NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Janus Contemporaries Blu-ray (October 2024): From Criterion's sub-label, Janus Contemporaries have transferred Nuri Bilge Ceylan's About Dry Grasses to Blu-ray. The 3 1/4+ hour film is on a dual-layered disc with a supportive bitrate. The image is marvelous - kudos to cinematographers Kürşat Üresin and Cehavir Şahin. "Janus Contemporaries releases Blu-ray and DVD editions of first-run films, fresh from theaters, in association with Criterion." The first slate offered Jafar Panahi's No Bears, Jerzy Skolimowski's EO and Louis Garrel's The Innocent. The second wave of Janus Contemporaries Blu-rays include the Darndenne's Tori and Lokita, Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch's brilliant The Eight Mountains and Hlynur Pálmason's Dreyer-like Godland. Let's not forget Christian Petzold's 2023 film Afire, which I enjoyed way out of proportion.

The 1080P image quality of About Dry Grasses is... as flawless as you might expect a modern film to look on digital. It has excellent detail and true colors. There are a number of visually noteworthy scenes in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The HD presentation is very consistent and impressive. 

NOTE: We have added 70 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Janus Contemporaries use a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original Turkish language. About Dry Grasses has snowstorms and cars but not much else in the way of dynamic or separation requirements to support the soundstage. There are many conversations in About Dry Grasses that come through clean and clear. The music is credited to Philip Timofeyev (Where the Crawdads Sing, Vikings, the TV series Taken) with his Adagio for Bassoon and there is other music by Giuseppe Verdi (Addio, del passato from La Traviata) adding to the prosaic feeling of the film. Janus Contemporaries offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray.

The Janus Contemporaries Blu-ray offers a new 'Meet the Filmmakers' 1/4 hour interview with director / co-writer Nuri Bilge Ceylan in English (no subtitles.) He describes himself as a passive observer of the world and that he often feels alone since he was quite young (he is 65 now.) He talks about writing the film with his wife and Akın Aksu. He tells us that About Dry Grasses is his most expensive film. Scenes play and he talks about the characters and his motivations. There is also a trailer for the film and the package has liner notes with an essay by Michael Joshua Rowin.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan's About Dry Grasses has complex characters and introspective, self-reflective, dialogue. There is an emotional scene where the character leaves the room and enters the behind-the-scenes sets, people working on production - in a Brechtian way where the wall between the film audience and actors is temporarily broken - as if reminding us that this is still a movie. I thought About Dry Grasses was brilliantly harmonious with excellent performances and beautiful winter scenery. It, definitely, did not feel like 3 hours. The human condition themes like longing, expression, discontent... are wonderfully realized. About Dry Grasses is another modern and exceptional world cinema example on Janus Contemporaries Blu-ray. I cannot get away to attend film festivals and it reminds me how important these digital home theatre formats are. Strongly recommended.

Gary Tooze