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Big Bad Wolves aka 'Mi mefahed mezeev hara' [Blu-ray]
(Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado, 2013)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: United Channel Movies Video: Magnolia Home Entertainment / 101 Films
Disc: Region: FREE! / 'B' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:49:43.577 / 1:49:51.541 Disc Size: 44,694,193,044 bytes / 32,389,347,450 bytes Feature Size: 36,498,493,440 bytes / 25,040,474,112 bytes Video Bitrate: 33.99 Mbps / 24.98 Mbps Chapters: 12 / 8 Case: Standard Blu-ray case / UK thick case Release date: April 22nd, 2014 / August 19th, 2019
Video (both): Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio Hebrew 3990 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3990 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit / DN -5dB) DUB: DTS-HD Master Audio English 3806 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3806 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio Hebrew 2068 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2068
kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles: English (SDH), English (Narrative), English, French, Spanish, none
English (burned-in)
Extras: • Making of Big Bad Wolves (16:17 in Hebrew with English subtitles - 1080P)• AXS TV: A Look at Big Bad Wolves (2:57) • Theatrical trailer (1:43) • Previews from Magnolia
•
Last Night at the Empire: Big Bad Wolves at
FrightFest (NEW) (24:01)
Bitrate:
Description: A series of brutal murders puts the lives of three men on a collision course: the father of the latest victim now out for revenge, a vigilante police detective operating outside the boundaries of law, and the main suspect in the killings - a religious studies teacher arrested and released due to a police blunder. *** The vengeful father of a young murder victim, a rogue police detective, and a religious teacher who's become the prime suspect in a brutal series of killings are drawn into a conflict that threatens to turn tragic as authorities race to capture an elusive killer.
The Film:
A foul tale foully told, the Israeli horror flick “Big Bad Wolves”
begins on a dreamy, once-upon-a-time note with three children playing
hide-and-seek. As a boy counts down, two girls, one dressed in red and
the other in blue, enter a derelict building. One stays, the other
leaves; one dies; the other, well, who knows, much less cares, what
happens to her? Certainly not the writers and directors, Aharon Keshales
and Navot Papushado, for whom murdered children are just an easy,
conveniently blunt and effectively faceless (and headless) means to a
self-satisfied, jokey and blood-slicked end. Aharon Keshales and Avot Papushado’s debut feature Rabies — an escalation-of-disasters shaggy-dog tale with a Coenesque vibe — marked out the Israeli writer-directors as talents to watch. That promise is more than fulfilled in their second film, which manages a tricky balance of horror and black comedy. Its premise echoes other movies, including the recent Prisoners, but Big Bad Wolves takes a fresh approach. The War On Terror subtext has a deeper, darker meaning in an Israeli context, where the filmmakers suggest everyone has learned torture techniques during military service. Excerpt from Empire Online located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Big Bad Wolves was shot on digital (Arri Alexa) and looks quite 'digitized' on Blu-ray from Magnolia via a dual-layered disc with max'ed out bitrate. The image quality has all the clarity and crispness we've come to expect from this HD production format with the usual thickness and minor smearing effects in-motion. Colors seem bright and true and contrast had no flaring instances looking very adept in the darker basement scenes. Daylight scenes are more impressive but nothing is overly dark and there was no noise. This Blu-ray exports the film's video probably about as well as it did theatrically. It is a pristinely clean, flat, less-textured presentation that supports the film adequately in-motion.
This new release of "Big Bad Wolves" comes to us from 101 Films and is the UK Blu-ray premiere. The film is housed on a dual-layered Blu-ray and features a modest bitrate. The only difference when compared to the previous Region 'Free' Blu-ray from Magnet is that this transfer seems to be a tad brighter, which results in some skintones looking a little more washed out, though this is only noticeable when directly comparing the two. This is a fine transfer, though it has hardcoded subtitles without the option of removing them, which I suppose could be a dealbreaker for some.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :Audio is the Blu-ray's strongest suit, IMO. We get a powerful DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround at a resounding 3990 kbps in original Henrew and a similarly robust, but superfluous, English DUB. Effects are crisp but I was most taken with Haim Frank Ilfman's intense score that reminded me of Herrmann (strings). It's beautiful work supporting the film's darker moments building brooding drama and suspense. It sounds extremely effective via the lossless. There are optional subtitles and m y Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.
The film now gets a similar DTS-HD Master audio track in 5.1 surround, though only 16-bit (as opposed to Magnolia's 24-bit track). Also included here is a 2.0 linear PCM uncompressed stereo track, which is a fine choice if you do not have a surround set-up. As mentioned above, the film features hardcoded subtitles that are unable to be removed. This is a Region 'B' Blu-ray from 101 films in the UK.
Extras : Magnolia offer a 16-minute HD 'Making of Big Bad Wolves' piece in Hebrew with English subtitles. It has the principals discussing the production - and offers some insight into the film's evolution. There is also a brief AXS TV: A Look at Big Bad Wolves advert running less than 3-minutes, a trailer and some Magnolia Previews.
Just like on the Magnolia Blu-ray, we get the AXS TV promo fluff, as well as the theatrical trailer. What IS new is the 24-minute "Last Night at the Empire: Big Bad Wolves at FrightFest", a sharply-produced mix of interviews with the filmmakers and festival organizers, as well as footage from the festival. Featured in this piece are; Mitch Harrod, Ian Rattray, Paul McEvoy, Navot Papushado, Aharon Keshales and Alan Jones.
Magnolia - Region FREE - Blu-ray
101 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
BOTTOM LINE:
"Big Bad Wolves" is still quite a thrilling and gritty take on the revenge thriller. If you can handle the violence, there is a lot of nuance and humor just below the surface. Highly recommend checking this film out for the right crowd. Gary Tooze April 12th, 2014 Colin Zavitz August 17th, 2019
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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 5000 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. 60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD
Oppo Digital BDP-83 Universal Region FREE Blu-ray/SACD
Player APC AV 1.5 kVA H Type Power Conditioner 120V Gary W. Tooze ALL OUR NEW FORMAT DVD REVIEWS
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