7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A young boy accidentally joins a band of time traveling dwarves as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
Starring: Michael Palin, Sean Connery, John Cleese, Shelley Duvall, Katherine HelmondSci-Fi | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 0.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Arrow's UK division has been offering Terry Gilliam some enticements lately, with both this film and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 4K on the release schedule for Region B. One of the
kind of hilarious supplements on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas presented Ian Christie relating a humorous anecdote from Gilliam himself
that Gilliam, often accused of being out of control and quite possibly uncontrollable, felt he wasn't getting enough credit for having brought in both The Fisher King and 12 Monkeys* on time and under budget, and in some ways those same bragging
points
would probably be available for Gilliam with regard to this particular film. Gilliam has often aggregated Time Bandits, Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen as a triptych of sorts, and whatever their perceived and/or
real differences, the three do offer an absolute phantasmogria of imagery with completely sui generis plot conceits.
*Note that the link points to the Region A 4K release by Arrow, since that's the one I reviewed.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from Arrow's prior 1080 release of the film. This release does not include a 1080 disc.
Time Bandits is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HVEC / H. 265 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet
contains
the following information on the transfer:
Time Bandits has been restored by The Criterion Collection and is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with 2.0 stereo and 5.1 audio.As can probably be gleaned from the above verbiage, this is very similar if not outright identical to Criterion's release, and boasts all of the positives that Svet mentions in his review of Criterion's own 4K release, though as is so often the case and I have a tendency to repeat, different reviewers means different opinions, and my score is just slightly lower than Svet's. That is due largely to some admittedly baked in issues that arise from the almost insane number of opticals this film contains, but there are still some fairly wide variances in grain resolution in particular that are not always connected to such moments. As Svet also mentions, at least allusively, detail levels may not enjoy a huge uptick across the board when compared to the 1080 version, but the palette is really quite amazingly vivid and HDR and/or Dolby Vision add some considerable nuance to Gilliam's always changing array of colors. Saturation is generally gorgeous, and some of the warmer tones in the red and purple spectrums pop amazingly beautifully. That said, there are a number of more coolly graded sequences that feature almost an onslaught of blues, and those are similarly robust.
The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution and the film was restored in 4K resolution and graded in HDR10 and Dolby Vision at Silver Salt Restoration, London. The restoration was supervised and approved by Terry Gilliam.
Time Bandits features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that I suspect mimics the LPCM 2.0 track on Criterion's 4K release, but this Arrow release also offers a rather nicely rejiggered DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, as did Arrow's 1080 release, and in fact I frankly didn't notice any major difference in Arrow's 1080 and 4K UHD presentations from an audio perspective. The 5.1 track tends to offer what I'd call discrete placement of individual effects at sporadic intervals rather than going for the surround gusto in a consistent manner, but it is commendably free of the kind of quasi- phased sound that often attends such efforts. Both the surround and stereo tracks provide ample support for dialogue, effects and score, and both tracks artfully maneuver the mix in a sound design that can be, as so many of Gilliam's films are, "noisy" at times. Optional English subtitles are available.
All of the supplements from Arrow's previous 1080 release save for the Restoration Demonstration have been ported over to this release:
Considering the drug use that was rampant at least on screen in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and which one suspects Terry Gilliam may have more than a passing knowledge of in private life, to call this film another "high concept" offering from the auteur may have some unintended connotations, but that said, this is an undeniably psychedelic carnival ride from Gilliam. Region B enthusiasts who didn't opt for Criterion's 4K release should be more than satisfied with this disc's solid technical merits and appealing supplements. Recommended.
1977
2018
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1989
20th Anniversary Edition
1988
Jeon Woochi: The Taoist Wizard
2009
Masters of Cinema
1924
Triple Play
2010
2014
1989
1940
2005
2020
2023
2015
Extended Edition / The Longer, Harder Version
2011
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Arrow Academy
1973
2013
1989
1972