Black Sea (Blu-ray) (2014)

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General		Extras
Category	Action Adventure	Audio Commentary-Director Kevin Macdonald Featurette-Behind The Scenes-A Dive into the Black Sea (5:15)
Rating
Year Of Production	2014
Running Time	114:42
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Kevin Macdonald
Studio Distributor	Entertainment One	Starring	Jude Law Scoot McNairy Ben Mendelsohn Michael Smiley Bobby Schofield Sergey Veksler Gigory Dobrygin
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Ilan Eshkeri

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English Danish Finnish Swedish Norwegian	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Ocean salvage expert and submariner Robinson (Jude Law) is laid off by the salvage company he works for but he is soon approached for a special job. In 1941 a German U-Boat carrying millions in gold was sunk in the Black Sea. Now its resting place has been identified off Georgia but as the area is contested by Russia and Georgia any salvage will need to be done on the sly. An investor is prepared to put up the money to salvage the gold by buying a mothballed Russian submarine in Sevastopol and hiring Robinson to organise a crew. Divorced, broke and jobless, Robinson agrees and puts together a mixed British and Russian crew of twelve men, mostly ex-submariners, including Reynolds (Michael Smiley), psychopathic but experienced diver Fraser (Ben Mendelsohn), young man Tobin (Bobby Schofield), sonar expert Baba (Sergey Veksler) and navigator Morozov (Gigory Dobrygin). At the last moment the investor insists that his advisor Daniels (Scoot McNairy) goes as well.

     In Sevastopol the group successfully get the old Russian submarine going and evade the Russian surface patrols, locating the U-Boat on the bottom of the Black Sea at 90 metres. But defects in the obsolete submarine, greed, obsession and tensions between the British and Russians that spills over into violence threatens the mission and everyone’s lives. When Robinson also learns that he has been set up by his employers the mission becomes less about the gold and more about survival. Is there any way out?

     Black Sea is directed by Kevin Macdonald who is better known as a documentary filmmaker. He won an Oscar for One Day in September (1999) and also directed the excellent Touching the Void (2003) although he does have the impressive true story The Last King of Scotland (2006), in which Forest Whitaker won an Oscar playing Idi Amin, on his CV. It is therefore little surprise that Black Sea, filmed partly inside a genuine obsolete Russian submarine, has an almost documentary feel.

     Submarine pictures as a genre are usually fun with the opportunity they afford to create tension and claustrophobia, and Black Sea does not disappoint with dripping water, sonar pings, rumbling engines in confined spaces and the sound of propellers on the surface above. The multinational cast also helps the film feel authentic, with Russians speaking Russian, only some of which was automatically subtitled, and a grizzled Jude Law and Scoot McNairy the only really familiar faces. With so many characters it is not surprising that some are not well developed although most of the cast do a good job with perhaps only Ben Mendelsohn’s psychopath character feeling unauthentic. His character’s role is seemingly to jolt the plot forwards on a number of occasions which was a bit unnecessary as there was certainly enough tension and plot going on without it.

     Black Sea is a submarine film, and a decent one, with the expected perils of defective equipment, interior explosions, water rushing into compartments and sonar pings. But it is also a heist film with tensions between members of the team, hidden agendas, greed, betrayals and obsession. It is very much to its credit that Black Sea manages to blend the two genres well while finishing with an ending that will stay in the mind.

Video

     Black Sea is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, close enough to the original 2.35:1 ratio, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     Filmed primarily with Arri Alexa digital cameras, Black Sea looks good. Detail, including the submarine interior and the grime and whiskers on the men, is firm and clear. The colours are digital glossy, even where greys dominate the colour palate, while the yellow / reds of explosions and the reds of the emergency lighting are deep and rich. Blacks are solid and shadow detail excellent, whether in a darkened boat or with the divers on the sea bed. Skin tones are good, brightness and contrast is consistent.

     I did not notice any artefacts or marks.

     English, Danish, Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian subtitles are offered. English subtitles automatically translated some, but not all, of the Russian dialogue.

Video Ratings Summary

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Audio

     Feature audio is English DTS-HD MA 5.1. There is also an English descriptive audio using a male voice and an English audio commentary (both Dolby Digital 2.0)

     Submarine films are made for lossless audio and Black Sea does not disappoint. The audio is enveloping with the creaks and rattles of metal plates, music, the crank of engines, the bouncing of the sonar pings, the rush of water, while the explosions reverberate around the room. Dialogue is clear, centred and easy to understand. The sub-woofer added appropriate bass to the rumble of the submarine engines, explosions and the rush of water.

     The score by Ilan Eshkeri, epic and wistful in places, was effective.

     There are no lip synchronisation issues.

Audio Ratings Summary

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A Dive into the Black Sea (5:15)

     A short fluff piece covering what the film is about, the cast, the characters and the director with film clips and sound bites from four cast members, the director, screenwriter, producer and the production designer, all in five minutes. And yet, due to footage of the filming on board a real, but old, Russian submarine, this is interesting almost in spite of itself!

Audio Commentary

     Director Kevin Macdonald talks about the genesis of the project, the influences of other films, casting, Law’s Aberdeen accent, shooting on a real Russian submarine, working with Russian actors, the music, locations, set and CGI shots. This is not a technical commentary as he concentrates more on plot and character points but this is still a good listen.

     Our Region B version of Black Sea is identical to the Region A US release except for some subtitle options.

     I enjoy submarine films and heist films and Black Sea manages to blend the two pretty well. The action is well done, the setting feels authentic and while some characters are not developed, Jude Law gives an excellent performance as a man let down by the world who is trying to make something of his life.

     The video is good, the audio very good; extras are OK and are the same as available elsewhere.

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Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall