Source France | Publisher : Paramount Pictures | Release date : 13 March 2019
Video format
2160p24 – Ratio 2.39
Dolby Vision / BT.2020 – HEVC encoding
Master intermediate 4K
Soundtrack
English Dolby Atmos
English (Quebec) Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English
French
Rated 4 out of 5
Artistic : 7 | Video : 9 | Audio : 9
It is brought to the attention of our dear readers that, in addition to the specified and used viewing equipment, the rendering may differ from one installation to another, whether or not it is calibrated, as well as personal preferences and expectations may influence notation. Moreover, the images in the article are not representative of the edition tested.
Test equipment and condition (Config. HP: 5.1.4)
Video broadcaster : Sony Bravia XR-65A80J (Dolby Vision Luminous)
Sources : Oppo UDP-203 Audiocom Reference | Zappiti Reference
Pregnant : Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar (Dolby Atmos | Dolby Surround), SVS SB-4000
WORK - Being and Nothing
Lena, a biologist and former military member, is on a mission to understand what happened to her husband in an area where a mysterious and sinister phenomenon spreads along the American coast. Once there, members of the expedition discover that landscapes and creatures have undergone mutations, and despite the beauty of the place, the danger reigns and threatens their lives, but also their mental integrity...
Halfway between horror and the eco-philosophical fable (the reflections on self-destruction and humanity), this feminist SF thriller is a separate work that questions our future and our suffering (whether intimate or universal). And despite some shortcomings (the team led by Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh is interesting but underdeveloped, the lack of emotion is obvious and the Zone X, however strange, too little explored), the second realization ofAlex Garland (after Ex Machina and before Men), free adaptation of the eponymous novel of Jeff VanderMeer, remains a visually singular mutant film and scriptually bold where it embarks on a journey as disturbing as it is fascinating.
IMAGE - Green hell
With increased clarity, more refined details (military equipment, weaving of clothes, rough bark of trees, pores of the skin), a more stable colorimetric palette at the exalted primaries, more sought-after contrasts (a more austere atmosphere without the brightness being altered) where the whites have been recalculated (the duvetous clouds in the sky gain in shine) and the reinforced blacks, and piercing lights (fire, sunlight, lamps, the strange glow of the lighthouse), this UHD Dolby Vision transfer carries higher (and without the embarrassing veil present on the Blu-ray) the monstrous beauty of the ionic and sparkling photograph signed by the talented chief operator Rob Hardy.
SOUND - The Insoluble Mystery
Beautiful presence of music in space, intense dynamic during the action scenes (animal attacks), effective placement of the least small noise (quiet creations and other fantastic sounds animate the places at 360°), power of the LFE channel (the buzz produced by the « Sparkling », the shots) and subtlety of the aerial scene (helicopters and many atmospheres), are the elements that animate the VO Dolby Atmos.
Much less alive (the fauna and flora have deserted somewhat the place) and ample (the energy of its consœur seems to be lost en route), the VFQ remains no less immersive at its level.
CONCLUSION - Beyond the Real
Who are we, where are we and where are we going? It is only by crossing the horrific « Shimmer », a mirror of human psychology with an appetite for destruction, that part of the answers will be revealed to you... A hypnotizing science fiction drama that the present 4K Ultra HD (identical to the US edition) magnifies, even if for VF fans, only the HD disc embarks the Parisian dubbing.
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