Volver (Icon) (2006) |
BUY IT |
General | Extras | ||
Category | Drama |
Theatrical Trailer Interviews-Cast & Crew-Pedro Almodovar, Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura |
|
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2006 | ||
Running Time | 116:22 | ||
RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Pedro Almodóvar |
Studio
Distributor |
Icon Entertainment | Starring |
Penélope Cruz Carmen Maura Lola Dueñas Blanca Portillo Yohana Cobo Chus Lampreave Antonio de la Torre Carlos Blanco María Isabel Díaz Neus Sanz Leandro Rivera Yolanda Ramos Carlos García Cambero |
Case | Amaray-Transparent | ||
RPI | ? | Music | Alberto Iglesias |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) |
|
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
|
||
Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | English (Burned In) | Smoking | No |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
You may or may not be aware that the Dendy films back catalogue has moved distributor in Australia from Magna Pacific to Icon. As part of this move many films are being re-released on DVD by Icon. Some of these titles are being released on Blu-ray for the first time. Some of the standard definition releases are exactly the same as their Magna Pacific forebears and others have some changes. In this case, Volver, the film was originally released by Magna Pacific in 2007 and reviewed by us here. This new edition seems to be exactly the same as the previous release and owners of that disc need read no further as there is certainly no reason to re-purchase.
The previous review by Trevor Darge gives an excellent rundown of the film's plot which does not need to be repeated here (and maybe shouldn't be read before seeing the film). Volver is certainly a very worthwhile film with its real strength being the multi-award winning ensemble acting of the virtually all female cast including Penelope Cruz and other Pedro Almodovar regulars. The story is interesting and the film has all the little quirks that you expect in Almodovar's work.
All in all, this re-release is only occurring due to a change in distributor and does not offer anything more than the previous edition, which is a shame because the original aspect ratio would have been a great improvement.
The feature is presented in an approximately 1.85:1 aspect ratio which is not the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced widescreen. The previous review includes screen shots showing how much screen real estate is missing. The fact that the end credits are in 2.35:1 is just rubbing salt into the wound.
The picture was clear and sharp. Shadow detail was very good.
The colour is vibrant and leaps off the screen as you expect from Almodovar.
There were no obvious artefacts.
There are subtitles in English for all dialogue which are burned into the picture. They smear slightly during camera pans.
The layer change is badly placed causing an obvious pause.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio is very good but hardly a home cinema test disc.
This DVD contains the same two options as the previous version, a Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) soundtrack and a Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 surround (224Kb/s) soundtrack.
Dialogue seemed clear and was easy to understand.
The music by Alberto Iglesias works very well for the film, adding significantly to the various moods of the different scenes.
The surround speakers and the subwoofer were used for music mostly.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
There has been no change that I can discover in global editions of this film since the previous review. Accordingly the Region 1 or 2 versions are both improvements on this as they have the original aspect ratio and more extras. The UK version is still the best based on its slightly sharper vision.
The video quality is very good but with the wrong aspect ratio.
The audio is very good.
Extras consist of interviews only.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Sony DVP-NS708H upscaling to 1080p, using HDMI output |
Display | LG Scarlet 42LG61YD 106cm Full HD LCD. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. |
Amplification | Pioneer VSX-511 |
Speakers | Monitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer |