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I Come With the Rain [Blu-ray]
(Anh Hung Tranh, 2008)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Studio Canal Video: Avex Trax
Disc: Region: FREE! (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:54:25.859 Disc Size: 40,746,166,296 bytes Feature Size: 35,498,010,624 bytes Video Bitrate: 33.90 Mbps Chapters: 12 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: January 13th, 2010
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 (original should be 2.35:1) Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: Dolby TrueHD Audio English 3200 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3200 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Embedded: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps) Dolby Digital Audio Japanese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Subtitles: Japanese, none
Extras: • Making Of.. (English with forced Japanese subtitles) • Japanese Interview with 3 casts members (only Hartnett speaking English)• Trailer and Teaser (both Japanese)
Bitrate:
Description: Acclaimed French-Vietnamese director Ahn Hyun Tran (The Scent of Green Papaya) brings together top stars from America and Asia for his first English-language film, the 2009 neo-noir thriller I Come with the Rain. A stark departure from Ahn's previous works, I Come with the Rain stars Josh Hartnett as a troubled private eye on a mysterious job that takes him from Los Angeles to Asia. But what starts as a manhunt turns into a lurid journey of revenge and redemption. Three of Asian Cinema's biggest names - Japanese megastar Kimura Takuya (Love and Honor), Korean heartthrob Lee Byung Hun (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra), and Hong Kong actor Shawn Yue (Shamo) - co-star in this visually and emotionally enthralling thriller that matches its stylistic moodiness with harrowing violence, suspense action, and intense performances from the all-star cast.
The Film:
Something seems to have gone terribly wrong in the making of I Come
with the Rain, an undeniably unique but nearly incoherent Hong
Kong-set thriller starring Josh Hartnett and a handful of Asian stars.
This handsomely produced feature from
The Scent of Green Papaya
director Tran Anh Hung looks good, but its story rapidly disintegrates
after the second reel. Too cryptic and poorly executed to appeal to
either mainstream or specialty audiences, the film could struggle to
find distributors willing to release it in Western countries despite
Hartnett in the lead role. I Come With The Rain was released in Japan in early June by Gaga; with star power from local heavyweight Kimura Takuya it earned just over $3 million. CJ Entertainment will try to accomplish similar figures on October 15 in Korea, thanks to the casting of local star Lee Byung-hun. However its prospects in other international markets look shaky. Excerpt from ScreenDaily located HERE
NOTE: We have been informed that the film's original aspect ratio is 2.35: 1 making this Blu-ray cropped and inaccurate.
There are some heavy style changes and even alternate use of film stocks that take place throughout Anh Hung Tran's bizarre I Come With the Rain. This Blu-ray seems to export these visual deviations quite effectively in a faithful dual-layered AVC-encoded transfer from Avex Trax. It reports a strong bitrate and grain levels fluctuate dependant on the intent (past to present), detail is most notable in close-ups but colors seem consistently vibrant. The image quality shows some nice textures and interesting cinematography. The Blu-ray brings these attributes to the transfer cleanly and without manipulation. This disc probably gives a very good representation of the theatrical appearance.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track at 3200 kbps handles the film's separations and aggression with relative ease. There is some explosive gunshots and other violence as well as more subtle effect noises smoothly floating to the rear speakers. My Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.
Extras :Not much in the way of supplements with a short Making Of... in English with forced Japanese subtitles. It has a lot of behind the scenes footage and input by Harnett. There is also a Japanese Interview with 3 casts members (only Hartnett speaking English) and a Trailer and Teaser (both in Japanese). No commentary, nothing on Tran.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze January 15th, 2010
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About the Reviewer: 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 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 3500 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.
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