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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

H D - S E N S E I

A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

Remember [Blu-ray]

(Atom Egoyan, 2015)

Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Theatrical: Serendipity Point Films

Video: Lionsgate

Disc:

Region: 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 1:34:38.714

Disc Size: 38,618,077,282 bytes

Feature Size: 27,749,695,488 bytes

Video Bitrate: 33.36 Mbps

Chapters: 16

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: May 3rd, 2016

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 3507 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3507 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps / Dolby Surround

Subtitles:

English (SDH), Spanish, none

Extras:

• Audio Commentary with Atom Egoyan, Producer Robert Lantos and writer Benjamin August

• Performances To Remember (16:49)

• A Tapestry of Evil: Remembering the Past (13:47)

• Trailers

• Code for Ultraviolet digital download

Bitrate:

Description: Remember is the contemporary story of Zev, who discovers that the Nazi guard who murdered his family some 70 years ago is living in America under an assumed identity. Despite the obvious challenges, Zev sets out on a mission to deliver long-delayed justice with his own trembling hand. What follows is a remarkable cross-continent road-trip with surprising consequences!

The Film:

Crafting the intelligent thriller is a tough assignment: A sufficiently twisting plot can take up so much artistic space there’s little room left for satisfying development of character and themes. Atom Egoyan’s new film Remember is admirable – remarkably, it builds a drama of genuine suspense around the quest for vengeance of a forgetful 90-year-old – but it is also frustratingly limited in ways that can’t really be discussed without revealing its surprise ending.

Christopher Plummer plays Zev Guttman, an old Jewish man in a nursing home who keeps forgetting that his wife Ruth died last week. Another patient, the wheelchair-bound Max (played with fine clarity by veteran Martin Landau), is determined that despite signs of dementia Zev will not forget their agreement that after Ruth’s death the old men would finally act: Both Max and Zev were at Auschwitz and they have hatched a plan to hunt down and execute the camp commander, living under an alias somewhere in North America.

Excerpt from The Globe and Mail located HERE

The story opens in darkness with breathing sounds as if we were stuck in a deep well. Then Zev Gutman (Christopher Plummer) wakes up in his room in the nursing home, calling for his wife, Ruth, only to be told by the nurse that she had passed away a week ago. Zev suffers from dementia and this is the first of many awakenings. Right away doubt is in the air and Zev is not the dotty old fool so many movie octogenarians are reduced to. Who in this place can he trust? Atom Egoyan's terrifically paced episodic thriller Remember is hard to forget.

Excerpt from Eye For Film located HERE

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

Remember looks very good on Blu-ray from Lionsgate. It was shot on HD using the Arri Alexa and Arri Amira cameras. It has all the attributes of that versatile format - very crisp close-ups and impressive detail. This is dual-layered with a very high bitrate. The image certainly rises above SD-capability. Contrast is adept and it is as clean and flawless as you might expect a modern film to look on Blu-ray. The image is excellent as a representation of the original.

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

Audio :

Lionsgate use a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround at a healthy 3507 kbps (24-bit) although the film doesn't allow the track to test its abilities. It handles everything Remember requires with ease. We can hear some brooding intensity in the excellent score by Mychael Danna (Little Miss Sunshine, Ang Lee's Ride With the Devil and The Ice Storm, Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter, Chloe, Adoration etc.). The audio quality is, essentially, perfectly transferred. There are optional English and Spanish subtitles on the region 'A' Blu-ray disc.

Extras :

Being an Egoyan fan, I really appreciated the audio commentary with director Egoyan, producer Robert Lantos and writer Benjamin August. It made clearer the unique production hurdles of Remmeber and it had some interesting details of how the project came together. Well worth the listen if you were keen on the film and its topic. Performances To Remember runs 17-minutes and looks at the stars of the film including Christopher Plummer, Dean Norris, Martin Landau, Bruno Ganz, Henry Czerny, Jürgen Prochnow etc. A Tapestry of Evil: Remembering the Past is 14-minutes (but could have been longer) looking at the hunt for living Nazi war criminals, Simon Wiesenthal etc. I was fascinated. There are trailer/previews and the package has a leaflet code for Ultraviolet digital download.

BOTTOM LINE:
I see the general consensus critical reaction to Remember is kind of middling but I thought it was brilliant. This isn't dissimilar to my feeling on Egoyan's Chloe - which I also found to be very strong and re-watchable. Plummer may very well the best actor alive today - certainly the best of his generation. He's brilliant - the support is likewise brilliant and you never really know what direction the film is going. Egoyan paces it so well - constantly building suspense. I don't know... I think many critics missed a great film. The Lionsgate Blu-ray produces a fine presentation - coupled with some decent supplements including the commentary! I see a lot of films that I don't bother reviewing because I don't like them - this is one I do. Watch it!

Gary Tooze

April 30th, 2016

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.

Gary's Home Theatre:

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
Momitsu - BDP-899 Region FREE Blu-ray player
Marantz SA8001 Super Audio CD Player
Marantz SR7002 THX Select2 Surround Receiver
Tannoy DC6-T (fronts) + Energy (centre, rear, subwoofer) speakers (5.1)

APC AV 1.5 kVA H Type Power Conditioner 120V

Gary W. Tooze

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