7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
Suffering from acute kidney failure, Uncle Boonmee has chosen to spend his final days with his loved ones in the countryside. During this time, the ghost of his deceased wife appears to care for him and his long lost son returns home in a non-human form. In order to understand the reasons for his illness, Boonmee treks through the jungle with his family to a mysterious hilltop cave which he comes to understand is the birthplace of his first life.
Starring: Thanapat Saisaymar, Jenjira Pongpas, Sakda KaewbuadeeForeign | 100% |
Drama | 90% |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080/50i
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Thai: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Thai: LPCM 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B, A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Winner of the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors New Wave Films. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; deleted scenes; interview with director Apichatpong Weerasethakul; and the short film "A Letter to Uncle Boonmee". In Thai, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Thai ghosts
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080/50i transfer, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors New Wave Films.
Because natural light has a very prominent role (in the interview provided on this disc, director Weerasethakul addresses in detail the use of natural light), portions of the film look somewhat soft, but detail and clarity are indeed very pleasing. The daylight footage, in particular, looks terrific. Furthermore, despite the fact that the transfer is interlaced, motion-judder is never noticeable. Edge-enhancement is also not a serious issue of concern. I did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction either. The film's color-scheme favors a variety of warm and very natural looking yellows, greens, blues, and blacks. Lastly, there are absolutely no stability issues whatsoever. Aside from a few tiny flecks that I noticed early into the film, I also did not see any large scratches, cuts, stains, or debris to report in this review. All in all, this is a lovely first Blu-ray release from newcomers New Wave Films. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. However, the film is encoded in 1080/50i. Therefore, you will not be able to play it on Region-A PS3s and 98% of standard Region-A machines.
The disc will be marked in our database as Region-B "locked", with a disclaimer).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Thai DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Thai LPCM 2.0. For the record, New Wave Films have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is not a film that has the potential to test the muscles of your audio system, but there are a number of ambient sounds in it that are incredibly important. Fortunately, the Thai DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track has a strong dynamic amplitude that opens up the entire film very well. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. For the record, I did not detect any problematic pops, cracks, or audio dropouts to report in this review. The English translation is very good.
The first Blu-ray release from British distributors New Wave Films is a good one. Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is a mesmerizing, beautiful film. Watching it was a very, very special experience. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed is Region-Free. However, the main feature and the disc's menu are encoded in 1080/50i, which isn't supported by 98% of all Region-A Blu-ray players, including the PS3, as well North American TV sets. Keep that in mind if you reside in North America and wish to import the film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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