Kevin EK

HTF Blu-Ray Review: Youth Without Youth - Recommended

Blu-ray Disc REVIEW

YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH Studio: Sony (Sony Pictures Classics) Film Year: 2007 Film Length: 2 hours 1 minute Genre: Drama/Romance/Thriller/Philosophical Science Fiction Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 BD Resolution: 1080p BD Video Codec: AVC (@ over 30 mbps on average) Color/B&W: Color Audio: English Dolby True HD 5.1 (@ over 3 mbps on average) French Dolby True HD 5.1 Subtitles: English, English SDH, French Film Rating: R (Sexuality)

Release Date: May 13, 2008 Film Rating: 3 ½/5 Starring: Tim Roth, Alexandra Maria Lara, Bruno Ganz and Andre M. Hennicke Based on the Writing of Mircea Eliade Written, Produced and Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola Youth Without Youth is the return to cinema by Francis Ford Coppola after an absence of several years. But while Matt Damon makes a very brief appearance, this film is in no way similar to the more commercial fare he had been making through the 1990’s. Instead, this film can be seen as a companion piece to The Conversation and Rumble Fish, two smaller, more personal, and more difficult films. It’s not hard to see why Coppola was attracted to this material. The bare bones of the story should make that clear: the story follows a 70 year-old man pining for the lost love and unfinished goals of his life, who is then struck by lightning and somehow restored to vitality to potentially live his life again. There are thriller elements present as the man must elude the Nazis, and then romantic elements as he encounters a new incarnation of the love of his life. Without spoiling any more details, it is clear to me that Coppola saw a bit of himself in his protagonist (which is a usual feature in his films from the Godfather trilogy to Tucker and beyond.) It’s certainly an interesting story, albeit a quiet one. And Coppola, working on a lower budget and shooting in HD, manages to create many interesting and colourful images. And the performances by Tim Roth, Bruno Ganz and Alexandra Maria Lara are appropriately moody and subdued. This is not a simple film by any means, so it is unfortunately no surprise that mainstream audiences and most critics did not know how to respond to it. But hopefully, with a little time, the home video audience may come to appreciate it. I am pleased to recommend this release in the hope that more people may discover this film and this Blu-ray edition for themselves. Youth Without Youth is being released on standard definition DVD and Blu-ray on the same day. The special features are identical between the releases, but the Blu-ray release has a superior 1080p AVC transfer with Dolby True HD sound, and much of the special features on the Blu-ray are presented in 1080i HD. If you have the choice between the two editions, I recommend going with the Blu-ray for the picture and sound. VIDEO QUALITY: 4/5 Youth Without Youth is presented in a colorful 1080p AVC transfer that averages over 30mbps and provides exquisitely deep black levels and surprising bursts of solid color throughout. Amazingly, the aging makeup on Tim Roth holds up under the scrutiny of the HD cameras and the clarity of this transfer. This isn’t quite reference quality, given the limitations of the source material, but it’s head and shoulders above a standard definition transfer and it certainly feels appropriate to be viewing an HD transfer of an HD source. AUDIO QUALITY: 4/5 Youth Without Youth is presented in a 3 mbps (on average) Dolby True HD 5.1 mix in English and French. This can be a lively mix at times, especially during the nightmare that opens the film, and during some of the more adventurous sequences. But this is a quiet film, to be sure, and much of the dialogue and sound lives in the front channels. The True HD mix simply brings a greater clarity to the occasion, which is always welcome. SPECIAL FEATURES: 3 ½/5 ½ The Blu-Ray presentation of Youth Without Youth includes all the special features from the standard definition release, but with the added bonus that most of them are presented in HD. Commentary with Francis Ford Coppola – Francis Ford Coppola has recorded a scene-specific commentary to go with this release. He talks throughout the film about the story and the cast and occasionally about his techniques. Much of the talk simply relates to Coppola’s feelings about the story, which can be helpful in some of the more oblique passages of the film. He is very generous in his praise of the cast and of the original author, Mircea Eliade. But this is not a discussion of the qualities of shooting in HD – the closest Coppola gets to anything like a behind-the-scenes discussion is the revelation that one sequence had to be staged with all the cars parked in the shot, since none of them could actually drive. (Coppola admits that this was the result of the low budget on the film – he literally could not afford a period police car that could drive on camera.) behind the scenes of Youth Without Youth (8:42) (480p, Non-Anamorphic) – This is a brief standard definition look at the making of the film, including interviews with Coppola and the cast. There’s not a lot of depth here – just the usual mutual compliments framed by on-set footage and some clips from the film. (I should note that a more candid documentary is actually available on the Hearts of Darkness DVD…) The Music for Youth Without Youth (26:51) (1080i MPEG 2) – This is a surprisingly in-depth examination of the recording of the score for the film. Interviews with Walter Murch and composer Osvaldo Golijov are intercut with footage from the sessions. There’s some great stuff here, from a candid shot of Coppola’s line producer blowing up in the early, tense moments to a shot of Coppola himself directing an Iranian violinist to match his mood to the video playback. This featurette will be a delight for film score lovers. Youth Without Youth: The Makeup – (18:03) (1080i MPEG 2) – This featurette covers the work of makeup designers Peter King and Jeremy Woodhead, as they age Tim Roth up to age 70 and beyond, and then show the burned and bloody results of a lightning strike. Interviews with King, Woodhead and Roth are combined with onset footage, as well as shots of their work in the makeup trailer, starting at 4AM or so. End Credits (4:04) (1080p MPEG 2) – As Coppola chose to run the credits in the classic Hollywood style of listing the department heads at the beginning of the film and then ending the film with a simple “THE END”, this feature allows the viewer to see a proper End Title crawl in 1080p, with a closing movement of Golijov’s mournful score. Previews – A series of trailers are presented in HD and can be accessed via this menu. They are, in order, a Sony Blu-ray trailer, and then trailers for Persepolis, Steep, The Lives of Others, Black Book, The Jane Austen Book Club and Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. All of the trailers are presented in 1080p MPEG 2, except for The Lives of Others, which is presented in 1080i MPEG 2. The Sony trailer is also triggered when you first activate the disc. The usual pop-up menu bar is present and can be accessed during the film. The movie itself starts automatically when you put the disc into the player. There is a thorough chapter list. The film itself is subtitled in English and French, but no subtitles are available for the special features. IN THE END... Youth Without Youth is an interesting and challenging addition to Francis Ford Coppola’s collected works of film. It is definitely not a commercial film; instead, it’s more of a personal one that can stand alongside his quirkier efforts like Rumble Fish. This is not for the casual viewer, but it will reward those with a lot of patience and a deep love for the craft of fine filmmaking. And for those who want to see it in the best possible visual and aural manner, the Blu-ray disc is a great choice. Kevin Koster May 7, 2007.

Paul Arnette

Re: HTF Blu-Ray Review: Youth Without Youth - Recommended

Kevin,

Thanks for the review. I have this in my Netflix queue, as I have been meaning to check it out. Your review only serves to pique my interest further.

TonyD

Re: HTF Blu-Ray Review: Youth Without Youth - Recommended

i have the sd dvd but decided to wait for netflix to send out the br.
i want to take advantage of the true hd track and of course the hd picture.

Movies watched 2008 Watching a Mits 73831 DLP Arnold is here

JakeLip

Re: HTF Blu-Ray Review: Youth Without Youth - Recommended

As I said in my thread about this movie in the SD area, I really love it. I saw it in the theater a couple months back. It is deeply philosophical and requires a lot of intense thought on the part of the viewer (and I still do not understand it completely), which I think is at least part of why it hasn't been too warmly received. But it's a great piece that will reward those who are willing to commit to it. I'm looking forward to getting to analyze it further upon repeat viewings with the Blu-ray. It's one of the most beautifully shot movies I've ever seen too, and especially since Coopola shot it hi-def, I can't wait to see what it looks like on Blu for myself. Thanks for the review -- it is disappointing that the one featurette is nonanamorphic, but there seems to be some meat to these bonus features which is more than I was expecting. The music one in particular should be interesting.

\"Lot 666 then: a chandelier in pieces. Some of you may recall the strange affair of The Phantom of the Opera, a mystery never fully explained. We are told, ladies and gentelmen, that this is the very chandelier which figures in the famous disaster. Our workshops have repaired it and fitted up parts of it with wiring for the new electric light, so that we may get a hint of what it may look like when reassembled. Perhaps we may frighten away the ghost of so many years ago with a little illumination, gentelmen?\"

-- Andrew Lloyd Webber\'s \"The Phantom of the Opera\"