BLU-RAY REVIEW

Only Lovers Left Alive

Featured In Issue 191, November 2014

Picture4
Sound4
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):
44075
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
Language and brief nudity
(Retail Price):
$35.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
123
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
2013
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
08/19/14
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Jim Jarmusch
(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):

In "Only Lovers Left Alive" is set against the romantic desolation of Detroit and Tangier in which vampires are mature, highbrow, and charmingly ultra-cool. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the featurette "Traveling At Night With Jim Jarmusch (HD 49:23), deleted and extended scenes (HD 26:22), the Yasmine Hamdan "Hal" music video (HD 04:50), the theatrical trailer, and upfront previews.

The 1080p AVC picture was photographed digitally with the Arri Alexa Plus camera system. The imagery is mostly cast in dark environments and at night. Black levels are generally well balanced with decent shadow delineation. Color fidelity is nicely hued with accurate fleshtones and warm, rich highlights. Resolution is excellent, with fine detail revealed in facial features, hair, clothing, and object textures. This is a very surreal, stylized, and dark visual experience that requires a dark environment to appreciate the sensuous cinematography. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is surreally flavored with a haunting rock-tinged music score, featuring distorted guitars and percussive drums. At times the music is all-acoustic and beautifully recorded. The music provides an aggressive and unusual surround presence that moves around the soundfield. Otherwise the focus is dialogue, which sounds naturally integrated spatially. Atmospherics and sound effects are low-keyed throughout. The overall mood is slow and dreamy in context but well produced. (Gary Reber)