4K Ultra HD – UK Edition – Arrow Films – 129 min – 25 April 2022
Video format
• Intermediate Master: 4K
• Standard HDR: Dolby Vision
• Ratio: 1.85
Soundtrack
• English DTS-HD MA 5.1
• English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles
• English
It is brought to the attention of our dear readers as well as the viewing equipment specified and used by each tester of the MaG team, the rendering may differ from one installation to another, whether or not it is calibrated, as well as personal preferences and expectations may influence the rating. Moreover, the images in the article are not representative of the edition tested.
WORK – Escape from time
We're in 2035. The few thousand inhabitants who remain on our planet are forced to live underground. The world's surface became uninhabitable as a result of a virus that decimated 99% of the population. Survivors put all their hopes on a journey through time to discover the causes of the disaster and prevent it. James Cole, who has been haunted for years by an incomprehensible image, is designated for this mission.
At the edge of dream and reality, this dystopia terribly topical inspired by experimental short film The Jetty (directed by Chris Marker in 1962) is a great madness with a brilliant script (a review of the Cassandre syndrome), the virtuoso staging (hallucinated for the spectators, oppressing for his hero) and the performances of surreal actors (one of the best performances of Bruce Willis), where the consumerist world runs to its loss. And sowing doubt even though the madman is not the one he believes, this disturbing SF thriller that pays a beautiful tribute to Alfred Hitchcock ends where it starts. Is the leak impossible? Is the future inevitable? Anyway, this is the story of a man marked by a childhood image!
IMAGE – Greenpeace
From a 4K scan of the original negative, this new restoration carried out under the approval of Terry Gilliam presents itself to us in a robust UHD Dolby Vision transfer where the visual bulimia of its director expresses unreservedly.
The source has been perfectly cleaned, the silver grain (a 35 mm capture) displays its structure more or less heavy without false appearance (the future is peaty), and the details benefit from a substantial increase in finesse and sharpness (the texture of the skin, the weaving of clothing, the wear of the environments) even when the focus is softer (many lenses have been used during shooting).
The colorimetric palette with deliberately sieved hues regenerates the carnation (more natural now) and revives the primaries (the blue-greens of the year 2035, the red logo of the Army of 12 monkeys) without any dismeasurement, the contrasts add depth to the weakly lit or squarely dark places (the blacks are more assertive) and freshness where the light unfolds (the whites have been enhanced), and the light sources show a clearly increased intensity (the lighting of the asylum, the solar radiation) without ever being denatured (the look of the light is still alive).
SON – No truths or lies, just opinions
Similar to that of the previous Blu-ray released in 2009 by us (at UGC PH), the soundtrack DTS-HD MA 5.1 benefits from a good placement of effects, a consistent musical opening, specific surround channels (steam in underground tunnels, crowds and traffic in the streets of Baltimore, Cole's inner voice, the case with animal sounds) and appropriate support of the LFE channel (the passage during the Great War) even though it is only too rarely requested.
The dynamics, however, are really intimidating and some dialogues, by a curious choice of mixing, are swallowed up by ambient noises.
CONCLUSION – Is it madness?
Between the memories of the future and the hopes that the past has nurtured, this great work of anticipation where landmarks are lost brave the dread of time in 4K Ultra HD!
Artistic note
9
Video quality
9
Audio quality
8
0
[...] lost), the poetic realism of Marcel Carné and the DIY imagination of Terry Gilliam (The Army of 12 Monkeys) are found in a decitated building populated by troubling actors (including Dominique [...]