H D - S E N S E I

A view on Hi-def discs by Gary W. Tooze

 

Introduction: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 7500 DVDs and have reviewed over 3000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. So be it, but film will always be my first love and I list my favorites on the old YMdb site now accessible HERE.  

Gary's Home Theatre:

Samsung HPR4272 42" Plasma HDTV
Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player (firmware upgraded)

Sony BDP-S300 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player (firmware upgraded)
Sony DVP NS5ODH SD-DVD player (region-free and HDMI)

Marantz SA8001 Super Audio CD Player
Marantz SR7002 THX Select2 Surround Receiver
Tannoy DC6-T (fronts) + Energy (centre, rear, subwoofer) speakers (5.1)

Gary W. Tooze

 

HD-DVD STORE         HIGH DEFINITION DVD STORE

 

ALL OUR NEW FORMAT DVD REVIEWS

 

 

Baroque Motion, Vol. 1 [Blu-ray]

 

 

 

Review by Gary Tooze

 

Studio: Microcinema

 

Discs:

Region: 'A' (quite possibly region FREE!)

Feature Runtime: 0:58:42

Chapters: 16

Disc Size: 18,977,273,536 bytes

Features Total Size: 15,651,803,136 bytes

Average Bitrate: 35.55 Mbps

One dual-layered Blu-ray

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: February 24th, 2009

 

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Resolution: 1080p

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC

 


Subtitles:
None
 

Supplements:

On the Blu-ray there are two bonus clips named Bonus clip one and Bonus clip two. Bonus clip one is a clip from The Goldsmiths Guild but with another ending (3:03). Bonus clip two is a clip from the The Portrait of a Prominent scientist with a different ending (6:55).
 

Bitrate Graph:

 

 

Product Description: Tired of Aquarium and/or Fireplace-DVDs? Your flat LCD-or plasma-screen makes a great window, use it to bring Aesthetic, High Resolution, High Definition (HD)Video Art into your room. Perfect for entertaining or just relaxing. In the beginning of the 17th century, European culture generated a new artistic style, known as the Baroque. Now, for the first time ever you will be able to see the motifs of the old world come to life in slow motion in this Video Art production. Experience how a brawl suddenly starts in the Goldsmiths Guild and how the fish and lobster come to life in a still life painting. Gaze in awe at how a prominent scientist becomes surprised at the lack of gravity and at the fright of a lady due to a ghastly movement through the painting. Recorded with state-of-the-art High Definition high-speed camera HD Phantom 1080p (1000fps). Automatic Repeat, Constant Movement

 

In the beginning of the 17th century, European culture generated a new artistic style, known as the Baroque. Now, for the first time ever you will be able to see the motifs of the old world come to life in slow motion. Experience how a brawl suddenly starts in the Goldsmiths' Guild and how the fish and lobster come to life in a still life painting. Gaze in awe at how a prominent scientist becomes surprised at the lack of gravity and at the fright of a lady due to a ghastly movement through the painting.
 

The Films:

Goldsmiths’ Guild, The directed by Jonathan Knape
Sweden, Ambient, 2008, 00:16:00

Group portraits were popular during the 17th century and we wanted to create something similar, yet in our version there is a bit of brawl among the goldsmiths. In this filmic piece of art, we have...
Portrait of a Frightened Lady directed by Jonathan Knape
Sweden, Ambient, 2008, 00:12:52
 

 

 


Again, building on the portrait style of the Baroque era we have crafted a work where a woman becomes frightened of something coming into the tranquil room where she sits. The major influence for...
Portrait of a Prominent Scientist directed by Jonathan Knape
Sweden, Ambient, 2008, 00:14:50

Drawing on the common portrait paintings of the 17th century, we have created a work that brings the traditional scene of a prominent scientist to life that becomes surprised at the lack of...
Still Life with Lobster & Fish directed by Jonathan Knape
Sweden, Ambient, 2008, 00:15:00

Building on the still life paintings of the Baroque era we have created a set-up with fish and lobster that suddenly come to life. In this work we were inspired by Jan Davidsz De Heem - Still life...

 

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

Firstly this can be an amusing experience. I personally had absolutely no idea what was going on. The activity was painfully slow (as in very slow-motion). The Blu-ray in terms of image quality seemed quite acceptable with deep blacks, tight lines and even some depth. While I wouldn't consider this a terribly dynamic image it is without impeding flaws and does its job in representing the films. The MPEG-4 AVC encode produces visuals that look quite a lot like a painting. 

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio & Music:  
I initially thought my system was on the fritz. Honestly. There is no sound
. Not a peep. So obviously there are no subtitles either.

 

Extras:
On the Blu-ray there are two bonus clips named Bonus clip one and Bonus clip two. Bonus clip one is a clip from The Goldsmiths Guild but with another ending (3:03). Bonus clip two is a clip from the The Portrait of a Prominent scientist with a different ending (6:55).

 

 

Bottom line (or 'What the hell?'):
Strangely this is usually just my cup of tea - things out of the ordinary - but I'd have to suggest a pass on this title. The lack of audio is a huge black-mark and I just don't get the pure aesthetic value of the slow-motion visuals. This is little better than a screen-saver of which I might prefer it to an Aquarium but I'd suspect most would not agree. I can appreciate the attempt here but suggest that it failed, in my case, to arouse any interest or desire for repeat viewings. Bravo, though, to whoever had the guts to release this. I'd suggest some Bach (played at normal speed) to go along with this experiment if they do a Volume 2. 

 

Gary Tooze

January 13th, 2008

 

 

 

 





 

Hit Counter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive:

Mail cheques, money orders, cash to:    or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!

Gary Tooze

Thank You!