Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Video: BFI

Disc:

Video:

Audio:

DVD (with possible further extras) included of the Director's Cut

Bitrate:

 

Description: Al Pacino heads a stellar cast (Nastassja Kinski, Donald Sutherland, Richard O'Brien, Joan Plowright, and Annie Lennox) in this powerful and unsentimental depiction of the American War on Independence

Epic in scale and execution, Hugh Hudson's (Chariots of Fire) film follows the fortunes of single father Tom Dobb (played with dogged resilience by Al Pacino) as he fights to protect his only son against the violent course of History. Superb performances, breathtaking set pieces and a poignant score by John Corigliano combine to produce an uncompromising evocation of the chaos and squalor of war.

***

This period drama about the American Revolution has an overlay of rhetoric that thwarts the action, flattening out the... story about a man and his loved ones caught up in the events of the time. Tom Dobb (Al Pacino) falls in love with Daisy McConnahay (Nastassja Kinski), an aristocrat who deserts her class to fight alongside the rebels. Tom teaches his son Ned (Dexter Fletcher) everything he needs to learn, though the growing rebellion consumes most of his attention. Eventually, the Redcoats are mowed down in large battle scenes, as the ragtag Colonialists go to war.

 

 

The Film:

Excerpt from the NY Times located HERE

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

Revolution is offered by BFI in both the theatrical and 11-minute shorter Director's Cut version in 1080P. The cuts are seamlessly branched so quality of the two version is on par. We have a lot of hand-held gyrations and a grain-filled appearance with Revolution. I think it looks okay - I like the texture.  This is only single-layered and one of the earlier classic brought to hi-def disc. Colors seem tighter and truer than SD could relate and contrast exhibits healthy, rich black levels. The film is almost exclusively naturally lit and the visuals benefit showcasing some occasional depth. This dual-layered Blu-ray looks solid without digital manipulation of the Warner print.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 1390 kbps isn't too shabby handling the battle sequences quite well. It won't blow your widows out but the depth may rattle a few floorboards. Separation has mostly modest movement to the rear speakers. The original score by John Corigliano sounds very crisp. BFI add optional English subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.

Extras :

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Admittedly the 'theatrical cut' is a joke on us - swaths of the film were disjointed and it, generally, lacks any cohesive composure. But even the shorter 'Director's Cut' doesn't seem to work in any significant sense either. I love Pacino - but not in Revolution. Would the, hinted, Gere have been a better choice? I don't know.  There were some impressive sequences - but overall the film seems missing some vital ingredients and bites off for more than it can chew with the vastness of the topic. The BFI Blu-ray does its job and adding the theatrical and DC add an anomaly-factor to its place in cinema. 

Gary Tooze

June 7th, 2012