7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The residents of a British village during WWII welcome a platoon of soldiers who are to be billeted with them. The trusting residents then discover that the soldiers are Germans who proceed to hold the village captive.
Starring: Leslie Banks, C.V. France, Valerie Taylor (I), Marie Lohr, Harry FowlerWar | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Alberto Cavalcanti's "Went the Day Well?" (1942) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a BBC audio essay about British Cinema of the 1940s and Alberto Cavalcanti's short film "Yellow Ceasar" (1941). In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Bad news?
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Alberto Cavalcanti's Went the Day Well? arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.
This is a wonderful release, very much on par with Optimum Home Entertainment's terrific Ice Cold in Alex, The Cruel Sea, and Cross of Iron. Obviously, Went the Day Well? has undergone a serious full blown restoration and it clearly shows. The image is remarkably stable, conveying terrific depth and fluidity. Fine object detail is also very impressive, especially during the darker footage where light is restricted. The improved clarity, however, is the high-definition transfer's biggest strength. On the R2 SDVD release of Went the Day Well?, for instance, the footage from the forest (see screencapture #2) looks quite weak - contrast levels are not convincing and macroblocking literally collapses the image. Here, aside from a few problematic frame transitions, there are absolutely no image fluctuations. Color reproduction is also dramatically improved - the blacks are lush but not boosted, while the variety of grays and whites are gentle and natural looking. Edge-enhancement is not a serious issue of concern. There are no traces of overzealous denoising either. Naturally, a light layer of fine grain is visible throughout the entire film. Finally, despite a few minor damage marks popping up here and there - obviously inherited and more than likely impossible to remove without affecting the integrity of the image - the film looks remarkably healthy. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
The restoration efforts are also easy to recognize in the audio department. The English LPCM 2.0 track has excellent depth and a type of clarity a lot of early British films that were released on SDVD since 2000 simply lack. Clearly, various stabilizations were performed, and hiss, pops, and crackle carefully removed. As far as I am concerned, the audio is optimized as best as possible.
Fans of early British Cinema will be delighted with Optimum Home Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Alberto Cavalcanti's Went the Day Well?. Having undergone a full restoration, the film looks and sounds terrific. Now I cannot wait to see the rest of the Ealing Studios films the British distributors have announced for Blu-ray release. Do not miss this disc, folks. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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