Theatrical: Kramer & Sigman Films

Video: Sony + Artificial Eye

• An Evening at TIFF with Damián Szifrón (6:47)

• Theatrical trailer (2:11)

• The Making of Wild Tales (24:56)
• Interview with the director (6:01)
• Trailer (1:49)

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Description: Inequality, injustice and the demands of the world we live in cause stress and depression for many people. Some of them, however, explode. This is a movie about those people.

Vulnerable in the face of a reality that shifts and suddenly turns unpredictable, the characters of Wild Tales cross the thin line that divides civilization and barbarism. A lover's betrayal, a return to a repressed past and the violence woven into everyday encounters drive the characters to madness as they cede to the undeniable pleasure of losing control.

 

 

The Film:

Ordinary people provoked into acts of madness is the energizing theme of Wild Tales, an extreme satire about modern life by Argentinean writer/director Damián Szifrón.

With the darkest of humour, it graphically illustrates what happens when the stress of 21st century living causes regular citizens to “go postal.”

The aptly named Wild Tales, a Best Foreign Language Film nominee at the most recent Academy Awards, is produced by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, whose own films frequently approach social meltdowns in a slapstick vein.

Szifrón’s movie, a portmanteau of six distinct stories, also provokes shocked laughter, as it did at its Cannes world premiere last May and at TIFF last September. You almost feel guilty for laughing.

But it’s more from the jolt of witnessing the violent lengths people will go to to settle grievances big and small.

Excerpt from TheTornto Star located HERE

 

Revenge is served cold and sometimes hot but always deliciously in this collection of six darkly comic shorts from Argentina's Damián Szifron, which ought to be a strong contender in the foreign language category when Oscar night rolls round. Each of the tales - Pasternak, The Rats, Road To Hell, Dynamite, The Bill and Till Death Us Do Part - sees the preyed upon become predator and when these worms turn, they bite.

From chance encounters on a plane, which may be more than they appear, to the frustrations of a man whose car is towed and the cracks in a couple's relationship that begin to show even before their wedding cake is cut, Szifron takes each situation and twists it into a tale of the unexpected. Elsewhere, a diner waitress toys with vengeance, road rage could prove fatal and a car accident leads to sinister scheming. Szifron has the sensibility and unpredictability of Roald Dahl, pushing his characters until they snap but never quite in the way we imagine they might.

Excerpt from EyeForFilm located HERE

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

Wild Tales comes to Blu-ray from Sony with a lot of fan-favorite support. It appears to have been shot on high-end digital and looks, appropriately, very sharp and crisp with frequent depth and a smidgeon of teal-leaning. The 1080P visuals look pristine. the format chosen exports a shade of haze in-motion but the overall visuals are strikingly rich and full in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio. This Blu-ray has a, predictably, consistent appearance with no flaws and Javier Julia's cinematography is expertly supported in the HD disc presentation.

Pretty similar but the AE is marginally superior for those that care enough. A shade crisper and richer contrast - but this may be imperceptible depending on how discerning a system you have.

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

 

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP 2) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The audio is transferred in a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track at a healthy 3722 kbps in the original Spanish. There are plenty of separated effects that definitely benefit from the robust lossless rendering with floor rattling depth notable in Road To Hell and Dynamite plus the beautiful score by Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain, 21 Grams, Biutiful.) There is other music - much of it in Till Death Us Do Part including Giorgio Moroder's Love Theme From Flashdance - Lady, Lady, Lady, Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words), and Kobi Oshrat's Hallelujah. Dialogue was clear and plus there is an optional 'Descriptive Audio' track and subtitle options on the region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.

Audio is likewise too close to call but technically AE advances with a more robust 5.1 and also offers a linear PCM 2.0 channel, but we lose the audio descriptive track and the French DUB. It also has optional English subtitles but is coded region 'B'-locked.

Extras :

Sony add some extras; Wild Shooting: Creating the Film is a 25-minute 'making of' with input from the director, producer and others about the evolution of Wild Tales. We also get a 7-minute Evening at TIFF with Damián Szifrón where the director helps introduce a screening of the film at the Toronto International Film Festival. There is also a theatrical trailer.

Same making of and trailer but we lose the TIFF evening but gain a decent 6-minute interview with the director, Damián Szifrón. Even-Steven, IMO.

 

Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

 

Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
A black comedy with pure joy throughout. I loved Wild Tales with my only negative being the lengthy last segment (Till Death Us Do Part) that I wasn't partial to.  Otherwise I was swept up in the, sometimes, graphic and violent, charm of the well-established ride to revenge. I, likewise, thoroughly enjoyed the Sony Blu-ray presentation. This is a film that is very much worth seeing and repeating for friends. Recommended!

 

I liked it just as much the second time - even knowing what would happen. Great film to show to friends - or certain segments. AE advances but not enough to make issue, IMO. Great film to have in the collection. Absolutely recommended!