The kind of epic that seems painted on a small enough canvas to where it resonates as incident and fable.
Lean also wrote the screenplay, and he gives us an intelligent script that makes this "Passage to India" worth the journey.
Video:
"A Passage to India" is a colorful film, and in 1080p it's a real joy to watch. Colors are brilliant at times-fully saturated in some crowd scenes showing Indian dress-and natural-looking at other times, as when the group ventures across the rugged terrain to the caves. Throughout the film the black levels are very strong, so we see rich contrasts and plenty of detail. This is a catalog title, though, and there are some open-air scenes where there's noticeable graininess and a little bit of noise. But overall, this film hasn't looked this good since moviegoers first saw it on the big screen. The only caveat, and I'm not in a position to say or speculate why, is that the film was originally shot in 35mm Technicolor at 1.85:1 aspect ratio, but it's presented here on a 50GB disc at 1.66:1, using AVC/MPEG-4 technology. I didn't notice any compression problems, so all I can do is wonder about the discrepancy in aspect ratios.
Audio:
Sony decided to go with an English or French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 on this title, and for the most part it's a clean and clear and crisp soundtrack. The dialogue sounds natural and full, and Jarre's music is channeled through the effects speakers nicely to support the ambient sounds of India. The only thing I can say is that it's not as dynamic an audio as some releases. Perhaps this is because it's a catalog title, but I never felt the room fill with lively, dancing sound the way it does with the best PCM audio tracks.
Extras:
Producer Richard Goodwin offers an intelligent commentary that covers an enormous amount of territory, including Lean's methods, casting, behind-the-scenes issues, and technical aspects. He's as lucid as a film historian, and either has a great memory or prepared remarks especially for this release.
Seven short features are also included: "E.M. Forster: Profile of an Author," "An Epic Takes Shape," "An Indian Affair," "Only Connect: A Vision of India," "Casting a Classic," "David Lean: Shooting with the Master," and "Reflections of David Lean." Vintage interview clips with Lean are augmented by new reflections by Guinness, Davis, and Ashcroft. I particularly enjoyed the profile of Forster and features like "A Vision of India" that showed more footage of the locations.
Exclusive to Blu-ray is "Beyond the Passage: Picture-in-Picture Graphics Track," which takes a different approach to pop-up trivia tracks. Instead of sticking with a pop-up box or picture-in-picture for the augmentative material, this track instead shrinks the feature film to 12x18" size and uses the rest of the screen for the trivia presentation. On the one hand it's easier to read and appreciate longer explanations this way, but on the other hand it's a more disruptive experience. It's an interesting concept, but you can't really get into the flow of the film. You just have to be wanting to see the trivia in some context.
The only other "bonus" features are a few Blu-ray and David Lean Collection promos.
But the menu screen is gorgeous, and it's easily navigated.
Bottom Line:
As one might imagine, "A Passage to India" is a visual treat, but it's also the kind of epic that seems painted on a small enough canvas to where it resonates as incident and fable as much as it reflects a grander theme. The acting, the writing, the music, and the cinematography are all first-rate. Though there was no promo here for future David Lean Blu-rays, let's hope it won't be too long before his other epics are brought to 1080p life.
Video:
"A Passage to India" is a colorful film, and in 1080p it's a real joy to watch. Colors are brilliant at times-fully saturated in some crowd scenes showing Indian dress-and natural-looking at other times, as when the group ventures across the rugged terrain to the caves. Throughout the film the black levels are very strong, so we see rich contrasts and plenty of detail. This is a catalog title, though, and there are some open-air scenes where there's noticeable graininess and a little bit of noise. But overall, this film hasn't looked this good since moviegoers first saw it on the big screen. The only caveat, and I'm not in a position to say or speculate why, is that the film was originally shot in 35mm Technicolor at 1.85:1 aspect ratio, but it's presented here on a 50GB disc at 1.66:1, using AVC/MPEG-4 technology. I didn't notice any compression problems, so all I can do is wonder about the discrepancy in aspect ratios.
Audio:
Sony decided to go with an English or French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 on this title, and for the most part it's a clean and clear and crisp soundtrack. The dialogue sounds natural and full, and Jarre's music is channeled through the effects speakers nicely to support the ambient sounds of India. The only thing I can say is that it's not as dynamic an audio as some releases. Perhaps this is because it's a catalog title, but I never felt the room fill with lively, dancing sound the way it does with the best PCM audio tracks.
Extras:
Producer Richard Goodwin offers an intelligent commentary that covers an enormous amount of territory, including Lean's methods, casting, behind-the-scenes issues, and technical aspects. He's as lucid as a film historian, and either has a great memory or prepared remarks especially for this release.
Seven short features are also included: "E.M. Forster: Profile of an Author," "An Epic Takes Shape," "An Indian Affair," "Only Connect: A Vision of India," "Casting a Classic," "David Lean: Shooting with the Master," and "Reflections of David Lean." Vintage interview clips with Lean are augmented by new reflections by Guinness, Davis, and Ashcroft. I particularly enjoyed the profile of Forster and features like "A Vision of India" that showed more footage of the locations.
Exclusive to Blu-ray is "Beyond the Passage: Picture-in-Picture Graphics Track," which takes a different approach to pop-up trivia tracks. Instead of sticking with a pop-up box or picture-in-picture for the augmentative material, this track instead shrinks the feature film to 12x18" size and uses the rest of the screen for the trivia presentation. On the one hand it's easier to read and appreciate longer explanations this way, but on the other hand it's a more disruptive experience. It's an interesting concept, but you can't really get into the flow of the film. You just have to be wanting to see the trivia in some context.
The only other "bonus" features are a few Blu-ray and David Lean Collection promos.
But the menu screen is gorgeous, and it's easily navigated.
Bottom Line:
As one might imagine, "A Passage to India" is a visual treat, but it's also the kind of epic that seems painted on a small enough canvas to where it resonates as incident and fable as much as it reflects a grander theme. The acting, the writing, the music, and the cinematography are all first-rate. Though there was no promo here for future David Lean Blu-rays, let's hope it won't be too long before his other epics are brought to 1080p life.
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[release]23083[/release]