Le Quattro Volte (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

A beautiful and profound film!  For me, there is a sense of peace and tranquility that comes with the viewing of “Le Quattro Volte”, an appreciation of what filmmaker Michelangelo Frammartino had accomplished which made my viewing experience of the film worth the while.  “Le Quattro Volte” is recommended.

Images courtesy of © 2011 Kino Lorber Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Le Quattro Volte

YEAR OF FILM: 2010

DURATION: 88 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:85:1), 5.1 TrueHD Audio

COMPANY: Lorber Films/Kino Lorber Incorporated

RELEASE DATE: September 13, 2011

Written and Directed by Michelangelo Frammartino

Produced by Philippe Bober, Marta Donzelli, Elda Guidinetti, Gabriella Manfre, Susanne Marian, Gregorio Paonessa, Andres Pfaffli

Music by Paolo Benvenuti

Cinematography by Andrea Locatelli

Edited by Benni Atria, Maurizio Grillo

Production Design by Gabriella Maiolo

Starring:

Giuseppe Fuda

Bruno Timpano

Nazareno Timpano

Inspired by Pythagoras’s belief in four-fold transmigration — by which the soul is passed from human to animal to vegetable to mineral — Michelangelo Frammartino’s wondrous docu-essay traces the cycle of life through the daily rituals of life in the southern Italian region of Calabria.

For those of us who live day in and day out with our cell phones, Internet, DVR’s and technology… sometimes, you need a little diversion and get perspective of an opposite lifestyle, simplistic and very traditional.

The film “Le Quattro Volte” (The Four Times) is one of those films that showcases a life that many people still live, in this case, in Italy’s mountainous region of Calabria.

Directed by artist/architect/photographer turned filmmaker Michelangelo Frammartino (“The Gift”) comes a beautiful film that explores Pythagoras (an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathemetician and founder of the religious movement known as Pythgoreanism and a man known to influence Plato) and his belief in the four times or the four levels of existence.

According to Pythagoras’ belief, human souls went through animal, vegetable and mineral states.

With that being said, the film begins with an elderly goat herder (played by Gieuseppe Fuda), a sick man who drinks the dust of the church floor each night.  A nightly ritual which he believes, keeps him alive.  One night he forgets to drink his concoction and dies in his sleep.

This then transforms to Pythagoras’ second time of existence and then we see the birth of a goat.  We watch as the goat from birth and eventually grows but becomes separated by the other goats one day and is left alone to be by itself.

This leads to the third existence which is the vegetable existence and in this case, we see a large tree which is cut down and used for a village celebration.  And then after the celebration is done, the tree is cut up and then turned to charcoal (mineral state).

“Le Quattro Volte” is a spiritual, cinematic poem of Pythagoras four levels of existence and invites viewers to see a traditional way of life that still exists today.

VIDEO:

“Le Quattro Volte” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1).  The film is beautiful!  From the older buildings that exist in Calabria, the details on the face of the goat herder as he sits and we can see details as bugs fly in his face, an ant crawling on a tree, the birth of a goat and the remnants of the afterbirth on it.  But most beautiful is the cinematography by Andrea Locatelli, showing us the beauty of the mountainous region of Calabria through different seasons.

While not as vibrant or highly detailed compared to a documentary like “Planet Earth” or other nature films that are meant to be showcased in HD, “Le Quattro Volte” is still a beautiful film that manages to capture the look and feel of the village and its surrounding area with great efficacy.

AUDIO:

There is no dialogue, no music in “Le Quattro Volte”. It’s a film that focuses on ambiance of the area of where it’s shot in.  You do get a lot of goats making noise and while a lot of the film is coming through the center and front channels.  I did notice a few ambiance especially during the goat scenes coming from the surround channels.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Le Quattro Volte” comes with its theatrical trailer and stills gallery.

Beautiful and also interesting film based on Pythagoras’ “four levels of existence”.

The film is without dialogue, without music and its present day activity of the village of Calabria in Southern Italy and what we see today is probably what has happened in Calabria for a very long time.  Villagers with their goat herders, goat herders walking the goats through the village and the open streets and bridge in order to get to a destination for the goats to eat.  Then you have your Christmas day and Easter celebration and an whimsical look at the surroundings of the village.   It’s greenery, the mountains over the distance, the village in their very old buildings and the happiness of the villagers during their celebrations or just getting a bag of coal and of course, images of the making of the coal.

This is a slice-of-life documentary but it makes you wonder… was everything real or was everything staged?

We see the elderly herder gasping his last breath and his chest no longer moving.  Is this an actor or did Michelangelo Frammartino capture onscreen a man’s death?

There is no doubt that Frammartino was able to capture impressive moments on camera.  From the birth of a goat, to a vehicle hitting an area releasing the goats to a single young goat being left behind and stuck in a ditch to be left wandering alone and no help in sight.

As I watched the film with my wife, she asked me… is this a real film that incorporates documentary elements or is this a full-on documentary capturing life and death?   As far as I know, “Le Quattro Volte” is a documentary capturing Calabrian life, showing us everyday life that continues in today’s world but yet a tradition that probably has gone on in the village for centuries, that has not been affected by modern day technology.  Aside from a vehicle that transports the coal, everything else featured in the film shows no relation to the life that many of us live.

These are people who don’t use cell phones, Internet.  There are no signs of telephone polls, no signs of microwave ovens or television sets.

If anything, Michelangelo Frammartino has done a great job in breaking down the film into Pythagoras’ four levels of existence and focusing on the shepherd (human), the goats…and the baby goat (animal), a tree (vegetable) and the tree being turned into coal (mineral).

The film is for the patient viewers who can sit, enjoy nature and enjoying the serenity of what is shown on camera.  We see visual beauty but I have to admit that I found myself chuckling in the moments of seeing these goats behave towards each other.  From their behavior of knocking down a broom, one goat on top of a table and not knowing how to get down, seeing a dog interfering with the Easter celebration, there are so many of these moments with animals that are fun in their own way, but of course, it’s all subjective to the viewer.

The Blu-ray release features the beauty of Calabria and for those wanting to see the beauty in 1080p, the Blu-ray release is the way to go.  This is not a film in which to expect a lot of audio, there is no dialogue or musical soundtrack played during the film.  It’s pretty much a straight-forward, easily accessible film about life in Calabria.

Throughout the film, no one questions the livelihood of the villagers, nor do we question the dust that the herder drinks every night.  We know that cultures have its traditions and old concocted remedies, but that’s part of life.  We know that goats are a big part of other cultures around the world for their meat or their milk and that is a part of life.  But to get a visual  of this old world and see it in a film is quite amusing, breathtakingly beautiful and also humorous.

Overall, “Le Quattro Volte” is a film that may not be for the masses, especially those who are not patient with slow paced scenery and breathtaking backdrops but for me, there is a sense of peace and tranquility that comes with the viewing of “Le Quattro Volte”, an appreciation of what filmmaker Michelangelo Frammartino had accomplished which made my viewing experience of the film worth the while.

“Le Quattro Volte” is recommended!

Skateland (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“Skateland” is a film that takes place in the ’80s that showcases awesome music from the era and really goes out in making the era look realistic for this low budget film.  Just because the film is low budget doesn’t mean the Blu-ray looks like it.  Shot in 35mm, the picture quality on Blu-ray is very good and the lossless soundtrack really showcases the music.  While the film does have its flaws, definitely better than other films set in the ’80s released this year.

Images courtesy of © 2009 Skateland Productions. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Skateland

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2010

DURATION: 98 minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (widescreen 2:40:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English SDH and Spanish

RATED: PG-13 (Violence, Some Sexuality, Language, Substance Abuse and Smoking – Involving Teens)

COMPANY: Twentieth Century Fox

RELEASE DATE: August 30, 2011

Directed by Anthony Burns

Written by Anthony Burns, Brandon Freeman, Heath Freeman

Produced by Anthony Burns, Brandon Freeman, Heath Freeman, Justin Gilley, Nicholas Jayanty, Victor Moyers

Music by Michael Penn

Cinematoraphy by Peter Simonite

Edited by Robert Hoffman

Casting by Jennifer L. Smith, Tricia Wood

Production Design by Christopher Stull

Set Decoration by Bart Brown

Costume Design by Kari Perkins

Starring:

Ashley Greene as Michelle Burkham

Brett Cullen as David Wheeler

Shiloh Fernandez as Ritchie Wheeler

D.W. Moffett as Jimmy Houston

Taylor Handley as Kenny Crawford

James LeGros as Clive Burkham

Haley Ramm as Mary Wheeler

A.J. Buckley as Teddy

Casey LaBow as Candy Boyce

Melinda McGraw as Debbie Wheeler

Ellen Hollman as Deana Trammel

David Sullivan as Luther

Heath Freeman as Brent Burkham

As the world around him changes, a small town boy is thrust into adulthood and must face the uncertainties of his new life in the mesmerizing and nostalgic SKATELAND, arriving on Blu-ray and DVD August 30 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, SKATELAND paints a stunning picture of the economic and social stresses of the early 1980s and features a talented young cast. Ashley Greene (Twilight saga) and Shiloh Fernandez (Red Riding Hood) co-star in this powerful coming-of-age drama that took the film festival circuit by storm. For Ritchie Wheeler (Fernandez), a carefree teenager growing up in a small Texas town, Skateland is more than just a local roller rink…it’s a fading symbol of friendship and good times. Now, everything’s changing and the only thing Ritchie can hang on to is his budding romance with the sweet and beautiful Michelle (Greene). But one fateful night will force Ritchie to face the future and make the most important decision of his life.

Have you been nostalgic for the ’80s lately?

Well, you may want to check out “Skateland”, the latest film from director Anthony Burns  (“Pandemic”),  a coming-of-age film set in 1983 featuring hit songs from that year, people hanging out at the local roller rink and a group of young adults partying all night long!

The film is co-written by Burns, Brandon Freeman and actor Heath Freeman (“Bones”), who also stars in the film.

The low-budget indie film also stars Shiloh Fernandez (“Red Riding Hood”, “Interstate”, “Deadgirl”), Ashley Greene (“Twilight” films), Bret Cullen (“Ghost Rider”, “Apollo 13″, “Monte Carlo”), Haley Ramm (“X-Men: The Last Stand”, “Into the Wild”, “Flightplan”), Taylor Handley (“Battle Los Angeles”, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning”) and Melinda McGraw (“The Dark Knight”, “Men of a Certain Age”).

The film takes place in 1983 in a small town in Texas.  19-year-old Ritchie Wheeler (played by Shiloh Fernandez) is a teenager who works at a roller skate rink and loves to hang out with his good friends Brent Burkham (played by Heath Freeman), a pro racer; Brent’s younger sister Michelle (played by Ashley Greene), who hangs out and also likes Ritchie; and his wealthy and party-loving friend Kenny Crawford (played by Taylor Handley).

While Ritchie loves to have fun, his personal life is not as exciting.  He doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life, his sister Mary, the more responsible one in the family, wants him to apply for colleges and his parents David (played by Bret Cullen) and his mom Debbie (played by Melinda McGraw) are on the brink of divorce.

So, because he wants to escape from the troubles at his home, he loves hanging out with his good friends and party.  But that’s all Ritchie does…

Ritchie knows he needs to get a job as the skating rink, “Skateland” will be closing down.  And he can either work with his father or doing something with his life.

Eventually, things begin to heat up between Ritchie and his best friend’s sister Michelle and as for Ritchie, when he sees his mother with another man it starts to affect his life at home and further complicates any plans he wants to make in his life.

But when a tragedy occurs, life for these friends will never ever be the same and Ritchie is forced to consider what he wants to do with his life.

VIDEO:

“Skateland” is a low-budget film but the film looks absolutely great on Blu-ray.  The film was shot on 35 mm and there is good amount of grain, but also detail.  You can see the skin detail of the character’s very well, the lighting is nicely done and black levels are nice and deep. I detected no DNR, edge enhancement or banding.

So, for the most part, the clarity and detail look very good and also features quite a bit of color as well.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Skateland” is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and while there is good ambiance coming from the surround channel, I have to say that the audio is what I loved about the film.

For one, a lot of ’80s hits are featured throughout the film and second, unlike a few of the films based on the ’80s that have come out this year, at least they got the era right.

From Def Leppard’s “Rock of Ages”, Modern English’s “I Melt With You”, Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” to name a few, there is a good amount of music throughout this film and the music does play over the surround channels quite a bit.

There are some action-based scenes but for the most part, this is a dialogue and music-driven lossless soundtrack. Subtitles are in English SDH and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Skateland comes with the following special feature:

• Deleted Scenes – (34:06) Featuring ten deleted scenes.

“Skateland” is a low budget indie film that doesn’t seem like it and to give the film some credit, I did enjoy it over a film such as “Take Me Home Tonight” (another film based in the ’80s) mainly because they got the music and the look right for 1983. The film really has to give credit to their costume design by Kari Perkins and also Bart Brown of set decoration for capturing the look and feel of the ’80s.

It’s something I’m very critical about when I see a film that takes place in the ’80s and most importantly, for a low budget film, they sure did manage to get a lot of ’80s hit songs in this film.  So, needless to say, I was quite surprised by the musical soundtrack. With that being said, “Skateland” is a film that is a straightforward coming-of-age film.

While the film does have its fun and entertaining moments, the screenplay felt that it jumped ahead of itself and not thoroughly building upon character development and also awkward direction.

For example, in one scene, Ritchie (Shiloh Fernandez) and Michelle (Ashley Greene) are discussing their future together.  Instead of showcasing the faces of each character, they leave the camera focused on the character of Michelle for a good amount of time and didn’t even show Ritchie’s face at all during the conversation.

That was a bit odd but it made me wonder if the scene was re-shot, with someone standing in for Fernandez who may have contributed his voice during post-production. Another scene that felt odd is once the tragedy occurs, we see Ritchie becoming a bit emotional but then all of sudden, when he gets home…he seems alright. It was not the type of emotion you would expect from a guy who was involved in a tragic accident.

And just to add one more awkward scene to discuss, there is a scene when Ritchie is dropped of at home by his mother.  After he talks to his mother, he grabs her head and goes for a kiss and leaves.  You don’t see that many intimate mother and son kisses on screen like that…and I found that scene a bit awkward.

Then there are scenes that just didn’t make since.  I guess to show more of that ’80s nostalgia or for comedy purposes, you have these two characters that show up in the party, doing moonwalks and talking nonsense.  These characters really  have nothing to contribute to the overall storyline and seemed to be thrown into the film for nostalgia sake.

Sure, I may have over-thought these scenes a bit too much but these few scenes stick out and made me question the screenplay.  Sure, there are some things featured in the film were unnecessary and trimmed out scenes (which can be seen on the deleted scenes) that would have added some depth to the characters but there were plenty of scenes that should have been trimmed out.

Still, despite the film’s flaws, there are positives.  Ashley Greene definitely showed her emotional side as an actress and definitely shows that she can do more than what she had done on the “Twilight” films and once again, I bring up the music because the film has has an awesome musical soundtrack.

Not sure how much the film was budgeted for but for a low budget indie-film, they sure were able to get a lot in terms of casting and music.  So, that was a plus!

And I did enjoy it much more than other recent films that take place in the ’80s. Overall, “Skateland” was an OK coming-of-age films which has its fair share of flaws but is one of the better modern films that is set in the ’80s that manages to capture the overall look and the music is just right!

If you are nostalgic for the ’80s, definitely give “Skateland” a try!

Winter in Wartime: Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

A powerful film that is wonderfully crafted and also features an awesome performance from the young Martijn Lakemeier.  “Winter in Wartime” is another wonderful World War II-era film from the Netherlands and cinema worth owning on Blu-ray!

Images courtesy of © 2008, 2010 Isabella Films B.V., Fu Works B.V. and Prime Time Media Entertainment GmbH. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Winter in Wartime (Oorlogswinter)

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2008

DURATION: 103 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:35:1), Dutch and French 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Subtitles: English, English SDH

COMPANY: Sony Pictures Classics

RATED: R (For Some Language)

RELEASE DATE: July 26, 2011

Based on the novel by Jan Terlouw

Directed by Martin Koolhoven

Screenplay by Mieke de Jong, Martin Koolhoven, Paul Jan Nelissen

Produced by San Fu Maltha, Els Vandevorst

Associate Producer: Jan Vrints

Co-Produced by Antonino Lombardo

Line Producer: Niko Post

Assistant Line Producer: Maars van Haaften

Music by Pino Donaggio

Cinematography by Guido van Gennep

Edited by Job ter Burg

Casting by Elske Falkena, Rebecca van Unen

Production Design by Floris Vos

Art Direction by Darius Bastys

Costume Design by Alette Kraan

Starring:

Martijn Lakemeier as Michiel

Yorick van Wageningen as Oom Ben

Jamie Campbell Bower as Jack

Raymond Thiry as Johan

Melody Klaver as Erica

Anneke Blok as Lia

Mees Peijnenburg as Dirk

Jesse van Direl as Theo

Dan van Husen as Auer

Ad van Kempen as Schafter

Tygo Gernandt as Bertus

Ben Remakers as Verrman

Nazi-occupied Holland, 1945. In a snow-covered village, thirteen-year-old Michiel (Martijn Lakemeier) is drawn into the Resistance when he aids a wounded British paratrooper. Michiel’s boyish sense of defiance and adventure soon turns to danger and desperation, as Michiel is forced to act without knowing whom to trust among the adults and townspeople around him. Wartime’s harsh reality encroaches on childhood innocence as Michiel confronts good and evil, courage and duplicity, and his own burden of responsibility. Based on teh bestselling novel by Jan Terlouw.

In 2008, the Dutch war film “Oorlogswinter” (Winter in Wartime), an adaptation of the popular 1972 Dutch novel by Jan Terlouw is directed by Martin Koolhoven (“Suzy Q”, “AmnesiA”, “Het Schnitzelparidjs”)  became one of Netherlands top grossing films.

Winning multiple awards and receiving rave reviews from critics worldwide, “Winter in Wartime” finally receives its long-awaited Blu-ray and DVD release (via a Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack) in America courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics in July 2011.

The film would introduce young actor Martijn Lakemeier (“Lover and Loser”, “Sonny Boy”) and stars Yorick van Wageningen (“The Chronicles of Riddick”, “The New World”, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”), Melody Klaver (“Dusk”, “Doors”) and Jamie Campbell Bower (“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn”, “New Moon, “Camelot”).

To help people understand what “Winter in Wartime” is about, first I must explain the context of where Netherlands was back during World War II.

As a neutral country during both World Wars, in 1940, the country was invaded by Nazi Germany.  While the Dutch were able to fight off the Germans, during a time with negotiations between the Dutch and Germans, miscommunication by the Germans led to the accidental bombing of Rotterdam where 950 civilians were killed and the area was devastated.  The Germans used the incident as a way to make the Netherlands surrender and eventually, the Dutch surrendered.

During Germany’s occupation of Netherlands, the Netherlands was controlled by a German civilian governor and Germany tried to make the country to an Aryan nation and Jews in the country were persecuted, socialists were imprisoned and Roman Catholic priests were deported to concentration camps.

Meanwhile, civilians were forced into labor at German factories and food and goods in Netherlands were scarce. So, many Dutch had hatred towards the Germans, a few collaborated with them.

Many people were driven away from their homes and because the Germans blocked food and fuel shipments from farm areas, many people starved and people died from “The Dutch famine of 1944″.

“Oorlogswinter” (Winter in Wartime) is a film about innocence lost because of the war.

“Winter in Wartime” is a film that focuses on a young teen named Michiel van Beusekom (played by Martjin Lakemeier), who is the son of the town’s mayor Vader van Beusekom (played by Raymond Thiry).

For Michiel, he often gets himself into trouble with the Germans occupying the area but doesn’t worry because his father is mayor and his father tends to get him released whenever he is in trouble.  But Michiel has a hatred towards the Nazi Germans and can’t stand that his father can stand in front of the Germans, shaking their hands and laughing.  So, he has resentment towards his father, not knowing that his father only does this for his family’s survival but also to help other Dutch who have gotten in trouble with the Germans.

Michiel is a big admirer of his Uncle Ben (played by Yorick van Wageningen), a man that is an adventurer who is part of the Dutch resistance fighting against the Germans.  And he is happy when his Uncle Ben has arrived back home to stay with him.

Meanwhile, we see a British plane that has crashed near his town and the pilot named Jack (played by Jamie Campbell Bower) is injured but manages to kill the Nazi soldier looking for him.

Michiel’s friends have discovered that Jack is alive and for them, they sense that perhaps the allied nations maybe coming to help the Dutch and thus keep him hidden in shelter, giving him food and supplies.  One day, Michiel’s friend Dirk tells him to hold on to a note and that he and his friends were going to fight and destroy a German outpost.

But before they can do it that night, some of them are killed and Dirk is arrested by the Nazi’s.  Michiel’s father tries to find out if he knows anything about what happened but Michiel denies even talking about anything to Dirk in relation to the botched attack on the Germans.

Michiel decides to look at the note given to him by Dirk and decides to take control of things and goes to the area where he finds the British soldier Jack.  Michiel then secretly visits Jack each day, giving him supplies and food but also getting his sister, a nurse named Erica (played by Melody Klaver) to help Jack with his wounds.

The young Michiel decides to help Jack and eventually the two become friends.  Michiel tries to find a way for him to escape the town and get away from the Nazi Germans but when the Germans find the dead soldier that Jack killed, the Germans start thinking that perhaps people in town are assisting the British pilot.

So, many of the father’s in town, including the mayor, Michiel’s father are driven out of their homes and kept in a German prison and are scheduled for execution.

But will Michiel continue to save his friend that is wanted by the Germans or will he reveal the whereabouts of Jack in order to get his father released from prison?

VIDEO:

“Winter in Wartime” is a film that is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1) and the cinematography by Guido van Gennep is wonderful.  One of the goals by Martin Koolhoven was to make people feel that they were in the area while watching the film.  Capturing the frigid cold winter in the Netherlands and the cinematography is just beautiful as it showcases the arctic environment but also in HD, showcasing the amazing detail of the clothing, the bark on the trees and also capturing the emotions of the family.

It’s a film that was well-planned for its sequence and I have to agree with many film critics, “Winter in Wartime” is wonderfully crafted and looks absolutely great on Blu-ray!  I saw no banding, no artifacting, no speckles or dirt or any problems at all.  The picture quality is wonderful!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Winter in Wartime” is presented in Dutch and French 5.1 DTS-HD MA.  While the film is crystal clear in dialogue, there are some scenes where surround sound usage is well-done, a few scenes with LFE usage as well but it’s important to note that the film is primarily dialogue and ambiance driven.

There are scenes where you hear the Germans on their motorcycles, the squeaks of Michiel riding his bike, a scene where the ice beneath the bike breaks and shatters and several moments of gunshots and one major plane explosion.  For the most part, this is not a war film in the sense where there is constant action but a war film that focuses on its dramatic elements.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Winter in Wartime” comes with the following special features:

• The Making of Winter in Wartime - (24:24) An interview with director Martin Koolhoven and the cast of “Winter in Wartime” about their involvement in the film and their thoughts of their character and scenes in the film.
• Theatrical Trailer – The original theatrical trailer of “Winter in Wartime.

EXTRAS:

“Winter in Wartime” on Blu-ray also comes with a DVD version of the film.

“Winter in Wartime” is a powerful film that features beautiful cinematography and a wonderful performance from the young Martijn Lakemeier!

When it comes to World War II-era films that are about children, standout films that come to mind are Mike Herman’s 1998 film “The Boy in Striped Pajamas” and also Roberto Rosselini’s 1948 “Germany, Year Zero” to name a few.  While the efficacy of both films is the fact that they are though-provoking, especially the latter which was shot not long after the war ended, Martin Koolhoven’s “Winter in Wartime” gives us a perspective that we really don’t see much of, what was happening to the young in Netherlands during German occupation.

While Paul Verhoeven’s 1977 film “Soldaat van Oranje” (Soldier of Orange) is a classic war film that takes place in the Netherlands and my favorite Netherlands World War II film out there, “Winter in Wartime” is one that tries to maintain the theme of lost innocence and betrayal.  Where “Soldier of Orange” focused on college-aged kids choosing their own path and direction, “Winter in Wartime” is a film in which a boy, can’t understand this world around him and why the adults would try to make peace with the men who have brought suffering to his country.

Too young to understand his father’s delicate place in negotiations when it comes to the release of people who get into trouble in their town, but also a boy who looks to his Uncle Ben as the primary source of heroics.  But for those who follow history, especially in the Netherlands and knowing that like other countries who were faced with occupation, one had to make choices for survival.   Hold in your hatred towards the Germans and find a way to fight or join them and become a traitor to your own country and people for the sake of survival or other reasons.

For Michiel, anyone who fights against the Germans are heroes to him.  Those who talk and laugh with them are not and thus the resentment he feels towards his father.

There are images that we see throughout the film that capture the historical situations of Netherlands quite well.  From those who were forced out of their homes and must walk the frozen terrain looking for food but to see certain people with power who do try to work with the Germans, are in a much better position.

Filmmaker Martin Koolhoven tries to capture those situations that he felt as a young boy growing up at that time and brings it to a new generation of audiences who are not familiar with the fears that existed at the time.  In “Winter of Wartime”, the focus is on innocence and innocence lost.  Although young Michiel gets into trouble and his father has to bail him out, it’s not because he’s a bad kid but it’s because he can’t understand why people are to suffer because of the Germans and the fact that he is the mayor’s son and never gets into trouble, makes him more confident in pulling off things because of his father’s status.  And of course, when many fathers including Michiel’s own father are taken as prisoner by the Germans, he quickly learns that his family is not immune and their status in the Netherlands can easily be taken away from them.

The film works because of its great cinematography and its performances by its talents.  Primarily the work of main, young actor Martiijn Lakemeier.  To see the transformation of his character of Michiel from the beginning towards the end of the film was done quite well.

But while a powerful film that is wonderfully crafted, features wonderful performances and has beautiful cinematography, there was one action scene in the film that pulled me out of the zone.  I just felt that the filmmakers tried to include an action sequence that felt out-of-place.  Something that would seem suitable for an “Indiana Jones” type of film and surprisingly, even actor Jamie Campbell Bower used “Indiana Jones” as a reference to the scene in the special feature included on the Blu-ray release.

But aside from that one scene, the overall film was entertaining and enjoyable.  But its unfortunate that the film was rated R.  If it was because of one or two spoken words of profanity that the film which is based on a novel targeted for young people could have been easily accessible for children.

In fact, because of its rating, people may think that this is a violent war film but it’s not, especially when compared to other films that are far violent and are given a PG/PG-13 rating.   The film does have a sex scene (nothing is shown), does have a scene of a wounded leg (not graphical at all) and yes, guns shooting at other people but nothing graphic.  This is one of those instances where a film should not have been given an “R” rating.

As for the Blu-ray release, once again Sony Pictures Classics delivers in PQ and for a film of this type that is a war film but more dialogue and ambiance-driven, the lossless audio works very well for “Winter in Wartime”.  Special features were more on the short side of this Blu-ray release as only one “making of” special feature was included.

Recently, Sony Pictures Classics have been including Blu-ray and DVD combo packs of their films which is quite surprising but you know, as long as it’s not sold to expensively to consumers, I do like the practice of giving cinema fans the best of both worlds as many movie fans are beginning to migrate from DVD to Blu-ray and by including both, it helps bring more people in watching their films in HD and this is one film that definitely looks wonderful on Blu-ray!

Overall, “Winter in Wartime” is a film that is powerful and even memorable for its scene and performances.  Fortunately, it’s not another “Soldier of Orange” (which is a great film) but a film that chooses to find its own path through a country in war through the eyes of a boy.

Another solid release from Sony Pictures Classics.  Recommended!

Stand By Me: 25th Anniversary (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Review)

“Stand By Me” is one of my favorite coming-of-age teen films from the ’80s and in every sense of the word is a true “classic”, and I know that in films, this word tends to be used a lot but in this case, I do feel that “Stand By Me” is a true classic and a film that will continue to entertain people for many generations to come.  “Stand By Me: 25th Anniversary” is highly recommended!

Images courtesy of © 1986 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Stand By Me: 25th Anniversary

FILM RELEASE DATE: 1986

DURATION: 88 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:85:1), English, French, Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Original Mono, Subtitles: English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish

COMPANY: Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

RATED: R

RELEASE DATE: March 22, 2011

Directed by Rob Reiner

Based on the novel “The body” by Stephen King

Screenplay by Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans

Produced by Bruce A. Evans, Raynold Gideon, Andrew Scheinman

Music by Jack Nitzsche

Cinematography by Thomas Del Ruth

Edited by Robert Leighton

Casting by Janet Hirshenson, Jane Jenkins

Production Design by J. Dennis Washington

Set Decoration by Richard D. Kent

Starring:

Wil Wheaton as Gordie Lachance

River Phoenix as Chris Chambers

Corey Feldman as Teddy Duchamp

Jerry O’Connell as Vern Tessio

Kiefer Sutherland as Ace Merrill

Casey Siemaszko as Billy Tessio

Gary Riley as Charlie Hogan

Bradley Gregg as Eyeball Chambers

Jason Oliver as Vince Desjardins

Marshall Bell as Mr. Lachance

Francess Lee McCain as Mrs. Lachance

Richard Dreyfuss as The Writer

John Cusack as Denny Lachance

In a small woodsy Oregon town, a group of friends–sensitive Gordie (Wil Wheaton), tough guy Chris (River Phoenix), flamboyant Teddy (Corey Feldman), and scaredy-cat Vern (Jerry O’Connell)–are in search of a missing teenager’s body. Wanting to be heroes in each other’s and their hometown’s eyes, they set out on an unforgettable two-day trek that turns into an odyssey of self-discovery. They sneak smokes, tell tall tales, cuss ’cause it’s cool and band together when the going gets tough. When they encounter the town’s knife-wielding hoods who are also after the body, the boys discover a strength they never knew they had. STAND BY ME is a rare and special film about friendship and the indelible experiences of growing up. Filled with humor and suspense, STAND BY ME is based on the novella ‘The Body’ by Stephen King.

Stephen King may be known for his horror novels but in 1982, the writer wrote a novella known as “The Body” as part of his collection “Different Seasons”.  The story which was based on a writer named Gordon Lachance is told in the first person point of view and talks about a group of children who set out in a journey in 1960, living in Castle Rock, Maine.

While parts of the film are based on King’s childhood, a film adaptation of “The Body” created by writing duo Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans (“Mr. Brooks”, “Starman”, “Cutthroat Island”) ad directing the film is Rob Reiner (“All in the Family”, “This is Spinal Tap”, “When Harry Met Sally…”, “The Princess Bride”) and to make sure people knew that this was not a horror film, the title of the film would be renamed to “Stand By Me” and released in theaters in the summer of 1986 by Columbia Pictures.

The film would receive critical acclaim and earn over $52 million in the box office, which was a lot back in 1986.

And now the film celebrates its 25th Anniversary with a Blu-ray release.

“Stand By Me” begins with an adult Gordie Lachance (played by Richard Dreyfuss, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “The Goodbye Girl”), a writer who is working on a memoir about his youth and reading a newspaper article that a man named Chris Chambers was stabbed to death when trying to stop a brawl.

The story then goes back to 1959 in the town of Castle Rock, Oregon during Labor Day.  A young Gordie Lachance (played by Wil Wheaton) is a quiet young boy who loves to write stories but at home, he is rejected by his father who has always put his older brother, a high school football star named Denny (played by John Cusack, “Say Anything”, “2012″, “Being John Malkovich”) on top of his family.  As his father was very into Denny’s football accolades.  But unfortunately Denny was killed in a jeep accident and because of an emotional disconnect at his home life, Gordie ends up spending a lot of time with his buddies.

His friends include Chris Chambers (played by River Phoenix, “My Own Private Idaho”, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, “Running on Empty”), the leader of the group and comes from a family of criminals and alcoholics; Teddy Duchamp (played by Cory Feldman, “The Lost Boys”, “The Goonies”, “Gremlins”) is eccentric and wears a hearing aid and was physically scarred after his father held his ear to a stove; and Vern Tessio (played by Jerry O’Connell,”Crossing Jordan”, “Jerry Maguire”), the overweight kid who people tend to pick on.

One day Vern overhears his brother Billy (played by Casey Seimaszko) talking about a missing boy they saw dead after he was struck by a train.  The news has reported that their is a search for the missing teenager and the teens debate in contacting the authorities.  When Vern hears the news, he runs and tells his group and so, the boys decide to go on a journey to see the body.

Before they begin their journey, both Gordie (wearing a New York Yankees hat that his brother gave him) and Chris run into “Ace” Merrill (played by Kiefer Sutherland, “24″, “The Lost Boys”, “Phone Booth”), the town bully and his friend.  They take Gordie’s hat and Chris tries to defend his friend but Ace throws him to the ground and holds him down.

From this point on, we learn about how Gordie and Chris are good friends.  Despite Chris’ family background, if there is one thing that made him special to Gordie is that he was there for him and offer him advice, mostly to continue to urge Gordie to follow and pursue his dream as a writer, even if he doesn’t get that support from his own parents.

While on this journey, the boys gets to know each other but also learn about each other’s personal stories that have affected them and together, throughout this journey, they face major dangers.

Meanwhile, when Ace finds out from his friends about the whereabouts of the dead body, he and his friends feel they can collect on a reward, so they take off to find the body as well.

Who will get to the body first?  And what happened to Gordie’s friends as he got older?

VIDEO:

“Stand By Me: 25th Anniversary” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1).  First the good news.  Compared to the 15th Anniversary of “Stand By Me” released in 2000, this Blu-ray release definitely surpasses the DVD release in terms of picture quality and detail.  You can see the stains on Gordon Lachance’s windows, you can see the grime on the kids during their trip and also at times the skin pores, clothing textures and if anything, clarity.  Skin tones look natural, while blacks tend to have a bit of crush.

There is a good amount of grain throughout the film and for the most part, because the film is shot primarily outdoors, you do get to see the colors and details a bit more.  But this leads to the bad news, which is the fact that this film looks a bit soft at times and the film has aged quite a bit (note: A lot of ’80s films do suffer from this on Blu-ray).  If anything, we know the film is shot outdoors but it doesn’t have that vibrancy that you expect from outdoor shots.  It’s a bit soft.  But the picture quality is good, it’s just not great and I believe it’s due to the nature of the film stocks used back in the ’80s.

I did enjoy the cinematography and Director of Photography, Thomas Del Ruth (“The Breakfast Club”, “The Running Man”, “The West Wing”) did a great job in this film.  From the kids walking through the forest or walking on the train tracks, you had the sense of calmness yet a small feel of tension through it’s cinematography.  Loved the wideshots and how that train scene with Gordie and Vern was shot.

But in someways, because of the age in the film, it kind of makes the time period of 1959 seem much more real for this 1986 film.  So, rather than hurt it, I think it does make things seem more real.  But that is my point of view.  I do feel that this is the best looking version of the film to date!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Stand By Me: 25th Anniversary” is presented in English, French and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English original mono.  While the film does come with its original monaural track, the English 5.1 DTS-HD MA lossless track  does enhance the clarity of the dialogue and music for the film.

It’s important to note that this is a dialogue-driven film and while there is a scene with a gun shot, knocking down of mail boxes and trains, they don’t take advantage of the surround channels all that much.  If anything, the film is primarily front and center channel driven.  But for this type of film, I suppose the lossless track is quite adequate for this type of film, nothing mindblowing but I’m glad there is a lossless 5.1 track included along with the monaural soundtrack.

Also, I want to mention how I did enjoy the score from Jack Nitzsche (“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “Grindhouse”, “Dogma”) and the use of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me”. If anything, the film did a lot of good in bringing that song back from obscurity and I think that to this day, it still gets a ton of airplay on the radio or restaurant it seems.  But “Stand By Me” does have memorable music and a theme song that continues to live on for generations like the film itself.

Subtitles are presented in English, English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Stand By Me: 25th Anniversary” comes with the following special features in standard and High Definition:

• Picture-in-Picture Video Commentary with Director Rob Reiner, Wil Wheaton and Corey Feldman – Featuring a reunion with the three men as they talk about their experience of shooting the film, the legacy of “Stand by Me”, memories of River Phoenix and more.  A wonderful commentary but I wish Wil Wheaton was able to complete some of his stories such as revisiting the town in Oregon where they shot “Stand By Me”.
• Audio Commentary with Director Rob Reiner - The original audio commentary by Rob Reiner from the 15th Anniversary DVD release.
• Walking the Tracks: The Summer of Stand By Me – (36:46)  A retrospective featurette featuring all cast members from the 15th Anniversary DVD release.  Still a wonderful featurette as it does go into the making of the film, remembering the making of the film and how special the film is today.   While created in 2000, it features most of the cast members from the film.
• Stand By Me Music Video – (3:21) The original “Stand By Me” music video (for the film) featuring the music of Ben E. King.

EXTRAS:

“Stand By Me: 25th Anniversary” comes with a slip-over cardboard case.

“Stand By Me” to me, will always be a true classic.

For me, there are six young teen ’80s films that I consider classic must-own titles: “The Outsiders”, “The Goonies”, “Stand By Me”, “Red Dawn”, “Karate Kid” and “The Lost Boys” and within the last year, we have had the opportunity to have three of those films on Blu-ray and now here we are with “Stand By Me”.

I’m very happy to finally watch this film on Blu-ray but also the fact that they tried to bring everyone back for a reunion and give them a picture-in-picture video commentary (this was done years ago for “The Goonies”).

First, let’s talk about the film.  There are many memorable moments from the film, may it be the pie eating contest, to the train coming towards Gordie and Vern but what captured my attention the most was the deeper moments of the film.  From Gordie’s breakdown of how he feels his father is to him, when Chris confides to Gordie and of course the ending moments of the film and to circle back on what happened to the character of Chris and when juxtaposed to the reality of what happened to River Phoenix.

Each of the individuals of “Stand By Me” obviously give credit to the film for the impact it had in their career.  Director Rob Reiner, who has done many hit films considers “Stand by Me” his favorite film he has worked on, Kiefer Sutherland who appears in two of my favorite teen films has went on to bigger things and is primarily known as Jack Bauer to millions of Americans.  But what about the teens of the film at-the-time, who gave a convincing and emotional and real performance.

Granted, for Corey Feldman, he has appeared in three of my favorite ’80s teen films but he did a great job in “Stand By Me”.  For Wil Wheaton, he went on to do “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and interesting enough, like Gordie, he became a writer (who would also write about his personal life) and techie and occasional nemesis on the hit show “The Big Bang Theory”.  Jerry O’Connell’s character Vern finds a penny and in reality marries a supermodel and goes from the short and stocky character, to the trim and quite tall actor.  But River Phoenix shows his talent at an early age of what he could accomplish and knowing that this young actor had so much potential but died early in his life due to a drug overdose.

“Stand By Me” is a coming-of-age film that many can watch and realize that when we were younger, you can recall those early friendships, taking on various challenges and if you had the opportunity, to remember those small adventures you enjoyed with your friends.  But to know that as we all get older, everyone goes on their separate ways.  Some are able to grow up together but most grow up and pursue different directions in life.  And for some, many can relate to the characters because they had a similar dysfunctional upbringing and somehow find that connection with the characters.  That is why I feel “Stand By Me” is truly ageless in its storyline and will continue to entertain many more generations to come.  It’s a film that many can relate to.

As for the Blu-ray release, while not a significant “25th Anniversary” release, it does contain a lot of the 15th Anniversary special features.  But I do give credit for the video commentary and the fact that they tried to get everyone together.  It’s a shame that Jerry O’Connell could not partake in the audio commentary but we do get director Rob Reiner, Corey Feldman and Wil Wheaton together.  For the most part, the reunion was very fun to listen to, although I can tell Wil Wheaton had some fun stories to tell but the guys tend to cut him off before he can end his story.  But there are some deep moments in the commentary, from their discussion about River Phoenix and how he was so different compared to other kids at that time at a young age.  But also memories of him after the film was complete and their last memories with him.

I hope that if this film does get re-release, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will consider showcasing a featurette on this annual celebration in a town in Oregon for “Stand By Me” which Reiner and Wheaton talk about during the video commentary.  The 15th anniversary featurette “Walking the Tracks” is probably the only time anyone’s going to get all cast members together to participate in the memory of “Stand By Me”, so it’s great to have that still included on the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray release.

Overall, “Stand By Me” is one of my favorite coming-of-age teen films from the ’80s and in every sense of the word is a true “classic”, and I know that in films, this word tends to be used a lot but in this case, I do feel that “Stand By Me” is a true classic and a film that will continue to entertain people for many generations to come.

“Stand By Me: 25th Anniversary” is highly recommended!

Bambi: Diamond Edition (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Review)

A timeless animated classic!  “Bambi: Diamond Edition” on Blu-ray looks and sounds more incredible than it has ever been before.  If this 1942 masterpiece resonates strongly with you or you are a Disney fan looking to upgrade to “Bambi” in High Definition, you won’t be disappointed.  “Bambi: Diamond Edition” is another must-own Disney animated classic on Blu-ray and is highly recommended!

Images courtesy of © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Bambi: Diamond Edition

FILM RELEASE DATE: 1942

DURATION: 70 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition Full Screen (1:33:1), English 7.1 DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby DEHT Language Tracks, Restored Original Theatrical Soundtrack, Subtitles: English SDH, English ESL, French and Spanish

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G (All Ages Admitted)

Release Date: March 1, 2011

Directed by James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, David Hand, Graham Heid, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield and Norman Wright

Story by Felix Salten

Story Direction by Perce Pearce

Story Adaptation by Larry Morey

Story Development by Vernon Stallings, Melvin Shaw, Carl Fallberg, Chuck Couch, Ralph Wright

Produced by Walt Disney

Music by Frank Churchill, Edward H. Plumb

Art Direction by Tom Codrick, Robert Cormack, Lloyd Harting, David Hilberman, John Hubley, Dick Kelsey, McLaren Stewart, Al Zinnen

Featuring the voices of:

Hardie Albright as Adolescent Bambi

Donnie Dunagan as Young Bambi

Stan Alexander as Young Flower

Peter Behn as Young Thumper

Thelma Boardman as Mrs. Quail

Tim Davis as Adult Thumper

Sam Edwards as Adult Thumper

Ann Gillis as Adult Faline

Otis Harlan as Mr. Mole

Eddie Holden as Chipmunk

Sterling Holloway as Adult Flower

Cammie King Conlon as Young Faline

Mary Lansing as Aunt Ena/Mrs. Possum

Margaret Lee as Thumper’s Mother

Clarence Nash as Bullfrog

Bobby Stewart as Baby Bambi

John Sutherland as Adult Bambi

Paula Winslowe as Bambi’s Mother

Fred Shields as Great Prince of the Forest

As morning light breaks across the meadow, a young deer named Bambi is born and hailed as ‘Prince of the Forest.’ Soon Bambi emerges from the thicket on wobbly legs, much to the delight of his new friends, Thumper, the playful rabbit, and Flower, the bashful yet lovable skunk. But the fun of nibbling on fresh blossoms and frolicking through the woods is only the beginning. Exploring his new world, and guided by the wisdom of Friend Owl, Bambi learns valuable life lessons with every adventure – experiencing the power of friendship, family, and love along the away.

Back in 1923, Felix Salten wrote a novel titled “Bambi, a Life in the Woods” in Austria.  Five years later, the novel would receive its English translation and became an instant hit and a classic.

This led to MGM producer and director Sidney Franklin purchasing the rights to a film version of “Bambi, A Life in the Woods” in 1933 but because he felt it would be too difficult to make it into a live action film, he sold the rights to Walt Disney in 1937.

But Walt Disney was not a healthy company at the time.  “Pinocchio” and “Fantasia” were box office flops and it didn’t help that the International audience that Disney depended on for revenue was lost due to World War II.  And as for Bambi, as the budget started to reach up to over $800,000, it seemed as if the company would not be able to make their next film.  Fortunately, Walt Disney, who is a wonderful businessman, managed to woo Bank of America in getting the funding for “Bambi”.

While “Bambi” would become an instant classic for Disney throughout the last 70-years, back in 1942, the film still faced problems due to World War II and would also lose money in the box office, but it would regain its income in 1947 and would also receive the ire from hunters who felt the film was harsh towards them.

But needless to say, “Bambi” has come an instant classic in Walt Disney’s line of animated films (“Bambi” is the fifth film from Walt Disney) and it also paved the way for the animation industry as the film would lead to the hiring of Disney’s first female animator, the film would utilize multiplane camera technology, would feature an impressionist style courtesy of artist Tyrus “Ty” Wong and his artwork of the forests would be groundbreaking for its time and an inspiration for future artists.  Also, the film would feature a lot of paint and colors developed during the making of the film and would eventually lead to newer colors which would be used for future Walt Disney animated films.

Also, “Bambi” was created on an extreme budget and it was a learning experience for Walt Disney and the studio.

As “Bambi” has had its DVD release in 1997 (as part of the Masterpiece Collection Version) and in 2007 as a Platinum Edition, the film will receive its 2011 Blu-ray release as a Diamond Edition to celebrate it’s 70th year.This new release features a new enhanced digital restoration, newer special features and the use of Disney View and the introduction of Disney’s Second Screen technology.

“Bambi” is a film that features a doe giving birth to Bambi.  As Bambi learns to walk, he befriends a young rabbit named Thumper and a skunk named Flower.

We see how Bambi learns from his mother, from learning to walk, learning about the meadow and warning him of the dangers but also introducing him to his father, the Great Prince of the Forest.

As Bambi grows up, he meets a young fawn named Faline at the meadow but during this time, he quickly learns the danger of man, as hunters begin shooting towards the animals.  Bambi and his mother managed to escape death and she explains to him about the dangers of man being the forest.

As the animals go through a rough winter, trying to find food, his mother teaches him how to eat the bark from a tree and Bambi learns from Thumper on how to slide on ice.

By the end of the Winter, a hungry Bambi is shown a patch of new grass that has grown, in which he can eat.  As the grass is a sign of the arrival of spring, his mother can sense a hunter nearby and warns Bambi to run.  Both mother and Bambi run as fast as they can and a the shot of a rifle is heard.  As Bambi runs quickly back home, he waits for his mother to arrive, but she has not come back.

What has happened to Bambi’s mother?  And how will Bambi survive on his own?

VIDEO:

“Bambi” is one of the most wonderful looking animated films that still looks magnificent 70-years-later.  The artwork is highly regarded by artists and although not realistic, you get a feel of a painted style, a brilliant artistic use of paint in animation brought to Disney’s attention courtesy of Tyrus Wong.  It was a look that Disney had wanted and amazingly implemented to “Bambi” and the overall look of the film is even more impressive on Blu-ray.

“Bambi” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:33:1).  The colors are vibrant, the blacks are nice and deep and the character designs and animation look absolutely cute but also its lines are absolute clean.  But it’s how the artistic backgrounds and foregrounds compliments the animation is quite amazing!

“Bambi” has never looked this magnificent and I am impressed by how much of an upgrade this film looks compared to its previously awesome Platinum DVD release only four years ago.  There is no compression artifacts, no banding, no scratches or dust, it looks perfect!

If you love this film, you definitely need to upgrade to Blu-ray because “Bambi” looks fantastic in HD!

Because the film is presented in 1:33:1, once again, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment brings back the “DisneyView” featuring the art of Lisa Keene, so instead of the black bars on the side, you can opt for colorful artwork that matches the scenes of the film.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Bambi: Diamond Edition” is presented in 7.1 DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, French and Spanish Dolby DEHT  Language Tracks and restored original theatrical soundtrack.  It’s important to note that Disney chose to go with High Resolution audio over lossless DTS-HD Master Audio.  But the audio is still fantastic as you can hear the thunder and lightning throughout your surround channels, you can hear Frank Churchill and Edward Plumb’s wonderful score and while this film is primarily dialogue and music driven, there ares some scenes where the audio sounds fantastic (primarily the final half hour of the film).

The soundtrack is not to immersive, but “Bambi” is not an action-driven film. So, the audio is well-utilized when it matters most and its during those more intense, action-based scenes.  Needless to say, this is a wonderful lossless high resolution soundtrack.

Subtitles are in English SDH, English ESL, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Bambi: Diamond Edition” features the following special features:

• Bambi: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings – A pretty awesome featurette.  It’s hard to tell you the duration as my player wouldn’t give me the duration time for this feature but because it is featured in a way where you can watch various features separately, you can listen to Walt Disney and staff’s audio meetings on “Bambi”, you can also see two deleted scenes, the making of the film, two bonus animated Disney shorts, anecdotes and more.  The sequence does show picture-in-picture while the film is playing on one side you get to watch this special feature on the other side.  It’s clearly one of the best Disney special features I have seen thus far!
• Disney’s Book of Knowledge - An interactive game based on multiple choice and for players to earn stickers (on-game stickers).
• Disney Second/View/What is Disney SecondView – This feature allows people to watch a film on their iPad or laptop and sync it with what they are watching on TV, so you can use the iPad or laptop like a remote but while watching it on screen of your portable device.
• Two Leaves – (3:07) An original concept of how Disney and crew were thinking of creating dialogue between two leaves but opted not to use it on “Bambi”.
• Bambi Stuck on a Reed - (1:20) Another concept that was not used for “Bambi” but is featured on this Blu-ray.
• Twitterpated – (1:53) An explanation of what “Twitterpated” is.
• Bambi Interactive Galleries – An extensive look at the films sketches, background paintings production pictures, storyboards and visual development.
• Deleted Scenes – Featuring two deleted scenes (featured on the original 2007 DVD) – Winter Grass (:56) and Bambi’s First Snow (2:31).
• The Making of Bambi: A Prince is Born – A wonderful making-of featurette (about an hour long) featured on the original DVD.  This featurettete goes into the art and Disney hiring its first female animator, the hiring of Tyrus Wong, who brought the look and feel of Bambi’s artistic backgrounds because he wanted to move up in his job from in-between animation, the music of “Bambi”, the history of “Bambi” and how the book was adapted into an animated film and more.
• Tricks of the Trade - (7:18) Walt Disney talks about the multi-plane technology used on “Bambi”.
• Inside the Disney Archives – (8:39) A visit to the vault to look at unused art and sequences from “Bambi”.
• The Old Mill – (8:58) A 1937 Silly Symphonies animated short.
• Original Theatrical Trailer – (2:12) The original 1942 theatrical trailer for “Bambi”.

EXTRAS:

“Bambi: Diamond Edition” comes with a Blu-ray slipover case and a DVD fof the film.  The DVD features an introduction by Diane Disney Miller and also includes the enhance edition of “Walt’s Story Meetings” and DisneyPEdia: Bambi’s Forest Friends.  The DVD is presented in 1:33:1 aspect ratio, 5.1 Dolby English, French and Spanish language tracks and subtitles in English SDH, French and Spanish.

“Bambi” is a classic that will continue to entertain generation after generation.

It features a wonderful, touching story about family and how they continue to survive in the wild but faces the challenge of man.  Granted, I understand that this film may not satisfy hunters (as many of them were upset by the film during its original release) but for my family, as my wife and I, both have grown up with this film and it was one of the first Disney films that we introduced to our son.

We both felt that it was a family film that featured cute characters, innocent characters but also showed the importance of family, listening to rules and of course but also a first step of explaining to them about what was transpiring between Bambi and his mother and what happens later in the film.

So, as this film has resonated so strongly for my family, I’m sure it’s a film that many other families will love.  Afterall, it has entertained generation after generation for 70-years.

And with this film now being released on Blu-ray, I do have to say that this is one of the most beautiful classic animated film from Disney on Blu-ray thus far.   Call me biased but not only is the artwork magnificent, everything about it… from the animation, it’s character design, the cast (the voice actors were magnificent and how they used the young voice actor’s accidental pauses during the recording and actually using it in the film was brilliant!), its music and the storyline, everything works in harmony.  The nature of the film had a unique style, the use of the multiplane cameras also gave it a distinct look.  I really enjoyed this Blu-ray release!

Now, of course, comparing the special features to other animated classics from Disney on Blu-ray, it may seem that “Bambi” has less special features.  In the past, the special features were all separated but the way its done on “Bambi”, they were combined as one full special feature.  So, for example “Bambi: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings”, this may seem like on feature but really, there are about ten special features in that one feature alone.  For “The Making of Bambi”, there are five special features and of course, the other additional special features, if added, you get a lot included in the “Bambi: Diamond Edition”.  Granted, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and “Pinocchio” are still excellent as they go way beyond what one would expect for special features but this release is still quite solid!

Overall, if this 1942 masterpiece resonates strongly with you or you are a Disney fan looking to upgrade to “Bambi” in High Definition, you won’t be disappointed.  “Bambi: Diamond Edition” is another must-own Disney animated classic on Blu-ray and is highly recommended!

Step Up 3: Blu-ray + DVD (a J!-ENT Blu-ray review)

If you enjoyed the previous two “Step Up” films, “Step Up 3″ goes even further by featuring phenomenal choreography and a stylish presentation that looks great on Blu-ray.  Also, featuring a wonderful soundtrack!  If you love dancing films, then “Step Up 3″ is must buy!

Images courtesy of © Buena Vista Home Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Step Up 3: Blu-ray + DVD

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2010

DURATION: 107 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:78:1), English 7.1 DTS-HD (48 kHz/24-bit), French, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

COMPANY: Touchstone Home Entertainment

RATED: RATED PG-13 (For Brief Strong Language)

Release Date: December 21, 2010

Directed by Jon M. Chu

Written by Amy Andelson, Emily Meyer

Characters by Duane Adler

Executive Producer: Bob Hayward, Meredith Milton, David Nicksay

Producer: Erik Feig, Jennifer Gibgot, Adam Shankman, Patrick Wachsberger

Co-Producer: Amy Herman

Production Executive: Todd Y. Murata

Music by Bear McCreary

Cinematography by Ken Seng

Casting by Joanna Colbert, Richard Mento

Production Design by Devora Herbert

Art Direction by Mario Ventenilla

Set Decoration by Regina Graves

Costume Design by Kurt and Bart

Starring:

Rick Malambri as Luke

Adam G. Sevani as Moose

Sharni Vinson as Natalie

Alyson Stoner as Camille

Keith Stallworth as Jacob

Kendra Andrews as Anala

Stephen “tWitch” Boss as Jason

Martin and Facudon Lombard as the Santiago Twins

Oren Michaeli as Carlos

Joe Slaughter as Julian

Daniel “Cloud” Campos as Kid Darkness

Chadd “Madd Chadd” Smith as Vladd

Britney “B” Thomas as B.

Terrance Harrison as Radius

Jonathan “Legacy” Perez as Legz

Jaime Burgos III as Mohawk

Ivan “Flipz” Velez as Spinz

Ashlee Nino as Stix

Tamara Levinson as Bend

Ricardo “Boogie Frantick” Rodriguez Jr. as Wave

Mari Koda as Jenny Kido

Harry Shum Jr. as Cable

Christopher Scott as Hair

Luis Rosado as Monster

LaJon “Lil Duda” Dantzler as Smiles

Janelle Cambridge as Fly

The story itself centers on a pair of gritty street dance squads facing off in the World Jam, a high-stakes showdown that is the hip-hop Olympics and revolves around two couples – Moose and Camille (Adam G. Sevani and Alyson Stoner, from Step Up 2 and Step Up respectively), and new characters Luke and Natalie (Rick Malambri and Sharni Vinson). New York’s intense underground street dancing comes alive in Blu-ray 3D when this tight knit group of street dancers (Malambri, Vinson) team up with Moose (Sevani) and find themselves pitted against the world’s best hip hop dancers in a gravity defying dance exhibition battle that will change their lives forever.

In 2006, the dance/romance film “Step Up” was born and it was a box office success with a budget of $12 million, “Step Up” would bring in $114 million worldwide.

So, with the financial success of the first film, it was not surprising that a sequel  in 2008 titled “Step Up 2: The Streets” would be made and directing the film would be dancer and filmmaker John Chu (“Silent Beats”, “When the Kids Are Away”, “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never”).  Like its predecessor, the film would make a lot of money and surpass the first film by bringing over $148 million.

And in 2010, John Chu returned as the director but this time bringing the third film to the big screen in 3D and to keep continuity with the first two films, “Step Up 3″ would bring back actress Camille Gage (Alyson Stoner) from the first film and Adam Sevani (Moose) from the second film as new students at New York University.  And once again, like the previous two films, shot with a budget of $30 million, the third film would rake in $159 million worldwide.

And now, “Step Up 3″ arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on December 21st.  On Blu-ray, there will be two versions available, “Step Up 3″ will be released in 3D (for those with 3D enabled Blu-ray players and TV sets) and normal Blu-ray on Blu-ray and DVD.

“Step Up 3″ is a film that focus on three-related storylines.  The first focuses on the friendship between Moose (played by Adam Sevani) and Camille (played by Alyson Stoner, “Camp Rock” films, “Phineas and Ferb”).  The two have grown up with each other and now both will be attending New York University.  Because the two are best friends, they want to enjoy their life as students together and are often mistaken as a couple.

Moose loves to dance but he promised his parents (who is putting a lot of their money into their son’s education) that he will focus on his engineering degree.  But on the first day of student orientation, he accidentally gets himself dragged into a dance battle and humiliates Kid Darkness, one of the premiere dancers of the House of Samurai Dance Crew.

Meanwhile, as he is dancing, he is being taped by a guy named Luke, who happens to be the leader of a dance crew known as “The House of the Pirates”.  Luke and his group want Moose to join them and be part of the House of Pirates and prepare for the World Jam Dance contest.  And because he humiliated Kid Darkness, he will become a target of the House of Samurai Dance Crew.

Despite telling himself he wants to quit dancing, dancing is too much of a passion for Moose that he joins the House of Pirates but his friend Camille is unaware of why her best friend is ditching her all the time and is saddened that the promise they made of being together is not being fulfilled.  Also, how will Moose deal with college when the crew expects him to be training for the dance competition during his classes?

The second storyline features the character of Luke (played by Rick Malambri, “Surrogates”, “Universal Soldiers”).  A filmmaker and the leader of the House of Pirates.  He also owns the building/warehouse which houses the dancers of the House of Pirates and as a promise to his dead parents, he wants to keep the building open.  So, people can train to dance and have a place to hang out and party.  But the building’s rent has not been paid for six months and is in danger of closing.  And so the motivation for his dancers are to win the $100,000 grand prize to keep the warehouse open and they know they need more dancers for the competition to take on their rivals, the House of Samurai.

The third storyline focuses on Luke and a dancer that he has fallen for.  Her name is Natalie (played by Sharni Vinson, “Home and Away”) and he has been attracted to her for quite awhile.  He gives Natalie a place to stay and the two grow closer together and eventually fall for each other.  With the addition of Moose, Natalie also joins the House of Pirates.  But what Luke doesn’t know is that Natalie is the sister of Julien (played by Joe Slaughter), the leader of the House of Samurai and Natalie was sent by him to spy on the House of Pirates dance crew.  But can Natalie hurt the House of Pirates after she has grown close to them and has become one of them?  Can she hurt Luke now that she has fallen in love with him?

VIDEO:

“Step Up 3″ is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:78:1) and the first thing that came to my mind is how vibrant this film looks.  From the various shots of New York City to the use of color featured in the film, I was pretty impressed by the overall look and set design.  In the film, there is an interesting use of light and costume design and CG work which I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who hasn’t watch the film.  A little TRON-esque but I was digging it!

There is a lot of detail that is seen from the building sets, the closeups of the Nike vintage shoes to the characters and more.  I did notice some occasional banding on scenes where there was a lot of red.  But for the most part, picture quality is pretty fantastic and I noticed no blemishes, artifacts, combing, crush, etc.  Blacks were nice and deep and colors just pop!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Step Up 3″ features an English 7.1 DTS-HD (48 kHz/24-bit) lossless soundtrack.  Also, presented in French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1.  Dialogue and music is crystal clear and for low frequency, although not an action film, it’s definitely a film that is driven by its music from Flo Rida (feat. David Guetta), Trey Songz, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, Sofia Fresh (feat. T-Pain), Wisn y Yandel and more.  Bass is continually pumpin’ and you could hear the resonance through your subwoofers when you hear that LFE.  Because of the 7.1 track, there is also use of surroound and rear surround throughout the film.

Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Step Up 3″ comes with the following special features:

• Born from a Boombox: A Luke Katcher Film – (11:51) The full “Born from a Boombox” film that the character Luke shot with interviews of the House of Pirates dancers.
• Extra Moves – (7:20) Behind-the-scenes of “Step Up 3″ with the making of the various dance scenes throughout the film and featuring the various music from the film.
• Deleted Scenes – (23:57) Featuring optional intros by director Jon M. Chu.  Featuring eight deleted scenes.
• Music Videos – Featuring the following music videos: “Club Can’t Handle Me” – Flo Rida feat. David Guetta, “My Own Step (Theme from Stepup 3D)” by Roscoe Dash and T-Pain feat. Fabo, “Already Taken” by Trey Songz, “This Girl” by Laza Morgan, “This Instant” by Sophia Fresh feat. T-Pain, “No Te Quero (Remix)” by Sophia Del Carmen feat. Pitbull, “Irresistible” by Wisin y Yandel, “Spirit of the Radio” by Jrandall.
• Making of the Music Videos – (7:15) The music talent talk about the making of their music videos.

EXTRAS:

“Step Up 3″ comes with a slip cover case and along with the Blu-ray, a DVD is included.  The DVD is presented in widescreen (1:78:1 – enhanced for 16×9 televisions).  Audio is in English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital.  Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

When it comes to dancing films, I know that there are film critics who just can’t get into them.  But for me, I absolutely enjoy watching the choreography of these films and seeing how far they can take it to the next level.

For me, the “Step Up” and “Stomp the Yard” films are known for their choreography and the plots are typically hit or miss with the viewer.  For “Step Up 3″, I absolutely enjoyed the film, its plot, the music and the choreography.  Having friends who are part of the dancing scene, the dance battles and also into collecting those special edition, vintage Nike shoes, I enjoyed the integration of it into this film.  But while the dancing and the battles are a constant theme of these films, “Step Up 3″ is a pretty stylish film.

I have to admit that at first, seeing Rick Malambri as the male star of the film, I felt he was too clean cut for someone to be part of street dancing.  Someone you would see as more fashion model than someone who would lead a dance crew but everything worked out quite well.  Especially since the film incorporates so many characters, it helps when you have returning characters like Adam G. Sevani and Alyson Stoner as part of the film and the addition of Australian actress Sharni Vinson was quite interesting because similar to Rick Malambri, the first things that cross your mind is “can these two dance?”.  And sure enough, both pulled it off.

Also, it helps by by surrounding the two talents with a plethora of dancing talent and according to director Jon M. Chu, over 250 talented dancers were part of this film and these dancers are among the top dancers in the world.  So, if anything, these dancers help compliment the talent and also because of the additional dance talent, we are seeing various styles of dancing being incorporated to this third film that we haven’t seen in the previous two films.

And in many ways, I like the “So You think You Can Dance” style of mentality brought to this film by bringing these talent known for a certain style of dancing and then getting to learn various styles of choreography and each of these talented individuals have pulled it off.  The dancing of this film is phenomenal and for those who are passionate about dancing, I wouldn’t be surprised if they rewind and play various scenes over and over and be in awe by it.

As for the overall plot, yeah…there is a banality to it.  Goals to win contest money to save a club, to save one’s hide.  Lover’s betrayal and one being too occupied with other things and not being there for love ones.  Yeah, it’s been done many times before but it works for this film.  Adam G. Sevani and Alyson Stoner have great chemistry and they bring in a young and enjoyable vibe to this film.  While Malambri and Sevani bring the more sexual and romantic aspect to the film.

Also, I loved the cinematography and bringing that New York vibe to this film.  Also, loved how the colors were utilized and it’s a vibrant film that really looks great on Blu-ray!  And of course, the music is pretty awesome.  From the characters of Luke and Moose traveling through New York with Jay-Z and Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind” blaring through your front channel speakers to Flo Rida and David Guetta playing during a pretty cool dance scene and there are many more scenes with cool music, awesome choreography and memorable moments.

The Blu-ray release has pretty awesome PQ and the music is more of the dominant factor for audio, while dialogue and music is crystal clear, there is some usage of the surround and rear surround channels.  But it’s the music that dominates the soundspace.  Also, there are good number of special features that feature more dancing scenes and dancers that were cut out of the film due to pacing and making the scenes flow.

As mentioned, there are two versions of this film being released on Blu-ray.  For those with a 3D Blu-ray player and 3D enabled television, you can purchase “Step Up 3D”.  While those who don’t have the 3D hardware or don’t care for 3D can purchase the Blu-ray and DVD version of the film.

Overall, I know that dance films are not for everyone.  But for those who love street dancing, “Step Up 3″ is a pretty enjoyable film and the choreography was phenomenal.  If you enjoyed the previous two films, I definitely recommend “Step Up 3″.

Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Disney once against achieves perfection with this true Disney classic on Blu-ray!  “Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition” comes with three versions of the film and packed with special features.  Once again, Disney continues to raise the bar high for Blu-ray releases.  A magnificent release!

Image courtesy of © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition

FILM YEAR OF RELEASE: 1991

DURATION: Special Extended Version (1:31:44), Original Theatrical Release (1:24:54)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:78:1), English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 kHz/24-bit), 5.1 DEHT Frencha nd Spanish Language Tracks, Subtitles: English SDH and English ESL Subtitles, French and Spanish Subtitles

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G (for General Audiences)

Release Date: October 5, 2010

Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise

Story by Brenda Chapman, Burny Mattinson, Brian Pumental, Joe Ranft, Kelly Asbury, Chris Sanders, Kevin Harkey, Bruce Woodside, Tom Ellery and Robert Lence

Animation Screenplay by Linda Woolverton

Story Supervisor: Roger Allers

Executive Producer: Howard Ashman

Produced by Don Hahn

Associate Producer: Sarah McArthur

Music by Alan Menken

Edited by John Carnochan

Casting By Albert Tavares

Art Direction by Brian McEntee

Featuring the following voice talent:

Paige O’Hara as Belle

Robby Benson as Beast

Richard White as Gaston

Jerry Orbach as Lumiere

David Ogden Stiers as Cogsworth

Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Potts

Bradley Pierce as Chip

Rex Everhart as Maurice

Jesse Corti as Lefou

Hal Smith as Philippe

Tony Jay as Monsieur D’Arque

Set in and around a quaint French village during the late 18th century, Beauty and the Beast follows the fantastic adventures of Belle, a bright and beautiful young woman who finds escape from her ordinary life, and the advances of a boorish suitor, Gaston, by reading books. Meanwhile, off in a castle in the distance, a cruel young prince is cast under the spell of an enchantress who turns him into a tormented beast, while transforming his servants into animated household objects. In order to remove the curse, the Beast must discover a true love who will return his affection before the last petal falls from an enchanted rose. When Belle’s inventor father stumbles upon the Beast’s castle and is taken prisoner, Belle comes to the rescue and agrees to take her father’s place. With the help of the castle’s enchanted staff, she sees beneath the Beast’s exterior and discovers the heart and soul of a human prince.

The story of “Beauty and the Beast” was born as a fairy tale back in the 1740′s by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and then revised in 1757 by French novelist Jeanne Marie Le Prince de Beaumont received its animated adaptation courtesy of Walt Disney  in 1991.

The film is directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise (both worked on “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Atlantis: The Lost Empire”) and the screenplay adaptation by Linda Woolverton (“The Lion King”, “Mulan” , “Arctic Tale” and “Alice in Wonderland”).

“Beauty and the Beast” is the 30th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics line and is considered one of the greatest Disney animated films of all time.  The film was an amazing success as the film which cost $25 million to make had made over $377 million dollars worldwide and the film was also the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture (note: The second was 2009′s “Up”) and was successful in blending traditional animation with CG.

And now the popular animated film receives its first release on Disney Blu-ray and receives a “Diamond Edition” release.  In this release, we get more special features than its previous 2002 DVD release but also three different versions of the film which includes a special extended edition, the original theatrical release and the original theatrical release with storyreel picture in picture (watching the film with the original storyboards in picture in picture format).

“Beauty and the Beast” begins with an enchantress who is disguised as a beggar gives a young prince a rose in exchange for a night’s shelter.  Unfortunately, the prince turns her away and so she transforms him into a beast and also transforms his servants into furniture and silverware.

The enchantress gives him a rose and a magic mirror.  The rose will bloom until his 21st birthday and he must find a woman who loves him for what he is inside, not for what he is in the outside.  If he does not find someone who will love him, he will remain a beast forever.  As for the magic mirror, it grants him to view what is going on around him from faraway.

We are then introduced to the characters of Belle and her father, an inventor named Maurice.  In her village, Gaston is the local hero, an arrogant man she has been courting but has no interest in.

One day, Maurice has invented a wood-chopping machine and plans to take it to a fair.  Unfortunately, he gets lost and while his horse knows where to go, Maurice takes the other direction where the woods look dark and creepy.  He ends up at the beast’s castle and when he goes to check inside he meets the beast’s servants such as Lumiere the candle holder, Mrs. Potts (a pot) and her son Chip (a chipped tea cup) and Cogsworth.  Because Maurice has stepped into private property,  the beast has imprisoned him.

Meanwhile, Belle is worried that her father has not returned but the horse has.  So, she goes with the horse to the Beast’s castle and in order for the Beast to release her father, Belle tells the beast that she will be his prisoner and to let her father go.  The beast accepts.

Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts know that this is the probably there best chance in order for the beast and the to change back to human-form and they to show the kind and gentler side of the Beast (and trying to curb his anger).

As for Maurice, when he arrives to the village, he tries to tell people that Belle has imprisoned by a Beast but no one believes him.

Will the beast manage to convince Belle to stay and somehow have her confess her love to him?  Or will she leave him and he will stay a beast forever?

VIDEO:

Everything about “Beauty and Beast” screams gorgeous, vibrant and magnificent with the release of “Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition”.   In my 2002 DVD review, I talked about how beautiful the animation was and how well-painted the backgrounds were but after watching this on Blu-ray, I’m going to focus on how vibrant the colors are, how well-defined the lines are, how  detailed the backgrounds to the simplest of objects such as wood, leaves and objects are.  How every character and object and its shadowing are well-done.

“Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:78:1).  From the daylight scenes that showcase the amber oranges to the winter scenes that show the whites and blues, to the night-time and more ominous and darker scenes, blacks are nice and deep but yet you can still see detail where shadows are present on objects.  You can see the stains on the roof of the background and can easily make out the different color bricks on the chimneys, the pattern of wood on the home and well.  And of course, the animation and how free flowing the characters are, especially in the dance scene.  For a film that was created in 1991, you can’t tell this animated film is nearly 20-years-old.  This film still looks incredible and it looks wonderful in HD.   I detected no banding, edge enhancement, haloing, combing or compression artifacting.

This is the definitive version to own of this title yet and if you have a Blu-ray player and love Disney animated classics, picture quality-wise, this is a title that simply is a must-own.

As for the included DVD, the DVD is presented in 1:78:1 aspect ration-enhanced for 16×9 televisions.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition” is not only fantastic in picture quality, the film is absolutely fantastic via lossless as well.  Presented in English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 kHz.24-bit) as well as 5.1 DEHT French and Spanish language tracks, “Beauty and the Beast” does not disappoint.

If anything, I wished that everything Disney releases were in English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and fortunately, the animated classics have received this attention.  Audio literally envelops the soundscape with immersive audio coming from the front and center channels, the surround channels, the rear surround channels.  Dialogue and music is crisp and clear, the slight sounds of leaves, horse galloping, the leaves rustling, the Beast growling, the sound of flame flickering, pots and tea cups clinkering, these are all well-done.  And it doesn’t stop there, there is also LFE present as well.

But if anything, one thing that “Beauty and the Beast” is known for is its music.  Alan Menkin’s music for the film is wonderful.  You will find yourself singing to songs such as “Beauty and the Beast”, “Be Our Guest” and “Belle” and the truth is, the music captivated many people in 1991, so much that it won an Academy Award for “Best Music, Original Score” and “Best Music, Original Song” and also won two Golden Globe Awards as well for its score and for “Best Original Song – Beauty and the Beast”.

As for subtitles, “Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition” is presented in English SDH, English ESL, French and Spanish.

As for the included DVD, the DVD is presented in 5.1DEHT English and Spanish Language Tracks with English SDH and Spanish subtitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition” comes with the following special features presented in HD (note: original DVD features that are on the Blu-ray are presented in standard definition):

DISC 1:

• Audio Commentary – Audio Commentary for the special extended edition is included.  Featuring commentary by directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise plus producer Don Hahn.  The three go into look and feel of “Beauty and the Beast” and what they wanted to achieve.  As well as dissecting the scene and the characters of the film.  Alan Menken lends his commentary on the creation of the music for the film.
• Sing A Long – Watch the movie with karaoke style Sing A Long.
• Composing a Classic – (20:18) A Magical conversation with Alan Menkin, Don Hahn and Menkin’s agent Richard Kraft.  Everything you wanted to know about the music from “Beauty and the Beast”.
• Deleted Scenes -  Featuring the following deleted segments: Introduction to Alternate Story Opening by Peter Schneider (:32), Alternate Story Open (18:24), Introduction to Deleted Scene by Roger Allers (:38) and Belle in the Library (8:27).
• Broadway Beginnings – (13:02) Stars such as Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Nick Jonas, Christy Carlson-Romano, Andrea McArdle, Donny Osmond, Deborah Gibson and others talking about being involved in the Broadway version of “Beauty and the Beast” and their experience of watching the animated film.
• Music Video - (3:26) A music video featuring Jordin Sparks singing “Beauty and the Beast”.
• Sneak Peaks – Upcoming Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment releases and trailers for upcoming films from Disney.

DISC 2:

• Enchanted Musical Challenge Game – Find objects that were scattered around the Beast’s castle.  The game is played using your remote.
• Bonjour Who Is This – A Disney Teleplay Game -  A secret identity game for 2 to  8 players.  Use your telephones to control the game. (Note: you must call a 1-877 to play this game).
• Beyond Beauty – (157 minutes) The untold stories behind the making of “Beauty and the Beast?  A documentary on the making of the film and interviews with cast and crew.  When you see icons show up, you have eight seconds to click on it and if you do, you access sub-featurettes.  This section keeps track of everything that has been watched as well.  An awesome documentary and addition to “Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition”.
• The Story Behind the Story – (25:41) A featurette about the making of Disney films such as “Cinderella”, “The Lion King”, “Pocahontas”, “The Jungle Book”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Mulan” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”.  Presented in standard definition, a featurette that was included on the 2002 DVD hosted by Celine Dion.
• Beauty and the Beast Music Video - (4:31) Featuring a duet with Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson.  Presented in standard definition and was included in the original 2002 DVD.
• Early Presentation Reel – (2:51) Don Hahn talks about a reel made in presenting to the crew of what they were trying to create before production began on the film.   Presented in standard definition and was included in the original 2002 DVD.
• Alternate Version of “Be Our Guest” - (4:55) Don Hahn shows us how the song was used in the film as the song was originally sung by Maurice.  Presented in standard definition and was included in the original 2002 DVD.
• Alternate Score of “The Transformation” – Alan Menken presents the original score for “The Transformation” scene to the original rough sketch of the transformation scene.  Presented in standard definition and was included in the original 2002 DVD.
• Deleted Song – (6:58) Featuring the deleted song “Human Again” and an optional introduction by Don Hahn and another by Alan Menken. Presented in standard definition and was included in the original 2002 DVD.
• Animation – Featuring three segments: Animation Tests featuring commentary by Don Hahn (4:54), Rouges & Clean Ups, The Transformation: Pencil Version featuring commentary by Don Hahn (5:24) and A Transformation by Glen Keane (3:13). Presented in standard definition and was included in the original 2002 DVD.
• Camera Move Test -(2:06) Don Hahn talks about the camera were going to be used and we get to see the first camera rehearsal during the dancing scene of the film.  Presented in standard definition and was included in the original 2002 DVD.  Presented in standard definition and was included in the original 2002 DVD.
• Trailers & TV Spots – Featuring the original release trailer, large format release trailer and four TV spots plus an introduction by Don Hahn.  Presented in standard definition and was included in the original 2002 DVD.

EXTRAS:

A DVD version of the feature film is included (all three versions of the film is presented on DVD).  Also, a slipcase cover is included for this release.

My opinion of “Beauty and the Beast” has not changed since my DVD review for the title back in 2002.  The animation, the painted backgrounds, the music, the characters, the movement… everything about the film is a pleasant reminder of the classic Disney films that I have loved and “Beauty and the Beast” is a film I still love.

Similar to the “Snow White” Blu-ray release, how can “Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition” improve upon the original 2002 release?  Easy…by adding a ton of special features and three different versions of the film.  This is what I love about Disney, they know what their customers want and what they expect and that is simply getting quality releases each time but raising the bar higher and higher of what a release should be.  And for Disney, there classic animated films are expected to be fantastic releases and fans expect nothing lower.

I expected something incredible and to tell you the truth, I was pretty much expecting better picture quality in HD and lossless audio quality with the same special features and maybe a new audio commentary and possibly a retrospective featurette, but Disney has surpassed my expectations by giving us way more than what we would have expected for this film and I’m impressed and also very grateful.

The film has everything you want.  Great characters, adventure, drama, action, memorable music and more!  And 20-years later, “Beauty and the Beast” looks and sounds phenomenal on Blu-ray.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment have once again achieved perfection and if you are a Disney fan, a “Beauty and the Beast” fan and pretty much any person or fan who respects the quality of the Walt Disney animated classics on HD thus far, “Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition” receives my highest recommendation!

Monster House in 3D (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“Monster House in 3D”  features an upgraded release of the previous 2006 Blu-ray, includes both the original 2D version and a 3D version of the film.  3D does showcase good separation between the characters, objects and backgrounds.  How 3D is utilized is subjective to the viewer but I felt it was good and it worked with this 2006 film but at the same time, the 3D was nothing revolutionary.  But for those who enjoyed the film and have not owned the Blu-ray previously, “Monster House in 3D” is worth the purchase and if you have a 3D enabled TV and player, then you also have that extra bonus of having a 3D version of the movie.

Images courtesy of © 2006 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. and GH One LLC. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Monster House in 3D

YEAR OF FILM RELEASE: 2006

DURATION: 91 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:40:1) 2D and 3D MVC Encoded 3D, Full Resolution L/R Eye, English, French and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish

COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

RATED: PG (For scary images and sequences, thematic elements, some crude humor and brief language)

RELEASE DATE: September 14, 2010

Directed by Gil Kenan

Screenplay by Dan Harmon, Rob Schrab, Pamela Pettier

Story by Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab

Executive Producer: Jason Clark, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis

Producer: Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey

Associate Producer: Heather Kelton, Bennett Schneir

Line Producer: Peter M. Tobyansen

Music by Douglas Pipes

Cinematography by Paul C. Babin, Xavier Perez Grobet

Edited by Fabienne Rawley, Adam P. Scott

Casting by Scot Boland, Victoria Burrows

Production Design by Ed Verreaux

Art Direction by Norman Newberry, Greg Papalia

Set Decoration by Kate J. Sullivan

Costume Design by Ruth Myers

Starring:

Steve Buscemi as Nebbercracker

Mitchel Musso as DJ

Catherine O’Hara as Mom

Fred Willard as Dad

Sam Lerner as Chowder

Maggie Gyllenhaal as Zee

Jason Lee as Bones

Spencer Locke as Jenny

Kevin James as Officer Landers

Nick Cannon as Officer Lister

Jon Heder as Reginald “Skull” Skulinski

Kathleen Turner as Constance

Even for a 12-year old, D.J. Walters has a particularly overactive imagination. He is convinced that his haggard and crabby neighbor Horace Nebbercracker, who terrorizes all the neighborhood kids, is responsible for Mrs. Nebbercracker’s mysterious disappearance. Any toy that touches Nebbercracker’s property, promptly disappears, swallowed up by the cavernous house in which Horace lives. D.J. has seen it with his own eyes! But no one believes him, not even his best friend, Chowder. What everyone does not know is D.J. is not imagining things. Everything he’s seen is absolutely true and it’s about to get much worse than anything D.J could have imagined.

For many fans of filmmaker Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis and the work they did with the “Back to the Future” films, the news that the two would collaborate on another project made fans highly anticipating their next film.

The collaboration would bethe 1996 CG animated film “Monster House” as the two filmmakers would serve as executive producers and utilizing performance capturing that was used in Zemeckis’ film “The Polar Express”.  Directing the film would be Gil Kenan (“City of Ember”) and feature a screenplay by Dan Harmon (“Community”, “The Sarah Silverman Program”, “Channel 101″), Rob Schrab (“The Sarah Silverman Program”, “Channel 101″) and Pamela Pettler (“Corpse Bride”, “9″).

The film would feature the voices of Steve Buscemi (“Armageddon”, “The Big Lebowski”, “28 Days”), Maggie Gyllenhaal (“The Dark Knight”, “Donnie Darko”, “Mona Lisa Smile”), Mitchel Musso (“Hannah Montana”, “Phineas and Ferb”), Sam Lerner (“The Secret Saturdays”) and Spencer Locke (“Cougar Town”, “Big Time Rush”, “Twentysixmiles”).  As well, as other talents such as Kathleen Turner, Jon Heder, Nick Cannon, Kevin James, Jason Lee, Fred Willard and Catherine O’Hara.

“Monster House” was created with a $75 million budget and grossed over $140 million in the box office.  The film was released on DVD and also one of the first animated films to be released on Blu-ray (2006) and will now be released on Blu-ray in 3D on Sept. 14th.  It’s important to note that this Blu-ray release also features a new upgraded version of “Monster House” in HD as well.

The film revolves around DJ Walters (voiced by Mitchel Musso), a boy who spies on Mr. Nebbercracker (voiced by Steve Buscemi), a cranky, creepy older man who doesn’t like people walking on his yard.  If anyone loses a ball or bike, he will confiscate it and not return it.   DJ happens to watch a young girl lose her tricycle on Nebbercracker’s yard and has been keeping tabs on the things Nebbercracker had confiscated.

With Halloween coming up, DJ’s parents are leaving for the weekend and leave him in the care of his babysitter Elizabeth “Zee” (voiced by Maggie Gyllenhaal), a hard rock girl who actually is a nice girl in front of his parents but looks at the opportunity of babysitting as a way to be alone with her boyfriend Bones (voiced by Jason Lee).

One day when DJ and his friend Chowder (voiced by Sam Lerner) are playing ball, the ball lands on Nebbercracker’s lawn and as DJ tries to pick it up, Nebbercracker comes out and starts screaming at DJ and tries to grab him.  But in the process, Nebbercracker collapses and DJ and Chowder think Nebbercracker is dead.  When the paramedics come, DJ finds a gold key that Nebbercracker had dropped.  Meanwhile, that night, someone tries to call DJ and when he does a star 69, he hears the call going to the Nebbercracker’s house.  Someone in the house is trying to call him.

DJ sneaks out of the house at night and he and Chowder talk that someone is there even though Nebbercracker is gone (they think he is dead).  When Chowder tries to ding-dong-ditch the house, the house reacts and tries to eat him.  Chowder escapes and both run back to the house feeling the house is alive (and evil).

Meanwhile, the following day, Jennifer “Jenny” Bennett (voiced by Spencer Locke) is trying to sell Halloween chocolates and as she goes door to door, DJ and Chowder see her going towards Nebbercracker’s house.  As they run to stop her, Jenny is then attacked by the house but the three manage to escape.

They try to call the cops, but police officers Landers and Lester (voiced by Kevin James and Nick Cannon) do not believe them.

The kids then try to get advice from Reginald “Skull” Skulinski about the house and he tells them that a human soul had merged with the house.  The kids come to the conclusion is that Nebbercracker has fused with the house and the only way to kill the house is to destroy its heart.

Meanwhile, the house has eaten Zee’s ex-boyfriend Bones and police officers Landers and Lester.  So, now DJ, Chowder and Jenny go on a mission to get inside the house to destroy it.

VIDEO:

“Monster House in 3D” has two versions of the film, 2D and 3D.  The 2D version is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1) and the 3D version is presented in MVC Encoded 3D – Full Resolution L/R Eye.

“Monster House” is a film that utilizes performance capture technology.  Black levels are nice and deep, there is a faux fine layer of grain, there is a good amount of detail on the clothing, especially how you can see the threading in DJ’s sweater and for a film created in 2006, the film still holds up today.   It may not have the super detail of today’s CG animated films but the film still holds up quite well but of course, it will look a bit dated since 3D technology is improving at a quick rate.

But the biggest difference between this release is that the film is presented in AVC not MPEG-2.  Also, the previous release was utilizing the older BD-25 (which many films on Blu-ray were released on).

But the real purpose for people wanting this release is the 3D.  With Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s awesome release of “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in 3D” earlier this year, this is the second 3D offering from the company.

It’s important to note that to play this 3D, you will need a TV that is 3D enabled and comes with its own 3D glasses (or purchase them separately in pack) and also a Blu-ray player that is 3D-enabled as well.

With that being said, I do have personal opinions on 3D.  Films that were created and made for 3D such as “Avatar” (which was exceptionally done) and then there are films in 3D such as “Toy Story 3″ in which the animation was great but the 3D was good especially of how the backgrounds were utilized.  And these two films have something in common, they are newer films.

With “Monster House” and possibly more older films in the near future, we are going to see these older films being given the 3D treatment.   So, here are my impressions on “Monster House in 3D”.  Backgrounds are well utilized as we can see the characters pop from the original backgrounds.   We can see how the trees that are lined up on the side of Nebbercracker’s home really do stick out in 3D.   Another good example of 3D usage is something as basic as the steps of Nebbercracker’s home looking very good, especially the blades of grass which looks very good in 3D.   The more action driven scenes especially as the kids try to destroy the house is well done but once again, it’s mostly how objects stand out.  It’s well done but for me, it’s not the 3D I prefer.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Monster House in 3D” is presented in English, French and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA and also Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital.  The previous release was presented in LPCM 5.1 (and English, French and Korean Dolby Digital 5.1).  “Monster House in 3D” features an impressive soundtrack as you can hear the creaks and cracks when the monster house begins to expand and swallow things around it.  You can hear the leaves and fire and ambiance through the surround channels, while hearing LFE during the more action-driven scenes.

Dialogue is crisp and clear as well as the music from composer Douglas Pipes.

Subtitles are presented in English, English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Monster House in 3D” comes with the following special features:

• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3D Sneak Peek - For those with a 3D enabled TV and the 3D glasses that came with the television and a 3D enabled Blu-ray player can watch a sneak peek of the 3D version of “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3D” (which is currently available from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment).
• Open House 3D Sneak Peek - For those with a 3D enabled TV and the 3D glasses that came with the television and a 3D enabled Blu-ray player can watch a sneak peek of the 3D version of “Open House 3D” (which is currently available from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment).
• Filmmakers Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by director Gil Kenan and a few others who worked on the film.  Unfortunately, aside from the director, the other people don’t identify themselves in the beginning of the commentary.  But overall, a very informative commentary which goes into detail on the characters, the scenes in the film and more.
• Inside Monster House – (24:40) Featuring the following featurettes (in standard definition): Imaginary Heroes, Beginners Luck, The Best of Friends, Lots of Dots, Black Box Theater, Making It Real and Did You Hear That?
• Evolution of a Scene: Eliza vs. Nebbercracker – (20:00) Featuring the following opening scene of little Eliza and Nebbercracker and how this scene went through various formats before its finalization.  Director Gil Kenan and artists discuss what they were trying to achieve.  Featuring the featurette, story reel animatic, performance capture, layout stage, animation, final film and composite.  Presented in standard definition.
• The Art of Monster House - Using your remote, you can view conceptual art, character designs with the people of the animated film, places and things and more.

I absolutely love “Monster House” and love the characters, especially how the creators were able to work in the facial expressions for DJ, Chowder, Jenny and Zee.  Loved the more darker, scarier storyline.  It’s a bit macabre when you think of who is possessing the house and how it happened, especially how Nebbercracker was created.    The voice acting also made the film much more enjoyable as there is a considerable amount of talent who worked on this film.

Although the film has children as the main leads, this is a PG film and I can tell you right now that I’ve tried to show this too my child (seven year old) and he was scared and refused to watch more than 15 minutes of it, suffice to say, Nebbercracker freaked him out.  So, I wouldn’t be surprised if other parents experienced the same situation with their children.

But what many people will want to know about “Monster House in 3D” is how the overall 3D experience is and as mentioned earlier, I have my opinions when it comes to how 3D is being utilized with today’s films.

In my opinion, for me, there are two types of films in 3D and it depends on what kind of the 3D you like.  As mentioned, “Avatar” or even “Captain EO” which I watched in Disneyland many times which features creatures and things flying up to you.  That is the 3D I love.  But with 3D in which characters and objects look in 3D and things stand out (like “Toy Story 3″), I’m not as impressed.  If anything, what I do like about this release is that you are getting both films in 3D and 2D and giving viewers that extra incentive.  Especially giving them that extra incentive to watch the movie again and making them wanting to buy the film.

“Monster House in 3D” is a film that I really enjoy watching and even watching it once again, I still haven’t grown tired of it.  I did enjoy seeing how things look in 3D but once again, it’s not the type of 3D that I was hoping for but it does work.  Also, it is important to remind people that “Monster House” is an older animated film (2006) and not like “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” which was released this year.  The way 3D was used for that film especially how many things are falling everywhere, was well done.

“Monster House” unfortunately, was not originally created with 3D in mind but yet, the 3D does work.  Not magnificently, but it’s good enough to watch and see how 3D was implemented throughout the film.  But I’m more of the type who wants to see things moving around and I feel like I can put my hand up and feel like about to touch it.

I also feel that 3D is best appreciated for those who have bigger viewing areas.  At a movie theater, you have a much larger screen to work with and I feel that 3D works much better in theater setting but once again, that is my opinion.

But I do feel that “Monster House in 3D” is a fantastic release.  For one, it’s a very good upgrade from the older original release (in fact, I feel that any Blu-ray disc released in 2006-2007 will probably need to be re-released as the format was not exactly properly well-utilized in the beginning) and two, you get the original 2D and 3D versions of the film.  Special features are still the same and I still have a beef with the audio commentary as we don’t know who the heck is talking as the people commenting, didn’t even announce themselves at the beginning of the audio commentary (with the exception of director Gil Kenan).

Overall, I feel that “Monster House in 3D” was an enjoyable release and for those who purchased the original Blu-ray will definitely want this version for the upgrade (and for those who didn’t purchase the Blu-ray earlier and have enjoyed the movie) and by then, you can always go back to it as 3D TV’s and 3D enabled Blu-ray players will become a standard.  If you enjoyed the film for the first time and still don’t own it, then this Blu-ray release is definitely worth considering.

Vivre sa vie – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #512 (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Godard’s tragic masterpiece shows us an innovative Godard and showcasing Coutard’s beautiful cinematography and a wonderful performance by Anna Karina.  Another Godard film on Blu-ray which is fantastic.  Highly recommended!

© Les Films du Jeud/1962-Les Films de la Pleiade-Paris. 2010 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Vivre Sa Vie – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #512

YEAR OF FILM: 1962

DURATION: 83 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:33:1 Aspect Ratio), Black and White, Monaural in French with English Subtitles

COMPANY: Janus Films/Les Films Du Jeudi/THE CRITERION COLLECTION

RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2010

Based on the Book “Ou en est la prostitution” by Marcel Sacotte

Written and Directed by Jean-Luc Godard

Produced by Pierre Braunberger

Music by Michel Legrand

Cinematography by Raoul Coutard

Edited by Jean-Luc Godard, Agnes Guillemot

Costume Design by Christiane Fageol

Starring:

Anna Karina as Nana Kleinfrankenheim

Sady Rebbot as Raoul

Andre S. Labarthe as Paul

Guylaine Schlumberger as Yvette

Gerard Hoffman as Le Chef

Monique Messine as Elisabeth

Paul Pavel as Journaliste

Dimitri Dineff as Dimitri

Peter Kassovitz as Le jeune homme

Eric Schlumberger as Luigie

Henri Attal as Arthur

Jean-Luc Godard as the voix de l’amant lisant Poe

Vivre sa vie was a turning point for Jean-Luc Godard and remains one of his most dynamic films, combining brilliant visual design with a tragic character study. The lovely Anna Karina, Godard’s greatest muse, plays Nana, a young Parisian who aspires to be an actress but instead ends up a prostitute, her downward spiral depicted in a series of discrete tableaux of daydreams and dances. Featuring some of Karina and Godard’s most iconic moments—from her movie theater vigil with The Passion of Joan of Arc to her seductive pool-hall strut—Vivre sa vie is a landmark of the French New Wave that still surprises at every turn.

It was 1962 and Jean-Luc Godard and wife, Anna Karina have worked on two films together “Le petit Soldat” (created in 1960 but released in 1963 due to the film being banned) and the 1961 film “Une femme est une femme” (A Woman is a Woman).  By that time, both Godard and Karina’s marriage life became a public spectacle especially rumors that their marriage was on the rocks.

Despite their rocky personal life, Godard’s goal was to make Karina a serious actress and in 1962, he began working on his screen adaptation of “Vivre sa vie” (My Life to Love) which utilizes the studies of prostitution from “Où en est la prostitution” by Marcel Sacotte.  But Godard would have his most challenging directorial experience at the time when funding for the film was turned down and the budget for the film was 400,000 francs, less that “Breathless” and it would be the first film in which Godard would be co-producer (putting half of his money towards the film) alongside producer Pierre Braunberger.

“Vivre sa vie” would create the film in 13 sequences, Godard called it “tableaux vivants” (live paintings) which was inspired by the 1931 film “The Threepenny Opera” (directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst) and the film was shown at the Venice Film Festival in which the film received boos from the audience (because it was unlike his other films) and even received some critical pans by a few critics  but the film would go on to receive the Critics’ Prize and the Special Jury Prize and those same critics that panned the film earlier, some would go back and watch it again and at this point, many proclaimed the film as Godard’s masterpiece, even receiving praise from director/friend (at the time) Francois Truffaut and would be the first film for Godard to end the year in Cahiers du Cinema best ten list for that year.

“Vivre sa vie” is a film that focuses on Nana Kleinfrankenheim (played by Anna Karina), a young woman who left her child and husband to go off and become an actress.  Unfortunately, life as an actress is not going so well as Nana is low on money, constantly borrowing money, late on her rent and having to request an advance from her job at a record store.

But after being arrested for taking money from a woman who dropped it, the problem Anna faces is a life without a home and no money.  So, she turns to prostitution.  We see how she’s uncomfortable about being a prostitute but she knows she has no other choice.

Wanting to make more money, a pimp named Raoul offers her a way out of her current job and way to become a prostitute but in better areas of the city and have more clientele.  We then see how Nana has changed from an amateur to a professional.  But she does receive a stern warning from her pimp, “do not refuse a customer”.

But what will happen to Nana when she meets a man she cares about and wants a change in her life?

VIDEO:

“Vivre sa vie” is presented in 1:33:1 aspect ratio and in black and white.  For many years, many people had only a VHS  and import DVD to watch “Vivre sa vie”.  And now people have the chance to watch Godard’s tragic masterpiece in HD.  Detail is much more evident in the backgrounds, you can see the surfaces of the signs and the walls, detail on the stains of the walls to the detail in Karina’s clothing.  Blacks are nice and deep, grays and whites and the overall contrast levels look fantastic.  There is a good amount of grain tot he film and for the most part, this is the most detailed version of “Vivre Sa Vie” available on any physical media at this time.

According to the Criterion Collection, the picture has been slightly windowboxed to ensure that the maximum image is visible on all monitors. The new HD digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from teh original 35mm camera negative.  Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI’s DRS system and Pixel Farm’s PFClean system, while Digital Vision’s DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Vivre Sa Vie” is presented in Monaural French with English subtitles.  Audio is presented in LPCM 1.0 and according to the Criterion Collection, the soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the optical prints.  Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD.  Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated audio workstation.

It’s important to note that for this film, Godard went for an experimental use of sound.  That is the soundtrack (dialogue and noise) was recorded directly on a single track.  No sound editing, natural sounds and everything that one would hear in a regular conversation with another person is what you would hear in this film.    The only addition was the music to the live soundtrack during the post-production phase of the film.

Dialogue (as well as crowd ambiance) is clear and understandable and the bass line for the main theme song (especially during the dance sequences) sound very good in HD.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Vivre sa vie – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #512″ comes with the following special features:

• Audio Commentary – The audio commentary is by film scholar Adrian Martin and was recorded in 2001.  What I enjoyed about this commentary is Martin’s knowledge of the film but also his enthusiasm about Godard’s oeuvre and how the scene was shot.  Very detailed and informative audio commentary and definitely worth listening to!
• Jean Narboni on Vivre sa vie – (45:15) A 2004 interview with French scholar Jean Narboni by film historian Noel Simsolo who breaks down various scenes from the film and it’s script.
• Cinepanorama: Anna Karina – (11:05) An interview with Anna Karina from the French TV program “Cinepanorama” from April 1962 before the release of “Vivre sa vie”.
• Faire Face: “La Prostitution” – (21:48) Featuring excerpts from “La Prostitution”, an episode of the French TV series “Faire face” which aired back in Feb. 1961.   Featuring interviews with prostitutes, Max Fernet, Paris’s director of police and Marcel Sacotte, author of “Ou en est: La Prostitution” which was the inspiration of “Vivre sa vie”.
• Ou en est: La Prostitution – Featuring text information on how Godard utilized Sacotte’s studies on prostitution for the film and photos of pages from the Sacotte’s “Ou en est: La Prostitution”.
• Stills Gallery – Using your remote, you can view various stills from the film.
• Godard’s Trailer – (2:22) The theatrical trailer for “Vivre sa vie”.

EXTRAS:

• 42-Page Booklet- Featuring the scenario “Vivre Sa Vie Scenario” by Jean-Luc Godard, the essay “The Lost Girl” by Michael Atkinson and an interview with Godard on “Vivre sa vie” for Sight & Sound Magazine (Winter 1962-1963), an interview with Jean-Luc Godard from Cahiers du Cinema from Dec. 1962, an essay on the film’s soundtrack in “An Audacious Experiment: The Soundtrack of Vivre Sa Vie” by Jean Collet.

For any Godardite, let alone the Anna Karina fans not enjoy “Vivre sa vie”.  I felt that the journey Godard has taken the viewers for the character Nana and her descent into prostitution was well done, there is no sugar coating the whole lifestyle of these women.  As Karina may be a woman who tries to maintain her soul despite being a prostitute, the only ending that I can foresee for this character was a tragic ending.  This was evident to me right when I saw the “Joan of Arc” film and Nana’s face as she tearfully wept as Joan is to be put to death.

No sugar coating, no happy ending, no “Pretty Woman” type of ending, it is what it is.

“Vivre sa vie” was a film that was a unique experience, especially having watched many of Godard’s films and also having read about the personal turmoil that was going on behind-the-scenes with his marriage to his muse Anna Karina.

I look at “Vivre sa vie” as Godard trying to maintain his composure as a director and the audience, trying to make amends with his wife, Francois Truffaut, explain differences between “Vivre sa vie” and why “A Woman is a Woman” did not work but we also saw at the same time, the film alienating some Godardites and even upsetting his former friend/director Jean-Pierre Melville.

But as “Breathless” is seen as the flame that sparked the French New Wave and intellectual films, “Vivre sa vie” influenced cinema with lengthy dialogue which would become used by fellow directors and many young directors who were influenced by the film.  From the opening sequence of Nana and her husband, the camera shot is from behind, Godard wanted no distractions by showing the character’s faces from the front but by the back.  The use of the tableux sequences and as mentioned, the dialogue sequences.  Where Rohmer made things much more intellectual in “My Night at Maud’s”, I can easily see why people criticized “Vivre sa vie” at first because of the dialogue was not as intellectual as they hoped for it to be.

Interesting to note, an interview is included in the book insert of how Godard wanted many people to understand his film (something that he would eventually get away from a few years later) and although Godard does read a passage from Edgar Allen Poe’s book at the end of the film, the book that had any significance was “Ou en est la prostitution” by Marcel Sacotte.  The tricks of the trade in which Nana and her new pimp Raoul begin discussing and a way for Nana to make even more money.

But as the film does feature lengthy dialogue, not all were impressed, including one of Godard’s earliest supporters Jean-Pierre Melville who was very critical towards him.  In fact, it was one of the major reasons that Godard and director Melville ended their friendship as according to Melville’s wife Florence who recalled her husband telling Godard “You are making a lazy man’s cinema, this is no longer deserves the name of cinema, you put down the camera and you have people talk, nothing more.  For me, this isn’t cinema”. (p. 141, “Everything is Cinema”, Richard Brody) and in response Godard said, “There can no longer be a friendship between us, if one doesn’t like one’s friend’s film, no one can longer be his friend.”

But Godard received a good review from another earlier supporter, director Francois Truffaut who wrote “There are films one can admire and yet that do not invite you to follow…why pursue it?  These are not the best films.  The best films open doors, they support our impression that cinema begins and begins again with them.  ‘Vivre sa vie’ is one of those.” (p. 319, “The Films In My Life”, Francois Truffaut)

So, the film received its boos but many people came around to declare the film as a Godard masterpiece.  But one thing I have always wondered was if there was an alternate ending to this classic Godard film.   If Godard had actually thought about another type of ending and the more I researched, I’ve read that Godard and Karina had a lengthy argument on how the film was supposed to end. Karina opposed the ending of the film and according to several books, because of the ending Godard chose, which went against his wife’s wishes, it was the beginning of the breakup of their marriage (and another unfortunate incident involving Karina).

So, I’ve always found “Vivre sa vie” to be a unique Godard experience.  From Coutard’s cinematography, Godard’s use of the tableaux, Antonioni-like sequenes and the recording of the sound and ambiance from the actual filming and as much as I call this a Godard masterpiece, I’ve felt that Anna Karina was absolutely dashing in this film.  A role that gave the actress the depth she needed to showcase her emotional side and also her flirtatious side, needless to say, this is a film where Karina shined.

The Blu-ray release of “Vivre sa vie” is done quite well.  Not only do you get an informative commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin but the interview with film scholar Jean Narboni is also well-done and informative.  The other features are like icing on the cake, especially the hilarious interview with Anna Karina who is surprised by the questions asked by the interviewer and the 42-page booklet is a major plus.

Overall, “Vivre sa vie” is a release that many Godard fans have been waiting for (now all we need is “Week End”) and the fact that The Criterion Collection also chose this film for Blu-ray release is fantastic.  Although “Vivre sa vie” is not my favorite Godard film (which still goes to “Pierrot le fou”), “Vivre sa vie” is still a Godard masterpiece that is worth having in your cinema collection.

Definitely recommended!

Blood: The Last Vampire (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“The live action adaptation of the popular 2000 Japanese animated film gets its HD release.  Featuring Asia’s top dramatic actresses Gianna from Korea and Koyuki from Japan, ‘Blood: The Last Vampire’ is an adaptation that manages to capture the essence of the original anime through it’s violent action-packed battles and through the character of Saya.  But as much as I enjoyed the film especially for Gianna’s dramatic performance in giving the character of Saya some depth, the film’s enjoyability is weakened due to campy CG effects, overacting and a convoluted storyline.”

Images courtesy of © 2009 East Wing Holdings Corp. and SAJ. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Blood: The Last Vampire

DURATION: 89 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:35:1), English DTS-HD MA, Subtitles: English, French, English SDH

COMPANY:  East Wing Holdings Corp and SAJ/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

RATED: R (For Strong Bloody Stylized Violence)

Release Date: October 2o, 2009

Based on the character created by Kenji Kamiyama and Katsuya Terada

Directed by Chris Nahon

Screenplay by Chris Chow

Executive Produced by Luis Zanger

Producer by Bill Kong, Abel Nahmias

Co-Produced by Alice Yeung

Associate Produced by Fernando Altschul, Craig Mitchell, Zhenyan Zhang

Line Producer: Chris Thompson

Action Director: Cory Yuen

Music by Clint Mansell

Cinematography by Poon Hang Sang

Edited by Marco Cave

Costume Design by Constanza Balduzzi, Shandy Lui Fung Shan

Production Designer: Nathan Amondson

Starring:

Gianna (Jun Ji-hyun) as Saya

Allison Miller as Alice McKee

Liam Cunningham as Michael

JJ Field as Luke

Koyuki as Onigen

Yasuaki Kurata as Kato Takatora

Larry Lamb as General Mcke

Andrew Pleavin as Frank Nielsen

Michael Byrne as Elder

Colin Salmon as Powell

Masiela Lusha as Sharon

Ailish O’Connor as Linda

Constantine Gregory as Mr. Henry

From a producer of Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon comes BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE, based on the cult hit anime series. Demons have infested Earth, and only one warrior stands between the dark and the light: Saya, a half-human, half-vampire samurai who preys on those who feast on human blood. Joining forces with the shadowy society known as the Council, Saya is dispatched to an American military base, where an intense series of swordfights leads her to the deadliest vampire of all. And now after 400 years, Saya’s greatest hunt is about to begin.

In 2000, the Japanese animated film “Blood: The Last Vampire” from Production I.G. and Aniplex attracted audiences for its digital animation.  The film won many awards, sold many copies on DVD and even received praise by “Titanic” Academy Award winning director James Cameron for its superb animation.

With a manga sequel, a video game and an anime television series titled “Blood+” having been released, in May 2009 the live-action film made its debut.

The plan for a film began in 2006 with Bill Kong, producer of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” leading the forefront for a live action film to be made.  But in the end, Ronny Yu became the producer, French film production company Pathe would be responsible for the production, popular HK martial arts choreographer Cory Yuen would direct the action sequences and Chris Nahon (“Kiss of the Dragon”, “Empire of the Wolves”) would be directing the film and Chris Chow (“Fearless”, “Missing”) would be responsible for the screenplay.  Joining the crew would be composer Clint Mansell (“The Wrestler”, “Doom” and “Sahara”) and cinematography by Hang-Sang Poo (“Fearless”, “Kung Fu Hustle” and “Dry Wood, Fierce Fire”).

The live-action film “Blood: The Last Vampire” revolves around a 400-year old human/vampire named Saya (played by popular Korean actress Gianna/Jeon Ji-Hyun, “”My Sassy Girl”, “Il Mare”, “Windstruck” and “Daisy”) who is motivated by revenge to find the oldest demon known as Onigen who killed her father.  A secret American agency known as “The Council” led by Michael (played by Liam Cunningham, “The Mummy: Tomb of the Emperor”) who utilizes Saya to seek out the vampires and kill them.  Despite her tactics which some of members of “The Council” question, Saya is the last and only vampire that is willing to fight against vampires.

For Saya, her father was a samurai who fought hard against the vampires but since his death due to Onigen (who is played by Japanese actress Koyuki, “The Last Samurai”, “Kitaro”, “Always Sunset on Third Street”), Saya has been raised and trained by her father’s retainer Kato (played by Yasuaki Kurata, “Shinjiku Incident”, “Legend of the Seven Monks”, “Fist of Hero”, “Conman in Tokyo”).  Kato helps keep Saya focused on her goal of avenging her father but most of all, reminding her that she is human and not a monster.

Meanwhile, “The Council” dispatches Saya to a high school where the General’s daughter Alice Mckee (played by Allison Miller, “17 Again”, “Boston Legal”, “Kings”) attends.  Alice is a loner and because her father is the General, many of the high school students think that she gets preferential treatment and thus she is seen as an outcast.  And is often teased by two bullies: Sharon and Linda played by Masiela Lusha (“The George Lopez Show”) and Ailish O’Connor (“Wasted”) who Saya immediately suspects that they are vampires.

When Saya easily defeats the two vampires and saves Alice (who watches Saya killing them), Alice goes nuts and tells her father of what has happened.  With “The Council” way ahead of the US military and doing a quick cleanup of the area, Alice’s father General McKee (Larry Lamb) starts to suspect something is going on at his base that the government are working on and he will do what he can to undercover what is happening behind-the-scenes.

Needless to say, with the General and his men trying to investigate, it causes problems with “The Council” leading to betrayal and tragedy.   This leads to Alice and Saya teaming up to survive against not only the vampires but also any other challenge that come their way and eventually will lead to Saya’s final battle with Onigen.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Blood: The Last Vampire” is featured in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1 aspect ratio).  The film looks extremely vibrant at times, with film grain intact.  For the most part, there are scenes that look absolutely beautiful (especially scenes that showcase the lush scenery of Japan) and the set design of Saya fighting over this grungy city in Japan looks very cool.  But what hurts the film is its over reliance towards CG.  Each time Saya strikes a vampire, CG blood splatters.  But unlike a film such as “Zatoichi” which did the same thing but made the blood look artistic, the blood on “Blood: The Last Vampire” looks as if its a black, globular mess.  Even the CG monsters look as if they were created in the early 2000′s, not 2009.   Also, because Gianna is not a martial artist (she’s known for her dramatic acting), the battles use a lot of editing to make things look stylish and artistic but somehow, makes the fight scenes seem disjointed at times.

As for the lossless audio, the film’s soundtrack is presented is presented in English DTS-HD MA.  I was actually impressed because the action sequences utilized not just my surrounds but also rear surrounds and although not reference quality, there is good utilization of audio throughout all channels including LFE usage.  With that being said, many may be wondering how is the English between Korean actress Gianna and Japanese actress Koyuki.  Well, first… this Blu-ray does not include the original track with Koyuki speaking English.  Her English was very difficult to understand in the original cut and thus, her voice was dubbed.  Gianna’s English was fine but her conversation in Japanese with Yasuaki Kurata’s character was OK (I know that this will probably not even bother those who are not familiar with the Japanese language).

Sometimes I do feel that when foreign talent are made to speak English, it sometimes forced and doesn’t work out all that well but for “Blood: The Last Vampire”, I felt that Gianna did a pretty good job and definitely great to see her make her major International debut.

As for subtitles, subtitles are presented in English, French and English SDH.

SPECIAL FEATURES

“Blood the Last Vampire” comes with the following special features (all presented in standard definition and in English stereo):

• Storyboard Gallery – Exclusive to this Blu-ray release is a storyboard gallery for the Gym Fight Sequence, Powell Chase Sequence and Monk Fight sequence.   Using your remote, you can cycle through the many storyboard images.
• The Making of Blood: The Last Vampire – (19:06) Interviews with the cast and crew of “Blood the Last Vampire”.  The cast talk about working with each other, working with crew and vice versa.
  
• Battling Demons: Behind the Stunts – (16:48) Interviews with Gianna about the extensive training and wirework that she had to undergo and making the action scenes look real. Interviews with action director Cory Yuen and also Allison Miller.  Definitely an interesting featurette as you saw how difficult the work was and showing Gianna getting injured and also in one instance, actually injuring another person during the fighting sequence.  Definitely an eye-opening featurette in realizing how much she had to go through.