Wildland Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Wildland Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 1, 2019

You may or may not subscribe to whether the perceived threat of climate change is real, but if you live in the West, as I do, you know firsthand the incredible uptick in forest fires over the past few years, an uptick which some climatologists lay squarely at the feet of climate change. Some of you may have read about the devastating Eagle Creek Fire in my neck of the woods that happened in 2017 and which blighted huge acreage in the Columbia Gorge, a fire which was admittedly caused by a brain dead kid playing with fireworks, but which was also exacerbated by an incredibly dry season that contributed to the rapid spread of the conflagration. Other fires in the western half of the United States have repeatedly made front page news. For those of you who may have experienced a fire firsthand, or the after effects of one (despite being at least relatively far from the Eagle Creek fire, our neighborhood was literally bathed in smoke from it for days), Wildland, which was evidently released in some markets as Young Men and Fire, gives a rather interesting overview of the guys tasked with putting the flames out.

Wildland does an estimable job profiling a gaggle of guys who are training in and around Grants Pass, Oregon for a fire season, offering personal profiles of several men who have had what are arguably questionable pasts. The film gets into some of their motivations for becoming firefighters, while also offering a look at training regimens and, ultimately, actual "on the job" activities (in California during some of the devastating wildfires there). This is a unique and at times very insightful piece of documentary filmmaking, one with an unusual focus that is perhaps tragically becoming more and more relevant for more and more people.

Wildland Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Wildland is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual and FilmRise with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. I've repeatedly stated my general personal preference for digital capture done with Red Cameras over Arri cameras, but this is the rare Red captured piece that looked a bit soft to me throughout. Some of this is no doubt due to the smoke laden aspect of several sequences, but even in clear, bright summer days, things can look a bit hazy at times. Still, fine detail is often remarkable, able to precisely render even individual chunks of ash that may land on clothing or even faces. The grit and dirt that accrue to various workers also can offer good detail levels. The palette looks generally natural, though contrast seemed a bit anemic at times, perhaps adding to the overall milky and hazy quality of a lot of shots.

Wildland Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This is another FilmRise release with only Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 mixes, which is lamentable if for no other fact than Tyler Strickland's score is a really gorgeous piece of writing, including some nicely wrought string quartet moments along with other instrumental forces. The surround mix certainly offers the score as a suitable surround "bed" for the proceedings, but I kept wondering what a lossless rendering might have added. There is good surround activity throughout the Dolby mix, especially in the many outdoor scenes which are frequently filled with lots of activity, chatter and sounds of training or even on the job actions all offering good opportunities for immersion. Dialogue and the occasional voice over all presented cleanly and clearly throughout. As is usually the case with my scores for these releases without lossless audio, while there's nothing significantly wrong with the lossy tracks on this release, I'm of the firm opinion that all Blu-rays should feature lossless audio.

Wildland Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes

  Aidan and Maddie (1080p; 7:09)

  
  

  Logging (1080p; 7:24)

  
  

  Porter (1080p; 4:29)

• Stills Gallery (1080i;) is authored without a timecode, but it does advance automatically, so have the Pause button on your remote handy if you want to peruse any given image.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:10)


• Alternate Trailer (1080p; 2:44)

Wildland Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Wildland is a surprisingly effective documentary that manages to work up some real emotion as it details the training of what could probably accurately be called a motley crew of wannabe firefighters. The personal stories of several of these guys really gives this documentary a unique flavor and edge, and the training aspects, as well as the scenes of them actually fighting a huge California fire, are very involving. Video is fine, if understandably on the hazy side at times, but this release really could have used lossless audio. With caveats noted, Recommended.