Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Disc:

Video:

Audio:

• Biutiful Crew (4:02)

• Theatrical Trailer (2:01)

• Bookmarkable

Bitrate:

 

Description: Academy Award® nominee Javier Bardem is Uxbal, a man on the wrong side of the law who struggles to provide for his children on the dangerous streets of Barcelona. As fate encircles him, Uxbal learns to accept the realities of life, whether bright, bad — or biutiful — in this unforgettable Academy Award®-nominated film from director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel).

***

Biutiful is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles... to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona. His livelihood is earned out of bounds, his sacrifices for his children know no bounds. Like life itself, this is a circular tale that ends where it begins. As fate encircles him and thresholds are crossed, a dim, redemptive road brightens, illuminating the inheritances bestowed from father to child, and the paternal guiding hand that navigates life's corridors, whether bright, bad - or biutiful.

 

 

The Film:

Excerpt from A.O.Scott at the NY Times located HERE

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

Firstly, in regards to the fluctuating aspect ratio - between 1.85-2.4.0:1 - there is a discussion with the DoP Rodrigo Prieto HERE at the American Society of Cinematographers. Ex. "We made the aspect-ratio transition a few scenes later on a crane shot at the beach, using an angle of the ocean to open the edges of the screen to 2:40. I shot most of the movie with Panavision Ultra Speed [Z Series] MKIIs, and for most of the anamorphic work I used Panavision’s G-Series lenses. Whenever there was a source of light in frame, like a window, the MKIIs would cause a slight flare, and they gave the image a hard edge and contrasty feel that we liked. For certain moments, we enhanced the flare of bright sources with a Tiffen Smoque Filter on the camera."

Biutiful appears consistently thick and rich on Blu-ray from Roadside Attractions.  Blue is dominant and the image has vibrancy. Most of the film (we now know 95%) is shot handheld so there is some have with the movement but detail is still present in the less kinetic scenes.This is dual-layered but as the film is lengthy - the bitrate is modest. Lighting seems more natural lending itself to a more verité feel. The 1080P image is not glossy and has some grain via the 35mm negative format. There is still some noise too - as there are a lot of darker scenes but it is never intrusive. This Blu-ray looks as though it is faithful to the theatrical - exceptionally clean but with a grittiness that belies the production roots and intent. No complaints whatsoever.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The original Spanish track is rendering in a DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 2124 kbps. There is some modest aggression and instances of separation but nothing is deft. There is an original soundtrack by Gustavo Santaolalla notable for his compositions in Into the Wild and Brokeback Mountain. It sounds crisp via the uncompressed track. Like the video this seems as though it is a good representation of the original film. There are optional subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

Extras :

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
This is a touching and powerfully dark film. Biutiful is, at times, like an acting clinic - you almost feel like a voyeur in these people's lives. There are themes of coping and survival impacting heavily on the viewer. This is very close to a masterpiece.  The Blu-ray revels in its authentic, seething-ly grim, appearance. I had an exhausting presentation that will stay with me for a long while. We can strongly recommend this releases! 

Gary Tooze

May 26th, 2011