7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
The friendship between a boy and a horse who are separated but whose fates continue to be intertwined over the course of World War I.
Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, Emily Watson, Niels Arestrup, David ThewlisHistory | 100% |
Period | 90% |
War | 77% |
Epic | 75% |
Melodrama | 59% |
Adventure | 49% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS-HD HR 7.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (2 BDs, 2 DVDs)
Digital copy (on disc)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Whereas the 2010 Academy Awards nominees seemed to justify the expansion of the Best Picture category to ten slots, the 2011 nominees begged the question: is there really a benefit to nominating so many films? While The Artist, The Descendants, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball and Tree of Life earned their places at the Best Picture table, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Help, and War Horse were polarizing, overly sentimental films nominated solely for their subject matter (September 11th), performances (Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer), or filmmakers (a little known up-and-comer named Steven Spielberg). Apparently there wasn't a tenth film worthy of filling out the list either. Certainly not Drive, Martha Marcy May Marlene, 50/50, We Need to Talk About Kevin or David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Or even The Adventures of Tintin, a superior Spielberg production in almost every way.
Still, there's something to be said for War Horse; something that can't be said for Extremely Loud and The Help. Like Hugo and The Artist, Spielberg's adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's 1982 children's novel harkens back to the Golden Age of cinema, an oft-overlooked era of sweeping silver screen epics and magnificently shot, grandiose classics. And while its maudlin gait and unbridled histrionics will strike many as antiquated, Spielberg rarely pulls in the reins, allowing War Horse to run wild and free wherever its heart leads.
"We'll be alright Joey. We're the lucky ones, you and me. Lucky since the day I met you."
War Horse makes its high definition charge with a strong, able-bodied 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer that captures the breadth and beauty of Janusz Kaminski's cinematography. Colors are lovely and lush in Devon and fittingly dingy and dismal behind enemy lines; black levels are deep and evocative, without any poorly delineated shadows or unsightly crush; and contrast is both filmic and consistent, with few inconsistencies to speak of. Detail also impresses, even though some slight ringing and inherent softness creeps into the presentation here and there. Fine textures are wonderfully resolved, closeups are revealing, and every last bit of debris, speck of dirt, and mud-spattered uniform is as refined as Kaminski's photography allows. The horses fare magnificently as well, matted manes, wounded legs, tattered hides and all. Better still, there isn't any significant artifacting, banding, aliasing or aberrant noise to contend with, making the presentation as proficient as it is pristine. War Horse may have been a Best Picture underdog, but its bow on Blu is a visually stunning thoroughbred.
Disney's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track stays the course too, showcasing Gary Rydstrom's masterful sound design and John Williams' sweeping score through each eruption of battlefield chaos and stirring crescendo the mix has to offer. Dialogue is clean, clear and intelligible in times of peace and war, and horse vocalizations highlight the heart and soul the filmmakers infused into the animals. Voices and whinnies aren't just confined to the center channel either, having been given the freedom to roam the soundfield as they see fit. The rear speakers create a full and immersive war-torn Europe, as tanks, machine guns, charging cavalries, distant skirmishes, chirping birds, rustling trees, and the chatter of nervous soldiers stream from every direction. Directionality is precise, cross-channel pans whip across the soundstage, and the nuances of Rydstrom's efforts are more than apparent. LFE output is momentous as well, lending legitimate weight and heft to every machine of war (be it built from flesh or steel), cavalry charge, ground assault, explosion or collapsing steed. The end result is even more overwhelming than the video presentation, and easily one of the best lossless mixes of the year thus far.
War Horse may alienate many a modern filmfan, but others will declare it one of the best movies of 2011. It really just depends on how you respond to Spielberg's cinematic sensibilities, tearful and sentimental as they are. Fortunately, Disney's Blu-ray release won't divide audiences. With an excellent video presentation, a marvelous DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track, and a solid selection of high quality special features, War Horse won't soon be forgotten.
60th Anniversary Limited Edition
1962
2010
Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter
2013
1999
Director's Definitive Cut
1992
2005-2006
1963
2010
Director's Cut
1993
45th Anniversary Edition
1965
2008
1975
1970
2006
65th Anniversary Limited Edition
1957
1960
1987
Remastered
1970
2017
25th Anniversary Edition
1993