thriller (The Last Wave), a war film (Gallipoli), two movies that helped take Harrison Ford’s acting in an entirely new direction (Witness, The Mosquito Coast), an inspirational prep school drama (Dead Poets Society), a philosophical media satire (The Truman Show), and, in Master and Commander, a globe-spanning 19th century maritime adventure. For his latest film, The Way Back, Weir has tackled one of cinema’s most formidable genres—the David Lean-esque epic. Inspired by Slawomir Rawicz’ The Long Walk—a supposed memoir of dubious authenticity—The Way Back tells the not-entirely-true story of three men who escaped from a Russian gulag in 1941 and hiked south some 4,000 miles, finally finding freedom in northern India. While it may not be a fully factual account, Weir has gone to great lengths to make it plausible, and he succeeds at telling a survival tale that’s harrowing and realistic. Unfortunately, the film’s epic scope is constrained by the relative smallness of its dramatic impact.
What would an epic, David Lean-like film be without epic, David Lean-like visuals? Granted, The Way Back is no Lawrence of Arabia or Doctor Zhivago, but you'll sense the heat of the former and the utter chill of the later in the film's fantastic 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer, which handles the story's varied locales with clarity and mood-establishing color. The gulag scenes are appropriately bleak and cast in deep blues, the forests features rich green foliage, the deserts stretches are glazed by bright, sun-baked neutral tones, and the Himalayas are all crisp white snow and vivid skies. Black levels can seem a bit grayish at times—I suspect this is to preserve shadow detail—but contrast is strong, skin tones are balanced, and the image packs plenty of depth and presence. Shot on 35mm, the film sports a rich layer of natural grain, and there are no traces of excess noise reduction or edge enhancement. The image is more than adequately sharp on its own, revealing fine detail in the period accurate gulag sets, the characters' grimy, mud-splattered clothing, and their crinkled, weather-beaten faces. Simply put, this is a great looking film on Blu-ray, and there are no encode issues or compression problems to distract from the immersive visual experience.
In a word: Intense. This is one of those films that you'll want to crank up loud—just make sure the neighbors aren't sleeping next door. Like Weir's previous film, Master and Commander, the sound design in The Way Back is brilliantly immersive—generating a real sense of place—and the film's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track brings it all to life with precision, forcefulness, and deliciously overpowering rear-channel involvement. Every scene, every environment featured in the film has its own convincing soundscape. I've never suffered in a Soviet gulag, but after the film's first act I felt like I had. Punishingly cold snow-propelling wind rips through the surround speakers, and inside that distinct sound you can hear branches bending and breaking all around you. Down in the mines, explosions trigger sub-woofer swells while tiny rocks and other pieces of debris fly through the air. Elsewhere, rain pours in torrents, bloodthirsty mosquitoes buzz violently, pounding horse hooves encircle us, and a sandstorm creates a granular wind so believable you'll want to cover your eyes and mouth. The effects are just as much a part of Weir's storytelling as his epic visuals. Even quieter scenes reveal thoughtful sound production, with gurgling water and other light outdoorsy noises. Burkhard Dallwitz' score complements the film wonderfully, and the music is just as rich and detailed and dynamic as the sound effects. Dialogue throughout is easy to understand, except, of course, where it's intentionally overwhelmed by the elements. English SDH and Spanish subtitles are available, and with no subtitles selected, English subs automatically appear for dialogue spoken in other languages.
The Way Back opened in limited theaters with almost no promotion, but it definitely deserves to be seen by a wider audience. Despite some narrative shortcomings—the film's ending is exceptionally awkward—director Peter Weir delivers an intense, often grueling experience that takes us on a journey of human perseverance through a series of gorgeously bleak and barren locales. The film looks spectacular on Blu-ray, but better yet, it features an audio track so powerful and convincing that you might get chills when the cold Siberian wind blows through the rear channels. Recommended!
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