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

ADDITION: Janus Contemporaries Blu-ray (February 2024): Janus Contemporaries have transferred Christian Petzold's 2023 film Afire (Roter Himmel) to Blu-ray. "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. The 1080P image quality of Afire is... as flawless as you might expect a modern film to look on digital. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate and has excellent detail, depth and authentic colors with perhaps a tinge of teal in one scene. There are a number of visually noteworthy scenes with a looming forest fire, its after effects (snowing ashes + dead nature), lit badminton rackets and the sea's bioluminescence. The HD presentation is very consistent and impressive.

NOTE: We have added 64 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 German language. Although cerebral sub-text dialogue abounds, Afire has effects with the wind, fire, Baltic Sea, beach, grocery check-out, squealing boars etc. There are a few mild separations. Afire utilizes music performed by Wallners, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Tarwater. Janus Contemporaries offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Janus Contemporaries Blu-ray offers a new 'Meet the Filmmakers' 1/4 hour interview with director Christian Petzold who talks about the motivation behind writing the screenplay including Anton Chekov and Rohmer's Tales of Summer. He states there are many autobiographical aspects to Afire. There is also a trailer for the film and the package has liner notes with an essay by Michael Joshua Rowin.

Christian Petzold's brilliant Afire is the second of the director's 'elements' trilogy that started with water-themed Undine - also with Paula Beer - who played the title character who was representing a mythological mermaid-ian nymph involved in romance. Afire ("Roter Himmel" literally 'Red Sky') deals with frustration within the creative process. Leon (Thomas Schubert) is a sulking, over-sensitive, writer with the inability to turn-the-corner on his second book. He is unaware that he is trapped by his own selfish demands. Brooding Leon's excuses and misguided intuition constrict him further. He is oblivious to the lives of gay friend Felix, the mysterious and desirable Nadja, his terminally ill publisher Helmut - while lashing out at friendly lifeguard Devid. He is uninterested in the stunning bioluminescence visible from the beach and unaware of Nadja's come-hither smiles. Eric Rohmer's intimate cinema echoes Afire with a balance between the human and the natural plus the superficial boundaries we create that inhibit intimacy. Literary references circle Afire just as the forest fires to the west start to surround their holiday cottage. Our demands of achievement block the important connections in our lives - watching the world rather than participating. Afire is another modern and exceptional world cinema example on Janus Contemporaries Blu-ray. What a magnificent label. I was blown away by this and we give it our strongest recommendation. Magnificent.

Gary Tooze