Welcome To Marwen

"Welcome To Marwen" is the true story of one broken man's fight as he discovers how artistic imagination can restore the human spirit. When a devastating attack leaves Mark Hogancamp (Carell) shattered and without his memory, no one expected recovery. But by putting together pieces from his old and new life, Mark meticulously creates a wondrous fantasy world, where he draws strength to triumph in the real one. His astonishing art installation peopled with breathtakingly life-like dolls becomes a testament to the powerful women who support him on his journey. (Gary Reber)

Special features include eight deleted scenes (HD 11:22); four featurettes: "Marwen"s Citizens" (HD 03:51), "A Visionary Director" (HD 04:53), "Building Marwen" (HD 04:03) and "Living Dolls" (HD 04:02); upfront previews; and a Movies Anywhere digital code.

The 2.39:1 1080p AVC picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, upconverted to 2160p with greater resolution and luminance, was photographed digitally using the Arri Alexa 65 6.8K camera system and sourced from a 4K master Digital Intermediate format. The color palette is perfectly hued to deliver a vivid, natural picture. The rendering of the real world and that of Mark's doll world is impressively natural. Primary colors are strong and shades of hues are revealing, including in shadows. Reds are particularly strong throughout. Contrast is superb, which enhances the realism, including that during segments where the dolls become alive. Blacks are naturally deep; shadow delineation is impressively revealing; and lighting and production design is nicely crafted. The transitions from stiff, un-alive dolls to live dolls and then back to real life is incredibly mesmerizing. Resolution, as well, is superb with fine detail exhibited throughout, including the intricately crafted and complexly textured dolls and Mark's and Hogie's leather jacket. Fine detail impressively shows in facial features, skin pores, makeup, clothing textures and object textures. Mark's home interiors are finely resolved, to reveal even the handwritten notes to himself. The imagery is spatially dimensional throughout. This is such a wonderful production that exhibits perfectly natural color fidelity, sharpness, and clarity that delivers a reference-quality picture. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1-channel soundtrack is apparently the first or second Universal Studios release that does not have a DTS-HD Master Audio™ soundtrack. Whether Dolby or DTS, fidelity is excellent. The soundfield is nicely enveloping, and during the Marwen action scenes the surrounds are aggressively engaged and directionalized. Gunfire, which tears through the soundstage, is powerful and aided by deep bass extension in the .1 LFE channel. Alan Silvestri's music score is comprised of both orchestral and pop genres and effectively supports the storytelling. The music occupies a wide and deep soundstage and extends strongly to the surrounds to create an enveloping soundfield. Foley sound effect are perfectly executed, as are atmospherics and sound effects, which sound real. There are the quiet, nuanced moments when the softest sounds are heard as background to the dialogue. Dialogue sounds naturally integrated spatially for the most part. This is a wonderful holosonic® soundtrack with both incredibly nuanced moments and otherwise dynamic sounding with excellent fidelity. (Gary Reber)