The Messenger-The Story of Joan of Arc-anyone have this dvd? (1 Viewer)

[Matthew Anderson]

I was interested how the picture and sound are for this dvd. I like Luc Besson's Fifth Element and I know this is done by the same composer-Eric Serra. Any thoughts? Also, anyone listen to it in Surround EX? Thanks.

 

[Tino]

The transfer and the sound are great on this DVD. The image is crystal clear and the DD5.1 is outstanding.
The film however, IMO, is one of the absolute worst films I have ever had the displeasure of squirming through. By far Luc Bessons worst film and horrible in every way. Completely devoid of any redeeming qualities.
Sorry but I really HATE this "film".

 

[Jay W]

I hate how disc discussions always vear off on a tangent, with people commenting on how they hated or liked the actual film (I forsee more of the same for this particular title too ).
In any case to answer your question, the transfer is reference quality. In particular the clarity is amongst the best I've had the pleasure of seeing in my HT, very detailed, the colors are pretty accurate (don't expect them to be eye-popping like the 5th element though) and the EE is of little or no consequence.
The audio is equally impressive, lots of surround action and plenty of bass to work our your subwoofer. Highly directional during the battle scenes and overall an exceptional audio track.
PS: The disc also has an isolated score on there too (something studios should do more of!).

 

[John_McKittrick]

I have this one. Not a bad film but not the best. Transfer and sound are excellent. You could do alot worse. Highlander anyone?

John

 

[Nick Graham]

The transfer blew me away when this disc first came out...the detail is astounding...you can probably count the freckles on the face of the girl playing young Joan. I for one, liked the movie a lot.

 

[Jeff_P]

I agree that the picture and sound are great also. I bought this movie just because I like Luc Besson's movies and I was not disappointed at all.

 

[PS Nystrom]

Video quality is without a doubt, close to the best I've ever seen. Some of the scenes feel so 3 dimensional. Audio is great as well. If you're a fan of the film, there is no technical reason not to own it on DVD,

Pieter

 

[Henry W]

I've watched this film several times and will watch it several more. It is certainly top drawer.

Best regards-Henry

 

[PhilipG]

Excellent transfer, fantastic trailer, awful film!

 

[Philip Hamm]

I hate how disc discussions always vear off on a tangent, with people commenting on how they hated or liked the actual film

Well, it's more likely with such a polarizing film like this one. If a thread asked for the quality of "Battlefield Earth" I'm sure the reactions would be the same.

From what I've read the film is about 90% fabrication, that Besson and the writers did little to no research on the real Joan of Arc, completely ignored the writings and history, and went off and did the film anyway.

The man behind the film Gettysburg is currently tackling the same subject, however doing a great deal of research to make the film historically accurate.

I don't know how the transfer is on this film and I don't care to find out.

 

[Matthew Anderson]

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts on this film. I appreciate it.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

I completely agree that this disc is reference quality regarding the video!

I also agree that the movie sucked, and I am a very big fan of Luc Besson!

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

Ignorant of cinema or literary tradition, bereft of the insights of generations of historians, vacant of the least comprehension of faith and not the least bit curious about what might actually have motivated Joan, the film derives its conceptual take from nothing more than its own claustrophobic surroundings and attitudes. But even in its choice to pose as modern, it fails to connect Joan with anything in the present to which she might legitimately be connected, for example Mother Teresa's work with the poor, Dorothy Day's political activism, Anne Frank's compassion or Rosa Park's stoic courage. Or, perhaps to the slick denizens of the super cynical these women were phonies as well.

 

[Ron Ryder]

I have this disc. Its a great reference disc. Perfect picture and sound. Great film to IMHO.

 

[Sean Patrick]

am i the only one who thinks the video quality of this disc isn't all that great? it's by no means bad, but i thought it was a bit soft and had sort of a PAL video look to it....just to be sure i stuck in a few other discs i'd bought this week (The Goonies, Cape Fear) and those had the 3-d, almost perfect look to them that everyone says MESSENGER has (i was watching on a 38" 16:9 via progressive mode). Since it's a slightly older disc, i guess i shouldn't be comparing it to some of the more recent tranfers (which, now that i can see them on a larger display, are getting better by leaps and bounds it seems!). Oh well...the dolby digital sound was certainly reference.

anyway, i thought the film was ok (not judging it by its historical accuracy).

 

[Sam_K]

The transfer is excellent. Sound is excellent too. The film is also very good. It is historical accurate down to the details of costume, hair style, weapons used, etc. The director did a lot of research on the history by going thru the French archives. Much much better than the other US version of Joan of Arc film starring Sobieski.

Highly recommended.

 

[brian a]

A very interesting review. I admire the work that appears to be going into the new film, and very much look forward to it. I have to say that I'm not really surprised that a person writing/directing his own version of the Joan of Arc tale didn't like the ones before it.
I think he makes very valid points if you are trying to create a film that is as historically accurate as possible. I don't think everyone is trying to do that. Perhaps he thinks that that should be the goal of film making, and he is entitled to that opinion, but others are free to disagree. I enjoyed the messenger as I though it added a very interesting twist in that it allowed you to think about the possibility that Joan was not a messenger of God. I truly believe that that conclusion was left to the viewer, and I respect that. I didn't consider the film to be historically accurate, but rather about these ideas.
I'm sure there are many that would rather the story be told directly from the records with no undocumented assumptions made and with the core assumption that Joan was a messenger of God. It looks like those folks will get their version of the film soon. I'm sure that I will enjoy it as well.

 

[Justin Doring]

The DVD's picture and sound quality are both reference caliber.

As for the movie itself, while it's severely flawed, it's not as bad as some say.