4K Ultra HD – Edition FR – Universal Pictures – 130 min – 10 December 2022
Video format
• Intermediate Master: 4K
• Standard HDR: HDR10
• Ratio 2.20 and 1.78 IMAX
Soundtrack
• English Dolby Atmos
• English Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Subtitles
• English
• French
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 – The Mystery of the West
On a remote farm in California, Otis « O.J. » Haywood and his sister work together in their stables for a respected director. But, after the sudden and strange death of their father, killed by an object having fallen from heaven, the duo is helped by Angel, employed in a surveillance camera company, where they will discover the presence of a mysterious force present in the sky.
Behind his blockbuster looks hides a social SF thriller not like the others who unravels the western, criticizes animal exploitation and denounces the audiovisual entertainment (seen as a carnassier monster devouring everything that comes within his reach).
Highly Hitchcockian and playing just as much of our fears as of our nostalgias in the way of Spielberg, this entertainment marked by metaphor « digest » his vintage references at the same time as he sharpens his modernity. His staging is cut by rope, his characters affected by traumatic injuries attaching to him, his intelligently singular scenario and his memorable attack scenes (the electrifying final ride).
Flippy and mysterious, this first contact « original » is an amazing OFNI (unidentified film object) with exciting cinemaphile reflections!
IMAGE – Under the stars of Hollywood
From a filming mainly silver (35 mm and IMAX 65 mm) to a few night shots, these images with the beautiful cinematic texture, finalized in 4K, arrive in a UHD HDR10 transfer generally solid despite a compression sometimes visible (from the color banding here) that a Dolby Vision encoding would certainly have « prepared ».
The extreme precision of the frame increases in acuity and clarity (the surgical sharpness during close-up, the exterior panoramics), the warmly calibrated colorimetric palette deepens its primary (the vivacity of the red blood on the shooting of the sitcom in 1998, the brightness of the blue sky) and shades its other shades (the earthy orange of the wild west), the strengthening of the contrast rate (more sustained blacks and brighter whites) gives visibility to the darkness without « Eat » details in passing, and light sources (artificial lighting, solar radiation) display more intensely without any excess (more designed cotton clouds).
SON – Must be a miracle...
A sound design particularly studied with the epic dimension that this Dolby Atmos soundtrack restores with the utmost care.
The dialogues are clear, the dynamics excel, the acoustic space is fully exploited with surprising surround effects (air breakthroughs such as wind, off-the-shelf events) and a scene of overwhelming height (a rain of debris, the aerial presence of strangers, calls coming from the sky and voluntarily passing) and the music, whether or not it is (a signed horror score) Michael Abels) intra-diegetic, is diffused with rare magnitude; the whole being reinforced by the one-time but very spectacular contribution of the LFE channel.
With quality dubbing, the VF presented in Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 really doesn't demerit despite slightly less spatialization... Height channels do a lot in apprehending the threat. Nevertheless, activation of a virtualization DSP is to be seriously considered for VO refractories.
CONCLUSION – Head in the clouds
In this non-franchized alien entertainment reminiscing the carnival attraction that cinema was at its origin, the supernatural phenomena that occur will bring you more on 4K Ultra HD support thanks to heavenly A/V performances!
Artistic note
8.5
Video quality
8.5
Audio quality
10
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