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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Melancholia

    Featured In Issue 166, April 2012

    Picture4.5
    Sound4
    WSR Score3.5
    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):
    Magnolia Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    10448
    (MPAA Rating):
    R
    (Rating Reason):
    Some graphic nudity, sexual content and language
    (Retail Price):
    $29.98
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    135
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A
    (Theatrical Year):
    2011
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    03/13/12
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Lars Von Trier
    (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):

    Melancholia centers on the wedding celebration of a newly married couple Justine (Dunst) and Michael (Skarsgard), taking place at the house of the bride's sister Claire (Gainsbourg) and brother-in-law John (Sutherland). Despite Claire's best efforts, the wedding is a fiasco, with family tensions mounting and relationships reaching their breaking points. Yet, at the same time, a deadly planet called Melancholia is quickly hurtling towards Earth, ushering its potential ultimate destruction. (Gary Reber)

    Special features include four featurettes: About Melancholia (HD 12:00), Visual Effects (HD 07:02), The Visual Style (HD 10:11), and The Universe (HD 04:25); and BD-Live functionality.

    The 2.35:1 1080p AVC picture was shot with an Arri Alexa digital camera and is a mix of beautiful imagery and hand-held, home-style video of intimate relationships during a wedding reception party in Part One. The party imagery exhibits a golden yellow color, but blacks remain deep. In Part Two, the stylization is more natural in appearance. The stylized imagery retains a sense of richness, and resolution is nicely resolved. Detail is finely resolved, especially during close-ups of facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture. The picture is pristine, with impressive clarity. The surreal shots of the heavens and exteriors are visually striking. This is, at times, a beautiful visual experience that can be engaging. (Gary Reber)

    The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is a mixture of a surreal orchestral music score and largely quiet conversations. The music score's fidelity is mediocre, but expansive, extending aggressively to the surrounds to create an enveloping soundfield. Other than the music, the surrounds are absent any energy, except for the occasional atmospheric and sound effect. Dialogue is the focus, with excellent spacial integration. At times, for dramatic effect, the .1 LFE channel is energized with deep sub-25 Hz. This is a mood-inducing soundtrack that overall is quietly engaging. (Gary Reber)

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