Title: Defiance
BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc
Video: 1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Audio: 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
Aspect Ratio: 1:85:1
Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish
Run time: 137 minutes
Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
Rating: R
My take: (the breakdown)
Defiance is one of those films where you appreciate the historical accuracy of the production itself once you have watched it. The story centers around a family of brothers (the Bielski family) and their attempt to keep hundreds of Jews safe from the German SS during 1941. The story is set in Belorussia and everything is right on the money considering historical accuracy. The weapons are correct: everything from the Walther P38, MP40, the K98 Mauser, and the Mosin Nagant. There are also four languages spoken during this movie in different places: Russian, Polish, English, and German, but of course the English is just for us American movie goers. Anyway, it is an excellent movie and I highly recommend this for at least a rental and even a purchase.
The video quality is top notch. Most of the movie takes place in the Fall and Winter of 1941 in a forest so you can imagine that the color palette is rather drab. However, the whites of snow, rosiness of flesh, and gray of coats are extremely clear and detailed. There are a few night scenes and they are really sharp looking, containing very little grain and no noise that I noticed. There is also absolutely no edge enhancement, macro blocking, or artifacts of any kind. This is definitely an excellent high def transfer from Paramount.
The audio quality does not disappoint either on this TrueHD track. Dialogue is clear and understandable and whispers are quite clear in the mix. There are few actions scenes that really light up the surrounds and your sub. However, please keep in mind that 80% of this movie is dialogue driven because it is mainly a drama.
I didn't get a chance to dive into the supplemental package, but it contains your standard making of features and commentaries.
Movie: 8/10
VQ: 9.5/10
AQ: 9.5/10
Supplements: 5/10
Final word: Worth buying
As always thanks for reading folks.