"A Very Long Engagement": Blu-Ray Test "News" DTS-Phile | The acoustics in High Definition movies

"A Very Long Engagement": test Blu-Ray

long-2 S YNOPSIS

1919 ... The war is over and Manech (Gaspard Ulliel), the fiancé of Mathilde (Audrey Tautou), did not return the Somme front. The young man was sentenced to death for mutilation and thrown together with four other detainees on the no man's land separating the French trenches of the enemy's. Despite the evidence, Mathilde believes that Manech survived. Relying on her inner voice, she began to move heaven and earth to find him ...

PRESS KIT

After The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain, Jean-Pierre Jeunet was attacked in 2003 deemed impossible to adapt the tragic and wonderful novel by Sebastien Japrisot A Very Long Engagement. Through the thrilling investigation of Matilda, the Great War looms in all its horror and barbarism, and are based on the stories, alas, largely on real events. Very faithful to the work of Japrisot, Jeunet's epic traces this painful period of history with an impressive attention to detail and his film offers real bravura.

Awarded the Allied, A Very Long Engagement is not the first novel by Sebastien Japrisot to be made into a film. Car Murders signed Costa-Gavras and Deadly Summer by Jean Becker had been brought to the screen successfully. Writer of the Rider on the Rain with Charles Bronson, or of Strange Gardens and Children Marsh, Sebastien Japrisot is also director. First he produced two short films in 1961 (The Obsession and The Machine to talk about love) before staging his first feature film The Evil-parties in July 1975 and September 1988.

Keystone of the film, particular attention has been paid to the music. This is Angelo Badalamenti, the resident composer David Lynch signing the soundtrack of the film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet with whom he previously collaborated on The City of Lost Children in 1994. Emblematic places of the capital have been transformed or recreated for the film needs. The Place de l'Opera, the Palais du Trocadero as it was for the Universal Exhibition, the Halles when they were still the belly of Paris, the Gare du Nord, the Gare d'Orsay when she was still a train station. All its locations have experienced a rebirth thanks to digital processes.

To recreate the Paris of the year 1910-1920, Jean-Pierre Jeunet has used the most advanced digital processes. Many scenes had to be shot in front of blue screens. Jeunet was surrounded by technicians Duboi agency, specialized in special effects, real and surveyors who were on set to simplify the addition of the same image in different planes at the time of post-production t .

CODEC VIDEO: VC-1
1080p
FORMAT: 2.40:1
Warner, France, Availability: December 2009

long-1 The aesthetic biases of Jean-Pierre Jeunet are here faithfully reranscris in this edition Blu-Ray which is conspicuous by its color balance of pastel colors, yellow ocher and most of the film. The green tones of the Great War in the sequences in the trenches accuse perfect clarity and a net enhancement of the degree of definition. Overall, the photography of Bruno Delbonnel is reproduced with care and finesse, as are its cadres in Anamorphic Scope, beautiful. Contrast, another highlight of this edition, appear obvious and cisellés, giving day-cons and the black level depth impeccable. First as backgrounds retain sharpness of the highest order, and digital special effects, fiendishly well integrated in any visual film. The short focal length and close-ups which Jeunet abuse and take all their senses and give to see harmonious compositions and perfectly defined technically. We do deplore that certain deficiencies (that fade quickly, however) in compression at certain plans generated by computers, or in some shots, although in all these (seashores, sublime) proved impeccable quality and dynamic video. Encoding a beautiful, thin, sharp and clear, that betrays nothing artistic choices, color and beauty director. Compared to the DVD edition, already very successful, this edition brings a balance undeniable (do not rely on the very first shots of the film), and gives the definition of all a sense of completion and development particularly sensitive on the wide shots or scenes in a very composed visually. A great success.

son2

DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1: English
16 Bit, 48 Khz
OFFSET: no
Warning: the back cover, as is usually the case at Warner France), logo on Dolby True HD 5.1, while no soundtrack in this format is proposed. Moreover, the details of his tracks mentions "DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 French." It is not the case. Only a DTS-HD Master Audio is present.

long-3 We had discovered the soundtrack of the film in DTS 5.1 mi flow during its DVD release in 2003. For the publisher, Warner, it was one of the few cases where a film produced and distributed by the studio video was encoded in this format. Even then, the soundtrack of the film, very detailed, clear and sweet in her voice reproduction in particular, composed a soundscape of great expressive richness, balanced, powerful and dynamic. Thus, the track DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 HD Edition expands this even more acoustic perception of a soundtrack composed with care, but the extent of which sound does not always releases really, at least not until he have been possible. Far from being a defect, this is a desire to focus on the intimacy of the characters, their voices (superb rendering of the center channel, airy, this, which is subtly enhance the grain of the voice Sheer the narrator, Florence Thomassin, whose sweet tones take us from the first moments), their movements ... In this respect, the soundscape that provides the soundtrack proves simple but expansive and expressive on the front, especially , in key moments. The rear channels broadcast almost continuously sublime haunting music of Angelo Badalamenti, and prolong the sound space so thin and open, away from the artifice, and with an embossed satin Symphony and more melodic.

The co-presence of music and sounds were studied diegetic tactfully when mixing and sound editing. The symbiotic relationship between music, sound and images, cumulative, signatures of Jeunet film, are used again here aec integrity. The sequences of war highlight all channels, but still reads this will temper, of procrastinating, never pay in excess. However, the quality of the frequency response, first class, gives the front an absolute clarity and a delicacy of expression which contribute much to the emotion of the film. The center lane, and almost always a crystalline clarity impressionnate as noted a few lines above, arises spine mixing, and carries the film to a human level by matching its substance and form of life of the spectators : the exceptional quality of voice reproduction in effect negating the differences between the characters' voices and those that viewers are accustomed to hear. Again, a rejection of artifice and highlighting sound of acoustic authenticity is especially noticeable. Some low expressive, even in music, just make one ounce of extra depth while playing a little more on scenic values by hoarding processes expressive film.

Benefits of DTS are both essential (improved quality of openness in Central clearly visible) and aesthetic. The track DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, indeed, fabric and brightens the sound from the bung-nominated for his Caesars in 2005, and offers a delicate acoustic forces reinvestment expressive, readable, especially in the low, the dynamics and in the degree of clarity, transparency and crosstalk (dynamic channel separation). The reports center-backs are simply improved and enhanced, and the entire surface of the acoustic soundtrack is a dynamic expansion and structural literally put more light on the formal establishment and the width of the band-whose evocation sound, composed by Jean Umansky, Gerard and Vincent Hardy is able Arnardi. Multichannel nature and power of recovery and are fully exploited in DTS-HD format that highlights the sheer character and velvety tonal values chosen by the authors. Sound effects and mixing effects are evenly spread despite the relative mildness and refusal of excess. The latest part of the film shines, heat sound ', as if an' acoustic temperature 'had changed, that temperature for DTS-HD Master Audio gives experience in terms of opening e expansion, mainly on the music, until the final moments of the end credits. The spectator, in these conditions, dive below the surface with relish romantic movie and take an active part in its unfolding.

To conclude, it is undeniable that the DTS-HD excels at and return to stage this soundtrack and fine detail, as well as offering an authentic soundscape, albeit tenuous, but warm, open, dynamic, faithful, transparent, plush, soft, sophisticated (explosion of the hospital ...) and steeped in integrity. A sound option that should be compulsory if only to support the music acoustically Badalamenti and strengthen, making it denser and opening it, the delicate formal expressiveness which the soundtrack of the film is able, and scale harmonic emanating from it. Cornerstone of Jeunet's film, the sound is presented here as a vector and diegetic space as master. The work on the soundtrack impresses with maturity and reflects a strong artistic ambiton and controlled from start to finish. Without control, the technique is nothing. The esentiel sounds may well be spread over the front, this challenge shall not affect the expressive qualities of this soundtrack that never takes advantage of its passage as an uncompressed audio codec.