CLICK to order from:

Eureka/Masters of Cinema

Region 2 - PAL

1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 6.87 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.66:1

Edition Details:
• 36-PAGE BOOKLET including a new essay by Craig Keller and an interview with Moebius about the making of the film
• Original theatrical trailer with optional English subtitles

DVD Release Date: October 22nd, 2007
Keep Case

Chapters 12

"Les maîtres du temps" is another fine release from Masters of Cinema. The film tells the story of a galactic freighter carrying an evil prince fleeing with his planet's treasury, when they receive a distress call asking them to rescue a young boy who is the sole survivor of an attack of killer alien wasps on a distant planet. The film is then told from both the perspective of the crew racing to save the boy, and the boy as he explores his environment. Like Laloux's other films, the sci-fi fantasy combination isn't always the easiest to understand, and the last five minutes or so of the film really left me scratching my head. Other than this minor complaint, the film is fairly good and definitely worth viewing.

As the cover informs us, the print used for the disc is the result of a new progressive and high definition remastering of the material, preserving the original anamorphic 1.66:1 aspect ratio, and I have to say that the work that they put into this print really shows. The image on disc is generally sharp and I didn't see even a hint of damage or artefacting. The colors are, as I believe, accurate to Laloux's original presentation and weren't boosted or distorted in the remastering process.

The disc uses a Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track with the dialogue in the original French. The audio sounds about as good as any DD 2.0 track that I've come across, without any hint of manipulation or unwanted background noise. The removable subtitles are only available in English, and do not interfere with the image.

There are two special features on the disc. First, there's the film's original French trailer. Second, MoC has also thrown in one of their typically exquisite fully illustrated booklet. This 36 page booklet contains a lengthy and informative essay on the film, as well as an interview with comic book artist Moebius on the making of the film.

Time and time again MoC has shown why they're one of the best DVD production companies working today, and this release is no exception. It's a good film that has been lovingly handled by some of the masters in the industry and is therefore an easy recommendation.

 - Brian Montgomery

CLICK to order from:

Eureka/Masters of Cinema

Region 2 - PAL