BLU-RAY REVIEW

A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop

Featured In Issue 154, February 2011

Picture5
Sound5
WSR Score3
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Sony Pictures Classics
(Catalog Number):
36934
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
Some violence
(Retail Price):
$38.96
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
90
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
2009
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
02/01/11
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Zhang Yimou
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
DTS HD Lossless 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

Based on the Cohen Brothers' debut classic Blood Simple, A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop chronicles a perfect plan: the affair will come to a cruel but satisfying end when a Chinese noodle shop owner plots to execute his unfaithful wife and her lover. But the lover has a lethal plan of his own in this violent tale of adultery and revenge. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the documentary Creating A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop in 19 parts: Styling The Actors (SD 05:51), Workaholic Director Zhang Yimou (SD 06:52), Casting The Film (SD 07:52), Director Zhang Yimou Discusses The Look Of The Film (SD 05:04), Discusses The Script (SD 05:13), Actors Who Like To Sing (SD 04:40), The Filming Starts (SD 04:15), Actors Falling (SD 06:04), Actors Joking Around (SD 04:55), Behind The Scene Antics (SD 05:31), In The Make-Up Trailer (SD 05:17) Actors Discuss Their Roles (SD 05:58), The Actors Discuss Zhang Yimou (SD 05:57) Zhang Yimou Directs The Cast (SD 08:45)), Actors' Features (SD 10:05), First Day Of Shooting (SD 08:16), Time To Dance, (SD) Actors Trying New Things (SD 04:48), and Actors In Their Roles (SD 05:27); the theatrical trailer; up-front previews; plus BD-Live functionality.

The 1080p AVC picture is photographed with a stylized and exaggerated saturated color palette. Colors pop with intense vivid hues that exhibit a rich and warm visual experience. The play on shadow and light is engaging, with unusual production design and settings. Contrast is excellent, with deep and solid black levels and revealing shadow delineation. While the color saturation is intense, fleshtones remain natural in appearance. Resolution is excellent, with revealing detail in facial features, clothes, and object textures. This is a visually engaging movie that is alive with color and dynamic contrasts. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel Chinese (Mandarin) soundtrack is well produced and presented, with surprising instances of bold sonic sound effects, such as exaggerated gun shots. Atmospheric sound effects and Foley are nicely presented as well, with plenty of appreciative subtle sonics. Directional effects are effectively employed in both the frontal hemisphere as well as the surround hemisphere. Deep bass is, at times, energized in the .1 LFE channel, for dynamic effect. Dialogue maintains excellent spatial integration throughout. The music score is sparse but well recorded and spatially enveloping. This is an intriguing soundtrack, with superb dynamics and dimensionality. (Gary Reber)