6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
In 1967, a young Beijing student, Chen Zhen, is sent to live among the nomadic herdsmen of Inner Mongolia. Caught between the advance of civilization from the south and the nomads' traditional enemies - the marauding wolves - to the north; humans and animals, residents and invaders alike, struggle to find their true place in the world.
Starring: Shaofeng Feng, Shawn Dou, Baasanjav MijidAdventure | 100% |
Foreign | 22% |
Action | 16% |
Period | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Blu-ray 3D
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Jean-Jacques Annaud was responsible for one of the most unique and unusual “narrative” films of the past several decades, the 1988 film The Bear which played almost like one of those old Disney True Life Adventures as it documented the travails of a bear cub struggling to make it into maturity and then after that particular benchmark is achieved, to simply continue to survive. The film eschewed virtually all dialogue and still managed to create a viscerally compelling tale told pretty much exclusively from the titular ursine’s point of view, with Annaud capturing some incredible footage of various creatures in the wild supposedly behaving naturally but (as documented by some charming behind the scenes footage) actually responding to a coterie of wranglers trying to get them to respond appropriately to propel various plot mechanics. Annaud is no stranger to more traditionally structured films, though, as evidenced by such plot heavy outings as The Name of the Rose, Seven Years in Tibet and Enemy at the Gates. Those three films tend to point out the fact that Annaud typically always likes to get up close and personal with the environment, often offering imposing vistas that tend to place any given human as a decidedly minimal element in the overall scheme of things. Annaud’s scenic proclivities are once again fully on display in the interesting if only fitfully engaging Wolf Totem, a film that benefits from a rather unusual set up and indeed even setting, while making perhaps predictable if still laudable ecological points.
Wolf Totem 3D is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment with both MVC (3D) and AVC (2D) encoded 1080p
transfers in 2.39:1 on the same disc. According to the IMDb, this was filmed with both Arri Alexa and Red cameras, but the result is completely
homogenous, and frequently just stunningly gorgeous as is well evidenced by several of the screenshots accompanying this review. Annaud and
DP Jean-Marie Dreujou capture (literally and figuratively) some eye popping panoramas, and the image offers crisp detail and some profound
depth of field in many exterior sequences (virtually the entire film takes place out of doors). There are a couple of somewhat clumsy framings on
display intermittently, at least some the result of attempting to catch various animals in the midst of their "performances". Close-ups offer
spectacular fine detail in elements like the interesting ethnic outfits and even the textures of things like the yurts the Mongolians live in. Colors
are lush and inviting and very natural looking (very little if any of the film has been aggressively color graded).
Unfortunately, the 3D presentation isn't quite up to the largely excellent levels of the general image. While the film offers huge, awe
inspiring widescreen landscapes in a virtually nonstop array, width doesn't necessarily translate to depth, and unless Annaud
offers a foreground object delineating a spatial frame of reference, things can look at least relatively flat some of the time in the wide shots.
Midrange shots and close-ups actually tend to fare better in this regard, as there are typically clearly delineated planes of depth within the frame.
Wolf Totem 3D features an inviting if often quite subtle DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix in the original Mandarin. This is sadly one of the last filmed scored by late James Horner, and he provides a typically elegiac set of cues which offer nicely burnished brass and soaring strings, all of which float through the surround channels quite evocatively. The outdoor sequences provide a lot of opportunity for nicely placed ambient environmental effects, and in a couple of blistering set pieces, the sound mix becomes quite aggressive, documenting both the feral sounds of the wolves but also the panicked reactions of other animals and humans. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly and is well prioritized on this problem free track.
As a travelogue, Wolf Totem 3D is largely unimpeachable, immersing the viewer in an exotic land filled with exquisite landscapes and appealing wildlife. Dramatically the film is a bit more inert, though the basic setup is interesting enough to help it overcome at least some of its self-created obstacles. Fans of The Bear will almost certainly appreciate this new film from Annaud, while others may be willing to forgive some narrative hiccups since the scenery is so unbelievably compelling. Technical merits are generally first rate, and Wolf Totem 3D comes Recommended.
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