Dick
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- May 22, 1999
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- Real Name
- Rick
This review is made possible with the help of www.DaaVeeDee.com
Notes on my reviews: I do not offer plot summaries in most cases, as these can be found on a million other sites, but rather focus instead on what people want to know: the image and sound presentation, default playback settings, subtitles, audio choices, etc. My equipment: Panasonic TC-P55UT50 Plasma monitor (3-D capable); Panasonic DMP-BDT220 3-D Blu-ray player; LG BD-360 all-region Blu-ray player; Denon AVE-E200 5.1 Surround receiver. All aspect ratios are physically measured on the Panasonic screen, which has been set to eliminate overscan.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
STUDIO: Studio Canal / Mirimax
REGION: B, Locked
ASPECT RATIO: 2.35:1
C/BW: Color
SOUND: 5.1
BONUS MATERIAL: Anatomy of a Scene, director commentary, featurette, interviews, B-rolls.
The months leading up to the War In Vietnam are the setting for this story about a love triangle and ultimate murder. Director Philip Noyce (RABBIT-PROOF FENCE, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER, DEAD CALM) captured the nuances of a quickly-destabilizing Saigon, where veteran journalist (Michael Caine), has long enjoyed a lackadaisical existence with a very young indigenous woman who has served as his concubine. This lifestyle is suddenly threated by the unwelcome presence of an American, Brendan Fraser, who falls in love with the woman.
This is a slow and talky drama, but I have always found it to be thick with atmosphere, which is not terribly well-reflected by this Blu-ray release. There is a significant level of grain that mostly looks unnatural (and distracting) to me. The color tends heavily toward yellow, so flesh tones are rarely natural in appearance. For varying periods of time there are odd horizontal bars visible, which resemble what you would see if watching the film through Venetian blinds. This is all unfortunate, as the film deserves better.
What is good, though, is the 5.1 soundtrack, which is available only in English, with optional English subtitles. Nice surround separations and .1 bass effects. The supplements are extensive (see above) making this effectively a special edition.
I don't know that I would recommend this Blu-ray on technical grounds, as it falters in numerous ways. But so far, it is the only way to own a sharp, high definition copy of a film I consider to be way underrated.
This review was made possible with the help of www.DaaVeeDee.com
Notes on my reviews: I do not offer plot summaries in most cases, as these can be found on a million other sites, but rather focus instead on what people want to know: the image and sound presentation, default playback settings, subtitles, audio choices, etc. My equipment: Panasonic TC-P55UT50 Plasma monitor (3-D capable); Panasonic DMP-BDT220 3-D Blu-ray player; LG BD-360 all-region Blu-ray player; Denon AVE-E200 5.1 Surround receiver. All aspect ratios are physically measured on the Panasonic screen, which has been set to eliminate overscan.
THE QUIET AMERICAN
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
STUDIO: Studio Canal / Mirimax
REGION: B, Locked
ASPECT RATIO: 2.35:1
C/BW: Color
SOUND: 5.1
BONUS MATERIAL: Anatomy of a Scene, director commentary, featurette, interviews, B-rolls.
The months leading up to the War In Vietnam are the setting for this story about a love triangle and ultimate murder. Director Philip Noyce (RABBIT-PROOF FENCE, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER, DEAD CALM) captured the nuances of a quickly-destabilizing Saigon, where veteran journalist (Michael Caine), has long enjoyed a lackadaisical existence with a very young indigenous woman who has served as his concubine. This lifestyle is suddenly threated by the unwelcome presence of an American, Brendan Fraser, who falls in love with the woman.
This is a slow and talky drama, but I have always found it to be thick with atmosphere, which is not terribly well-reflected by this Blu-ray release. There is a significant level of grain that mostly looks unnatural (and distracting) to me. The color tends heavily toward yellow, so flesh tones are rarely natural in appearance. For varying periods of time there are odd horizontal bars visible, which resemble what you would see if watching the film through Venetian blinds. This is all unfortunate, as the film deserves better.
What is good, though, is the 5.1 soundtrack, which is available only in English, with optional English subtitles. Nice surround separations and .1 bass effects. The supplements are extensive (see above) making this effectively a special edition.
I don't know that I would recommend this Blu-ray on technical grounds, as it falters in numerous ways. But so far, it is the only way to own a sharp, high definition copy of a film I consider to be way underrated.
This review was made possible with the help of www.DaaVeeDee.com
