Black Robe (Magna Pacific) (1991) |
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Black Robe (Magna Pacific) (1991) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Main Menu Introduction Menu Animation & Audio Theatrical Trailer |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 1991 | ||
| Running Time | 100:30 (Case: 96) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Bruce Beresford |
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Studio
Distributor |
Alliance Communictns Magna Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Lothaire Bluteau Aden Young August Schellenberg Sandrine Holt |
| Case | Click | ||
| RPI | $24.95 | Music | Georges Delerue |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Auto Pan & Scan Encoded | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) | |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.75:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
A co-Australian/Canadian production, Black Robe is the brilliant film adaptation by Brian Moore of his own novel of the same name.
On the surface, the plot of Black Robe is quite simple. The story opens in the French colony of Quebec, in rugged North America, in 1634. A group of Huron Indians are contracted to escort a Jesuit Priest, Father LaForgue (Lothaire Bluteau), and his young apprentice, Daniel (Aden Young), to a remote Huron Mission. During the long river journey, the group encounter the savage brutality of the Iroquois Indians, in a world where pity or mercy is seen as weakness.
The plot beautifully teases out the issues relating to faith and to the clash of cultures. It is often said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Perhaps missionaries are the best example of this. Armed with good intentions, Catholic priests in the Americas helped destroy the native culture, and even brought a variety of diseases with them. After all, where do you think the term 'missionary position' came from? This paradox does not escape Moore's attention, and it is central to the strained relationship between LaForgue and Daniel, as Daniel's respect and understanding of the native people grows.
Directed by Bruce Beresford, with Cinematography by fellow Australian Peter James, Black Robe features outstanding direction, and breathtaking cinematography. The Canadian wilderness, like the people who make their homes in it, is beautiful, but also rugged and hostile. This movie really is a visual treat, and I recall seeing it theatrically a number of times for this reason.
For some reason I had prepared myself to be disappointed, but found that I was pleasantly surprised. The transfer is actually quite good, and does this movie justice.
The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.75:1, 16x9 enhanced.
While the image is sometimes a little soft, the sharpness is reasonable. The black level and shadow detail are not outstanding, but again they are reasonable.
The colour is a little murky at times, and perhaps a tad undersaturated. That said, it does suit the sombre tone of the movie.
MPEG and film-to-video artefacts are never a problem. Film artefacts appear infrequently throughout. They are never distracting.
There are two sets of subtitles: English, which are very accurate; and English for the spoken Indian languages only.
This is a single layered disc.
| Sharpness |  |
| Shadow Detail |  |
| Colour | |
| Grain/Pixelization | |
| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
Originally released theatrically in Dolby Stereo, this movie really deserves to be remixed into Dolby Digital 5.1. Sadly, the DVD only has one audio option -- English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo.
Despite the sometimes heavy accents, the dialogue quality and audio sync are fine.
The musical score is credited to Georges Delerue, and it is a hauntingly beautiful orchestral score which suits this movie very well.
There is no surround presence or major subwoofer activity. I did, however, notice some re-directed bass at times, such as with the thunder of the river rapids at 76:18.
| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
| Surround Channel Use |  |
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| Overall | |
The extras are slim.
An animated menu, presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, with Dolby Digital stereo audio.
Theatrical Trailer
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, with Dolby Digital stereo audio.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
Black Robe was released on DVD in Region 1 in July 2001. The two versions are basically the same, except for some subtitles, and the fact that our version enjoys the superior PAL transfer.
Black Robe is an epic movie, but without the epic length. I feel it could have been longer, but that's another story. If you enjoyed Dances With Wolves or The Last Of The Mohicans, you should enjoy Black Robe. If you have seen it already and enjoyed it, then this is one that's worth purchasing. I know it's a movie I'll be watching again a few times.
The video quality is good.
The audio quality is good albeit limited to stereo.
The extras are slim.
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Extras |  |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-535, using S-Video output |
| Display | Grundig Elegance 82-2101 (82cm, 16x9). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Sony STR DE-545 |
| Speakers | Sony SS-V315 x5; Sony SA-WMS315 subwoofer |