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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.
Atlantis: A World Beyond Words (Directors Suite) (1991)

Atlantis: A World Beyond Words (Directors Suite) (1991)

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Released 2-Jun-2010

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Documentary Main Menu Audio
Theatrical Trailer
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 1991
Running Time 76:07 (Case: 79)
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Luc Besson
Studio
Distributor

Madman Entertainment
Starring None Given
Case Amaray-Transparent
RPI ? Music Vincenzo Bellini
Eric Serra


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None French Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures Yes
Subtitles English Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits Yes

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Luc Besson is best known for his action films like The Fifth Element or La Femme Nikita but back in 1991 he made a beautiful film about the ocean especially the life within it. He was inspired by his parents who were both professional scuba divers. The film is question is Atlantis : A World Beyond Words. It is a collaboration between Besson (Director & Cinematographer), Eric Serra (Composer) and Christian Petron (Cinematographer). It si being released here in Australia as part of Madman's Director's Suite.

    This is a documentary (in that it is factual) however it does not really set out to educate, rather being about representing the beauty of the ocean and ocean life around the world. The wonderful images of ocean life are accompanied mostly only by the marvellous score by Serra. There is some French voiceover at the beginning of the film but this only lasts for a minute or so. The film is divided into movements with titles such as The Grace or The Game or The Tenderness which relate to the creatures depicted in each section. The music changes markedly for each section, sometimes jazz, sometimes classical, sometimes funk or rock. It is by turns relaxing, vibrant, up tempo or cool and gentle. The featured life includes sea snakes, dolphins, sharks, giant octopuses, manatees, penguins and even aquatic iguanas.

    This is a beautiful film which can be enjoyed by anyone who loves good music and beautiful images of the natural world. Highly Recommended.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     The video quality is very good. The feature is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio.

The picture was quite clear and sharp throughout. There was some occasional cloudiness and/or mild grain, however, considering the nature and age of the material these were not major problems.

     The colour was beautiful representing the blues and greens of the ocean.

     There were no other noticeable artefacts.

     There are subtitles in English for the French dialogue which can be either yellow or white based on the viewers choice.

     There is no layer change.

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

Audio

     The audio quality is good. This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 224 Kb/s.

     The very small amount of dialogue was clear.

     The music by Eric Serra is beautiful and sounds quite good on this transfer.

     The surround speakers were not used. The subwoofer added bass to the music.

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

Extras

    Not much here.

Menu

     The menu included music.

Theatrical Trailer (2:10) 

    An interesting theatrical trailer which includes some behind the scenes footage. Shame there wasn't a featurette about that subject.

 

 

R4 vs R1

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

    The Region 1 release is essentially the same. Draw.

Summary

    A beautiful and lyrical film featuring images of ocean life accompanied by a wonderful score.

    The video quality is very good. The audio quality is good.

    No real extras are included.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Friday, August 13, 2010
Review Equipment
DVDSONY BDP-S760 Blu-ray, using HDMI output
DisplayLG 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 DecoderBuilt into BD player. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationPioneer VSX-511
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer

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