Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Unknown Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 14, 2009

Simon Brand’s indie thriller "Unknown" (2006) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. There are no supplemental materials on the disc. Not subtitled in English. Region-B "locked".

Who are we?

Five men wake up in a giant warehouse not knowing who they are or why they are there. One of the men is cuffed and bleeding, another has a broken nose, another is tied to a chair, there is also a man with a large cut on his hand, and another whose face is covered with blood. The men try to exit the warehouse but quickly realize that there is no way out.

The men begin talking. A phone rings. One of them picks up – on the other side, someone announces that the job is done and they are coming. Then, he hangs up. The men in the warehouse do not know what the job is or who’s coming to the warehouse.

While scouting the building for clues, one of the men finds a newspaper. In the news section, he sees an article about a high-profile abduction case. There is a picture. Something tells him that he is somehow involved with the case.

Meanwhile, the other men in the warehouse begin remembering things – flashbacks of people screaming and shooting at each other is what they recall. They begin speculating about who they are and why they are locked together. Soon, they all agree that some of them must be hostages, some kidnappers. But who’s who? And what would happen when they arrive at the warehouse?

Unknown is an indie production directed by Simon Brand that was released simultaneously in selected theaters and on cable in November of 2006. A year later, the Weinstein Company released the film on SDVD in North America.

The premise behind Unknown is indeed fascinating – five men suffering from amnesia are desperately trying to remember if they did something terrible, or if someone did something terrible to them. They begin questioning each others' memories so that they could understand what has happened to them. This unusual process transforms Unknown into a never-ending guessing game where nothing is what it seems.

The dialog is strong. It is structured in a manner that allows the audience to gradually begin reconstructing what might have happened in the warehouse, even if the main characters are not yet discussing it. There are a few scenes that feel slightly out of context, but for the most part the story is believable.

The actual memory flashbacks – looking appropriately blurry – however, are not overly convincing. Some are slightly rushed and appearing at very awkward places. Others, especially those seen at the very end, work great.

The cast is comprised of familiar faces - James Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ), Joe Pantoliano (Bad Boys II), Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan), Greg Kinnear (We Were Soldiers), and Jeremy Sisto (In Memory of My Father). Some of them are given slightly less to work with (Sisto’s character, for example, feels somewhat underdeveloped), but they still manage to be entertaining. The beautiful Bridget Moynahan (I, Robot) has a tiny cameo role as well.

Cinematographer Steve Yedlin (Brick) does a terrific job of sustaining the sense of paranoia the story of Unknown is built upon. At least some parallels with Christopher Nolan’s Memento are inevitable, but Unknown definitely has a look and style of its own.

Apparently, there are two different versions of Unknown in circulation. The theatrical version of the film runs at approximately 98 minutes; the SDVD version runs at approximately 85 minutes. This Blu-ray disc contains the film’s 85-minute version.

Unknown Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in anl aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Simon Brand's Unknown arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.

The Blu-ray transfer is not overly impressive. Generally speaking, clarity is rather good, but detail and contrast are problematic. I noticed plenty of edge-enhancement and contrast boosting that give the film a very artificial look. Furthermore, there is a bit of mild digital noise that pops up here and there. As a result, some of the indoor scenes look somewhat soft and murky. I also spotted a bit of noise reduction, which is very easy to detect during the daylight scenes. There are a few issues with the color-scheme as well. For example, blacks and greens look weak, especially during the first half of Unknown. Blues, light reds, grays and whites, however, are tolerable. I did not detect any large debris and stains to report in this review, but I spotted more than a few flecks popping up throughout the film. To sum it all up, those of you with larger than 50' screens will probably have a difficult time enjoying Unknown; those of you with smaller than 50' screens would likely not experience most of the issues I've noted above. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Unknown Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. I opted for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the English LPCM 2.0 track for the purpose of this review.

Unknown is primarily a dialog-driven feature. As a result, there is hardly any activity in the surround channels. In fact, aside from a few of the shootouts, the audio is mostly channeled through the front speakers. I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings. There are no balance issues to report either. The dialog is clear, crisp and easy to follow. This being said, it is rather disappointing to see that once again Optimum Home Entertainment have not supplied optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The English LPCM 2.0 track is quite similar to the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Aside from a few minor dynamic improvements that you would notice on the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track when you compare it to the English LPCM 2.0 track –mostly during the shootouts – to my ears the dialog sounds just as crisp and easy to follow. Once again, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report.

Unknown Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are absolutely no supplemental materials to be found on this Blu-ray disc whatsoever.

Unknown Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Simon Brand's Unknown reminded me a bit about Cédric Klapisch's Ni pour, ni contre (bien au contraire). It is very well scripted, terrifically acted and surprisingly well directed. Frankly, had the film been shot in B&W, and some of its rougher spots polished just a bit more, it would have been an enormous hit. If you could, see it. This said, the Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Optimum Home Entertainment, is a bit disappointing. If you find a good deal on it, get it; otherwise, we recommend that you rent it.