Zen (2011)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-Making Of
Rating
Year Of Production	2011
Running Time	270:00 (Case: 298)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	John Alexander Jon Jones Christopher Menaul
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Rufus Sewell Ben Miles Caterina Morino
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	?	Music	Adrian Johnston

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     At my house, we tend to enjoy the full range of British mystery/thriller television from the old fashioned like Miss Marple or Poirot through the light and fun like New Tricks to the gritty like Cracker or The Hour. Accordingly, any new British made television mystery/thriller series is likely to strike our interest, resulting in Zen catching our attention when it was shown on the ABC recently. We only managed to catch one of the three movie length episodes. Now having watched all three episodes I can certainly recommend it for fans of the genre.

     Whilst it originates from the BBC in Britain, Zen is technically a British/Italian co-production and was shot on location in Rome featuring a mixed cast of British and Italian actors. It is based on a series of novels by British author Michael Dibdin, which feature the detective, Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell). This series brings to life three of the novels from the series, over three movie length episodes, Vendetta, Cabal and Ratking. Zen is seemingly a rare thing in modern day Italy, a detective with a reputation for integrity. He works for the murder squad of Rome's police force and is often called upon to conduct sensitive investigations by the minister of police through his right hand man, Amedeo Collonna (Ben Miles). Due to a failed marriage, with the divorce pending, he is living with his mother. He doesn't trust most of his co-workers because they all seem to be tainted with forms of corruption. Across the three episodes he investigates a murder in a remote village which might have mafia links, the apparent suicide of a man from an important family and the kidnapping of an industrialist. He also starts a romantic relationship with his boss’s secretary Tania (Caterina Morino).

     This show is has intriguing stories, personal dramas, some romance and a lightness of touch which adds some comedic elements. The characterisation of Zen by Rufus Sewell is excellent and he plays the role well. The rest of the cast also do well. This is not an action oriented thriller series, relying on the interesting storylines and your interest in the characters to succeed. It can be a little slow at times, but the stories keep you interested. Interestingly, the producers chose to get the actors to use their natural English accents rather than Italian accents even though they are all playing Italian characters.

     Recommended for those who like mystery/police series, especially with some Latin flair.

Video

     The video quality is very good. The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture was clear and sharp throughout. Shadow detail was quite good.

     The colour is very good highlighting the beauty of Rome.

     There was a bit of edge enhancement, but nothing spectacular.

     There are subtitles in English for the Hearing Impaired which were clear and easy to read.

    There is no obvious layer change during the episodes.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is good. These discs contain an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. The sound is obviously quite front focused.

     Dialogue was generally easy to understand throughout although the subtitles were useful.

     The music sounds good but does not stand out.

     The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     One extra.

Menu

     The menu featured music and motion.

Zen : An Italian Adventure (31:27)

     A comprehensive making of featurette which includes cast & crew interviews and covers the novels, the adaption, why the English accents were used, challenges of filming in Rome, light, casting and costumes. Well worth a look.

    This show is available in the UK in the same format.

     Another quality mystery/thriller series from the BBC, this time set in Rome.

     The video quality is very good. The audio quality is good.

     One good extra.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall