Cold Mountain (2003) |
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Cold Mountain (2003) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Deleted Scenes-11 |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2003 | ||
| Running Time | 148:02 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (82:05) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Language Select Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Anthony Minghella |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Walt Disney Studios Home Ent. |
Starring |
Jude Law Nicole Kidman Renée Zellweger Eileen Atkins Brendan Gleeson Philip Seymour Hoffman Natalie Portman Giovanni Ribisi Donald Sutherland Ray Winstone Kathy Baker James Gammon Charlie Hunnam |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | ? | Music |
Gabriel Yared T-Bone Burnett |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) German Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English English for the Hearing Impaired German Italian Spanish Turkish Arabic German Titling |
Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
"If you are fighting, stop fighting. If you are marching, stop marching.
Come back to me. Come back to me is my request."
In one of those unfortunate sagas that only seem to unfold in Hollywood, epic American Civil War love story Cold Mountain is probably going to be best remembered for two reasons other than being an exceptionally stunning looking and highly enjoyable film. There were of course the rumours of the steamy real-life relationship between stars Jude Law and Nicole Kidman that was sparked while filming in Romania, despite Law being married. The film was also embroiled in controversy in the lead-up to this year's Academy Awards ceremony when it was claimed there was some sort of silent campaign being mounted against it winning any gongs, all because this most American of tales was filmed primarily in Europe and not on location in the USA. Speculation of this whispering campaign against the film was further fuelled when it failed to even be nominated for Best Picture or Best Director for Anthony Minghella, despite collecting several Golden Globes and BAFTA nominations in the major categories. So it was interesting to sit down and watch this again, unclouded by all the controversy and publicity and just watch it for what it is. And it must be said it really is quite a striking looking and somewhat emotionally affecting film.
The American Civil War is reaching its last few months in late 1864, with the Confederates slowly realising the cause is likely to be lost - and many disillusioned soldiers are deserting as a result. After the epic battle of Petersburg, confederate rifleman WP Inman (Jude Law) is injured and sent to a hospital to recuperate. After slowly recovering from his injuries, rather than head back to the war, Inman decides to desert and head home to North Carolina to be with the woman who has filled his dreams for the past four years. Back in 1861 and before leaving to join the southern uprising, Inman lived in Cold Mountain, a small North Carolina town. It was here, in the days just before the outbreak of hostilities with the north, that Inman met Ada Monroe (Nicole Kidman), the well-to-do daughter of the local town minister (Donald Sutherland). The film is told in a series of flashbacks to those times with the two time periods slowly converging once the war is underway.
Inman faces two major problems in his quest to return to Cold Mountain. Firstly, he isn't completely sure that Ada is waiting for him. They really only knew each other for a few brief days before he left for the war, and even though their encounter was deeply personal and lasting, Inman still has his doubts. His other problem is more pressing. Confederate troops have been ordered to shoot deserters on the spot so his journey from the battlefields of Virginia to his home in North Carolina is extremely dangerous. Along the way he runs into all manner of bizarre and desperate people, including the young confederate widow Sarah (Natalie Portman) and a sex-maniac minister (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who tags along with him despite his initial misgivings.
Meanwhile, Ada is back at Cold Mountain and facing her own battles. Despite living on a small farm, Ada is not really much of a farm girl. She can't cook, clean, or do basically any menial task. When her father dies and she lets all her slaves go free, she is on her own with the harsh winter setting in. Her lack of farming nous sees the farm fall into disarray and it's obvious she needs help. An offer comes from the leader of the home guard, Teague (Ray Winstone), who in between pursuing Ada romantically and desperately wanting the farm for himself is charged with keeping the peace in the town and shooting any deserters that may come his way. Ignoring his advances, Ada enlists the help of the charming yet rough-around-the-edges farm girl Ruby Thewes (Renée Zellweger in her best supporting actor winning role). Ruby stumps around the farm barking orders and has all the know-how to get things up and running. Soon things are looking much brighter, despite the constant killing and persecution going on around them by the home guards and the evil Teague. Inman is drawing ever closer to Cold Mountain and after successfully avoiding several near misses that very nearly killed him might just make it back to his home town and his true love Ada. Of course with the murdering Teague on the loose looking for any deserter he can find to shoot, Inman had better be careful.
The complete pointless savagery that is war, especially in such desperate times as 1860s America is conveyed here in all its blood-stained misery. This is undoubtedly where Cold Mountain is at its strongest, since the impossible love story between Inman and Ada just doesn't quite gel. In true Anthony Minghella style this is not a rushed film. Running for two and a half hours the story takes time to unfold and slowly build to its climax, but it's certainly not dull. The lovely yet harsh scenery and the amazing array of supporting characters make the journey of both Inman and Ada a truly memorable experience.
The video transfer gracing this disc is presented in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and is also 16x9 enhanced.
The cinematography of Australia's John Seale must have been a very close second to eventual Oscar winner Russell Boyd and his effort on Master and Commander if what we see here is any indication. The visuals on Cold Mountain are pretty much enough reason to have a look at this film all by themselves. From the dramatic snow-covered mountain ranges of Romania (standing in for those of North Carolina) to the corn fields, forests, swamps and creeks of South Carolina and Virginia this is a film that abounds with artistic class.
The transfer is extremely sharp and incredibly detailed throughout, with no evidence of any edge enhancement. Shadow detail is handled very well and grain is virtually non-existent. There is no low-level noise. As far as clarity goes, this transfer is the real deal.
Colours are sensational. They are used on the different story threads early on to keep them separated, with the battle scenes appearing about as drab, grimy, and hopelessly bloody as you could possibly imagine. The contrast of the early scenes at Cold Mountain, which appear bright and happy, but slowly deteriorate as the war rages on are a sight to behold, while the mountains, streams, and fields that Inman crosses during his long journey home are stark yet also somewhat inviting. Overall the colours are well rendered and the black levels as deep and as true as they can be. There are no problems with bleeding or oversaturation.
Compression artefacts are completely absent. Being a new film there are virtually no film artefacts.
There are several subtitle options. Sampling the English for the Hearing Impaired track discovered them to be mostly accurate and well positioned on screen.
This is a dual-layered disc that is RSDL formatted. The layer change point occurs at 82:05 and is extremely well placed.
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Despite the lack of a dts soundtrack which is available on the Region 1 disc, this is still a near reference quality audio experience. It features plenty of action to get your surround speaker system, especially the subwoofer, up and firing. Overall this soundtrack really is a corker and this is despite the film essentially being a love story.
The Region 4 disc comes with two audio soundtracks, the first being an English Dolby Digital 5.1 effort encoded at the higher bitrate of 448Kb/s, while the other track is a German Dolby Digital 5.1 effort encoded at a bitrate of 384 Kb/s.
The English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track was my choice of listening for the main film and this really is a first-rate soundtrack about as close to reference quality as you can get. Battle scenes in all their blood and guts glory usually find plenty of gratuitous surround and LFE activity and this one is no exception. The first three chapters feature some amazing war scenes and some truly immersive and far reaching low-end bass. When the huge explosion lets rip I guarantee it will rattle your windows. All up there's plenty of punch from the low end when needed throughout the rest of the film, with solid dynamic range, and beautiful use of the front soundstage for directional effects. Surround effects are used to maximum impact during the several major and minor battle scenes and for the more nature-based scenes in the mountains when birds and other animals fill in the background sound.
The dialogue is a little difficult to comprehend at times with the many southern American accents obviously featuring throughout the film. I had particular trouble working out what Ruby Thewes (Renée Zellweger) was saying half the time, but it's fairly obvious this is part of her character's charm and is nothing to do with the transfer itself.. There are no audio sync discrepancies to report.
Gabriel Yared is responsible for the dramatic and melancholy score with several original songs composed by T-Bone Burnett played throughout. The music is quite a memorable component of the film, placing you definitely in the 1860s deep south of the USA. Banjos and fiddles seem the order of the day for many of the tunes.
As mentioned there are plenty of decent surround effects that spring to life during the many battle scenes and for some of the lesser skirmishes and mountain scenes.
| Dialogue | |
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Eleven deleted scenes are present here. Available with a play all option they run for 20:50. They are quite rough in appearance, being presented in the correct aspect ratio but with no 16x9 enhancement.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This really isn't a fair like-for-like comparison at present, since this Region 4 release is essentially a bare-bones rental disc only. The Region 1 version is available as a two-disc set with a pile of extras and a dts soundtrack which will hopefully find their way to the Region 4 retail version when it is released here in a few months.
The Region 4 disc misses out on;
The Region 1 disc misses out on;
Nothing
The Region 2 disc misses out on;
French Dolby Digital 2.0 surround soundtrack
The Region 4 disc is certainly a bare-bones rental effort and at this stage the Region 1 or Region 2 (UK) is the version of choice. Incidentally the UK Region 2 disc is dual coded for regions 2 and 4, so hopefully that is a fair pointer to the version we will be receiving.
Cold Mountain is a slowly building and epic love tale set against the backdrop of the brutal last days of the American Civil War. While the love tale might not be quite as convincing as was probably originally intended, the array of big name supporting cast and some truly stunning visual scenery make this an enjoyable, enlightening, and at times slightly disturbing film.
The video transfer here is superb, with no major issues.
The audio is approaching reference quality. Liberal doses of sensational low end response, sustained and immersive surround activity, and an emotional score all combine for a definite winner in audio terms.
Alas the extras are limited to a few deleted scenes, which when compared to the Region 1 and 2 multi-disc offerings is rather disheartening.
| Video | |
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Loewe Xemix 5106DO, using RGB output |
| Display | Loewe Calida (84cm). Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). |
| Amplification | Harmon/Kardon AVR7000. |
| Speakers | Front - B&W 602S2, Centre - B&W CC6S2, Rear - B&W 601S2, Sub - Energy E:xl S10 |