Disc:

Video:

Audio:

• Behind the scenes (7:11)
• Original UK Theatrical Trailer (1:19)
• Reversible Sleeve

• DVD included

Bitrate:

 

 

 

The Film:

When you first see Catherine, she’s looking upward, her teary, blotchy face filling the frame. She’s suffering, all right, you better believe it, although she doesn’t seem to be doing a particularly good job of convincing the guy who’s mostly off-camera. She looks like a mess — pathetic, really, with her smeared black eye makeup and the tears that just keep pooling and dribbling. The funny thing is that with her wet raccoon eyes and red nose, Catherine — a sensational Elisabeth Moss — also looks like a sad clown. All that’s missing is the black velvet background.

By the time Catherine exits “Queen of Earth,” her frown has turned upside down and a grimace of abject misery has transformed into a vision of manic happiness as if she had traded in her tragedy mask for a comedy one. That it’s unclear which face is scarier, more unnerving, is in keeping with the director Alex Ross Perry’s gift for destabilization, for setting a mood only to violently upend it with cutting looks, dissonant musical chords and off-kilter camera angles.

Excerpt from HollywoodChicago.com located HERE

The IFC Films Region 'A' Blu-ray is reviewed / compared HERE

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

Queen of Earth was shot on 16mm and is transferred to a dual-layered Blu-ray with a max'ed out bitrate by The Masters of Cinema group in the UK. It looks quite thick and textured - probably very similar to how it looked theatrically. The visuals are heavy and rich on the 1080P Blu-ray offering a mesmerizing and authentic 1080P presentation.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Masters of Cinema give the option of a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround at 2720 kbps or a linear PCM stereo (both 24-bit). It sounds intentionally scattered adding to the vérité feel but we can assume the rendering is accurate to the production. The score by Keegan DeWitt (Listen Up Philip) is supportive and sounds clean and mood-enhancing via the lossless. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles - see sample above - and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.

Extras :

Masters of Cinema include some supplements. There is an informative commentary from director/writer Alex Ross Perry and Elisabeth Moss filling in some further details of the production, characters and story. Well worth the indulgence. There is a 7-minute behind-the-scenes focusing on the shooting of one scene. There is the original UK theatrical trailer and the dual-format includes a second disc DVD. The package has a reversible sleeve.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Queen of Earth is very Bergmanesque - like a chamber-piece - and Elisabeth Moss (Top of the Lake, Listen Up Philip) is, again, wonderful to behold. It's a rich, layered, narrative and makes for an impressive viewing experience. Queen of Earth is another good choice for MoC to release on Blu-ray. The 1080P presentation is very fulfilling and the package is absolutely recommended! 

Gary Tooze

June 27th, 2016

 

The IFC Films Region 'A' Blu-ray is reviewed / compared HERE