"Before Sunset" Warner - Region 1- NTSC

(aka "Before Sunrise 2" or "If Not Now" or "Untitled Before Sunrise Sequel")

directed by Richard Linklater
USA2004

Richard Linklater’s gorgeous follow up to his equally brilliant 1995 film Before Sunrise, finds us catching up with the characters nine years later. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy play Jesse and Celine, two free spirits who met and possibly fell in love in Vienna nine years earlier, and planned a youthfully romantic follow-up love tryst, doomed to failure. Fate reunites the two as the film unfolds in real time, taking the form of an 80-minute walk around Paris. The dialogue, written by the two principle leads and based on a scenario by Linklater and co-writer Kim Krizan, perfectly captures the starts and stops, uneasy transitions and circumlocutions of real life conversation. Comparisons to Eric Rohmer are inevitable, however given Linklater’s previous output and experiments with cinematic time, it’s clear that he is an original. This is a carefully calculated, subtly executed piece of filmmaking. The camera fluidly tracks these two vibrant souls, keeping its distance, often framing in medium to long shot, trusting in the dialogue and the audiences ability to listen to what these people are saying. The result, an unforgettable and strikingly rich experience that’s likely to prove inspirational to the lost love in anyone’s heart. This is easily the best American film of the year and possibly the most romantic ever made. Julie Delpy contributed to the lovely soundtrack (Available HERE). out of

Adam Lemke

Poster

Theatrical Release: 10 February 2004 (Berlin International Film Festival)

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DVD Review: Warner Home Video - Region 1- NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Warner Home Video - Region 1- NTSC
Runtime	1:20:12
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.80 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 5.1) , DUB: French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles	English, French, Spanish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer • "On the Set of Before Sunset' 4:3 widescreen (9:40) DVD Release Date: November 9th, 2004 Keep Case Chapters: 16
Comments:	A softer palette than "Before Sunrise", and skin tones look a little red to me. Sharpness is there, decent contrast levels, no significant edge enhancement. Again the DVD image is dark and I expect it is a Linklater touch. It's nice that an extra of the short featurette is included. A Commentary would have been better and probably appropriate for it being a sequel with the same cast. Good 16X9 subtitles and fine dialogue-heavy untested 5.1 track(s). Funny note the DVD (maybe mine is Canadian) says 'Quebec DUB' for the French track. I suppose Quebecois were getting miffed at the Parisian style dubs on R1 disc and complained. out of Gary W. Tooze