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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
The Experiment (Experiment, Das) (2001)

The Experiment (Experiment, Das) (2001)

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Released 14-Jan-2004

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Drama Main Menu Audio & Animation
Interviews-Cast & Crew
Featurette-Behind The Scenes
Theatrical Trailer-English, German - 2
Trailer-Dinner Rush, Nine Queens, 24 Hour Party People
Trailer-The One And Only, The Safety Of Objects,
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 2001
Running Time 114:00
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By Oliver Hirschbiegel
Studio
Distributor

Madman Entertainment
Starring Moritz Bleibtreu
Maren Eggert
Christian Berkel
Justus Von Dohnanyi
Oliver Stokowski
Timo Dierkes
Nicki Von Tempelhoff
Antoine Monot Jr.
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI $29.95 Music Alexander Van Bubenheim


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None German Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures Yes
Subtitles English Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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Plot Synopsis

    The Experiment is a German film about a psychological experiment that gets out of control when the participants take matters into their own hands. The movie is very loosely based upon the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment where people were placed into a simulated prison environment.

    Tarek (Moritz Bleibtreu) is an investigative reporter who is driving cabs while he looks for the next big story. When he spots an advertisement in a local newspaper asking for participants for an experiment, his interest is piqued. The experiment turns out to be a prison simulation where ordinary men are divided between the roles of guards and prisoners. Tarek is assigned the role of prisoner and he is determined to try and create some form of conflict to derail the experiment, and improve his story. The staff members running the experiment anticipate this conflict, and do nothing to prevent it, as the participants take their roles ever more seriously.

    This film was the official German nomination for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2002 Academy Awards and it received the Audience Award for Best Film at the 2001 German Film Awards. I found the awards for this movie to be quite surprising as the film was extremely predictable and at no point did I feel any connection to any of the characters. The move is also weighed down by a sub plot that never really makes a plausible connection to the main storyline.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The transfer is presented at its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is quite sharp throughout but some occasional exterior scenes are obviously softer, but never to a distracting level. No low-level noise was detected at any stage during the transfer. The transfer displays excellent shadow detail and the numerous dark scenes always show a high level of detail.

    The transfer utilizes an often restricted colour palette with a heavy emphasis upon green and yellow shadings.

    No MPEG artefacts were detected at any time during the transfer.

    A very small number of aliasing artefacts are visible during the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 86:23 and 104:06, but their occurrence is extremely rare and pleasantly surprising considering the large numbers of jail cell bars and fluorescent lights used in the set designs.

    A number of minor film artefacts may be seen throughout the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 37:30, 33:49, 58:50 and 63:21. All of these artefacts are quite minor and are only minimally distracting to the viewer.

    A single set of yellow English subtitles is included on this disc. These subtitles are always clear and easy to understand.

    The layer change occurs between title sets and is therefore not able to be detected by viewers.

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

Audio

    A single German Dolby Digital 224 kbps 2.0 soundtrack is provided on the disc.

    The dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times.

    No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected at any time during the transfer.

    The score by Alexander Van Bubenheim suits the onscreen action well but never draws significant attention to itself.

    The surround and subwoofer channels were not utilized during the transfer.

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

Extras

Menu

    The animated menus are presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 or 1.33:1 depending upon player setup.

Interview: Moritz Bleibtreu (2:25)

    This is a short interview with Moritz Bleibtreu who plays the film's main character, Tarek. He discusses his role and meeting the character of Dora. This interview is presented with a German Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and with yellow English subtitles.

Interview: Maren Eggert (2:16)

    This is a short interview with Maren Eggert who plays character of Dora. She discusses her role and meeting the character of Tarek. This interview is presented with a German Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and with yellow English subtitles.

Interview: Justus Von Dohnanyi (1:35)

    This is a short interview with Justus Von Dohnanyi who plays the character of Berus. He discusses his role and the story. This interview is presented with a German Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and with yellow English subtitles.

Interview: Andera Sawatzki (1:46)

    This is a short interview with Andera Sawatzki who plays character of Dr. Jutta Grimm. She discusses the fascination of the film and the prison location. This interview is presented with a German Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and with yellow English subtitles.

Interview: Christian Berkel (2:18)

    This is a short interview with Christian Berkel who plays the character of Steinhoff. He discusses his role and the black box. This interview is presented with a German Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and with yellow English subtitles.

Interview: Oliver Stokowski (2:23)

    This is a short interview with Oliver Stokowski who plays the character of Schutte. He discusses his role and behavioural studies. This interview is presented with a German Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and with yellow English subtitles.

Interview: Oliver Hirschbiegel (2:23)

    This is a short interview with director Oliver Hirschbiegel. He discusses the film intention, the behaviours of the actors and psychological terror. This interview is presented with a German Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and with yellow English subtitles.

Featurette: Behind the Scenes (9:06)

    This featurette is a collection of scenes taken during filming on various sets. These segments are presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a German Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. The audio is incorrectly flagged as English and unfortunately only a empty English subtitle track is included making this of little interest to non German speaking viewers.

English Theatrical Trailer (1:12)

    This trailer is presented with a German Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.

German Theatrical Trailer 1 (1:18)

    This trailer is presented with a German Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

German Theatrical Trailer 2 (1:12)

    This trailer is presented with a German Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Trailer: Dinner Rush (1:42)

    This trailer is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Trailer: 9 Queens (1:50)

    This trailer is presented with a musical Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Trailer: 24 Hour Party People (2:08)

    This trailer is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.

Trailer: The One and Only (1:47)

    This trailer is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Trailer: The Safety of Objects (2:19)

    This trailer is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;

The UK Region 2 version of this disc misses out on;

    As the featurettes and trailers add little real information for the viewer, the inclusion of the 5.1 audio track on the R1 release would make this the version of choice.

Summary

    Das Experiment is a disappointing film that is unfortunately quite predictable and never seems to draw the viewer in.

    The video transfer is excellent and only displays a very small number of minor film artefacts.

    The German Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is adequate but it is very disappointing the 5.1 surround mix was not provided on this disc.

    The relatively small number of extras do contain some slightly interesting information, but these are all quite shallow, much like the feature itself. The ability to play the interview segments individually or in a single block is appreciated.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Anthony Kable (read my bio)
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Review Equipment
DVDToshiba 2109, using S-Video output
DisplaySony KP-E41SN11. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationFront left/right: ME75b; Center: DA50ES; rear left/right: DA50ES; subwoofer: NAD 2600 (Bridged)
SpeakersFront left/right: VAF DC-X; Center: VAF DC-6; rear left/right: VAF DC-7; subwoofer: Custom NHT-1259

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