The Russian Revolution in Colour (2004)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2004
Running Time	94
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Shock Entertainment	Starring	None Given
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	$24.95	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Linear PCM 96/24 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	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     This 2 DVD set chronicles the events in Russia from early 1917 through the Russian Civil War and the commencement of full communist rule. It uses mostly reconstruction combined with some colourised archival footage from the time to throw light onto the events in question. There are also some small interview segments with various historians and academics. The focus is on the role of the Kronstadt Naval base and their support for the Bolsheviks. This two episode documentary was made for Channel 5 in the UK,

     On the positive side, these two episodes do give a good high level run down of the events which took place and provide some interesting footage from the time. It would be a useful introduction for someone with little or no knowledge of the sequence of events. However, for any serious student of these events there is little insight or analysis here and events are glossed over or in some cases not mentioned at all. The process which got Russia to a communist state was a complex one and started long before this documentary kicks off. Additionally, this presentation in total only runs for 90 minutes or so, which means that spreading it across two discs is unnecessary. There seems to be no reason for this. There are no extras to take up space so the need for 2 discs is unexplainable from my perspective.

     Worthwhile for students starting their look at the Russian Revolution but probably too light for anyone with a keen interest in the period.

Video

     The video quality does its job.

     The episodes are presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture was nicely clear and sharp throughout although the archival footage was expectedly of lesser quality.

     The colour is fine.

    There was a little grain at times.

     There are no subtitles.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The audio quality is fine.

    The discs contain an English soundtrack in PCM 2.0.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand throughout.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

    The menu featured music and allowed for playing the episode only.

    This specific release in not available in Region 1 and is available in Region 2 in the same format.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall