7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A naive young man witnesses an escalation of violence in his small hometown following the arrival of a mysterious circus attraction.
Starring: Peter Fitz, Hanna Schygulla, János Derzsi, Mihály Kormos, Lars RudolphForeign | 100% |
Drama | 90% |
Mystery | 5% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Hungarian: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Bela Tarr's "Werckmeister Harmonies" (2000) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include an exclusive new program with Bela Tarr; the director's first feature film; and promotional trailer. In Hungarian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Criterion's release of Werckmeister Harmonies is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".
Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.
Screencaptures #1-21 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #25-35 are from the 4K Blu-ray.
The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this release:
"Supervised and approved by director Bela Tarr, the new master presented here was created from the 35mm original camera negative, which was scanned and restored in 4K resolution by the National Film Institute Hungary and Cinegrell. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm original soundtrack negative.
Colorist: Robert Libel, NFI Filmlab, Budapest, Hungary.
Audio consultant: Gyorgy Kovacs."
The 4K makeover looks absolutely stunning in native 4K and 1080p. The native 4K presentation is not graded with HDR or Dolby Vision, and to be honest, I do not think that it could have looked any better. Delineation, clarity, depth, contrast and sharpness are spectacular. Fluidity is superb as well. I went back and forth between the native 4K and 1080p presentations multiple times in various areas and could not see any drastic discrepancies in the dynamic range of their visuals. In a few spots where light is captured in a very particular manner the native 4K presentation produces marginally richer visuals, but I do not think that this makes the 1080p presentation less impressive. Both presentations look stunning even on a very big screen. Image stability is great. I did not see any age-related imperfions to report.
There is only one standard audio track on this release: Hungarian LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
Even though the film does benefit from a good music soundtrack, dynamic intensity is unimpressive. However, there are some interesting dynamic nuances. The dialog is very clear, clean, and easy to follow. Some unevenness is present, but it is entirely inherited. There are no encoding issues to report.
4K BLU-RAY DISC
Music and math have a lot in common. For example, they rationalize and utilize order and structure in identical ways. How? In both, action and reaction are interconnected, and precision is of utmost importance. They rationalize and utilize variation and improvisation in very similar ways as well. So, if math can help people ponder the grand order of things and the cosmic forces that enable its existence, can music do it, too? During the Baroque era, German music theorist, organist, and composer Andreas Werckmeister promoted an interesting concept of harmonic organization called equal temperament, which still effectively defines how music is understood and created in the West. Werckmeister also believed that equal temperament was reflective of a much bigger cosmic order. Bela Tarr's film is a unique, very ambitious cinematic test of equal temperament that offers plenty of food for thought. It won't be everyone's cup of tea because it plays with a lot of very complex themes and does not produce any earth-shattering truths, but viewing it is unquestionably a special experience. Criterion's combo pack introduces a fabulous new 4K restoration of Tarr's film that looks great in native 4K and 1080p. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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