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A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

The Salesman aka "Forushande" [Blu-ray]

 

(Asghar Farhadi, 2016)

 

Also available on Blu-ray from Sony in the US:

 

Review by Gary Tooze

 

Production:

Theatrical: Arte France Cinéma

Video: Artificial Eye / Curzons

 

Disc:

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

Runtime: 2:03:53.291 

Disc Size: 38,207,883,397 bytes

Feature Size: 31,376,904,192 bytes

Video Bitrate: 26.98 Mbps

Chapters: 12

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: May 29th, 2017

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Audio:

LPCM Audio Persian 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
DTS-HD Master Audio Persian 2725 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2725 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

 

Subtitles:

English (burned-in)

 

Extras:

• Trafalgar Square screening featurette (15:24)
 • The Making of The Salesman (15:39)
 • Trailer (2:11)

 

Bitrate:

 

 

Description: With their old flat being damaged, Emad and Rana, a young couple living in Tehran, are forced to move into a new apartment. An incident linked to the previous tenant will dramatically change the couple's life.

***

When a couple's upscale apartment building begins to collapse, a friend offers them a new space to live but doesn't relay that it was formerly inhabited by a prostitute. While home alone at night and taking a shower, the wife is attacked and the aftermath is traumatizing.

 

 

The Film:

With the camera’s sidelong glances at its characters and lingering shots of its settings, that atmosphere of anxiety in the face of half-perceived or ill-explained events hovers over the whole film. The protagonists are the high-school teacher Emad and his wife Rana (played by Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti), both of them amateur actors appearing as Willy and Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman. Now desperate to find a new apartment, they accept an offer from a colleague and move into a place where the previous tenant mysteriously refuses to remove her belongings. The neighbours imply that she’s a prostitute but the apartment is also filled with evidence of her and her child’s apparently happy existence.

Another of the film’s mysteries is what exactly happens one evening when Rana, who is alone in the apartment taking a shower, is attacked by a visitor. From there, The Salesman reveals itself both as a drama of suspense and as a portrait of a marriage – Emad’s protective instincts curdle when they mix with Rana’s fear and shame. Ultimately, he wants to find the culprit and take his revenge, which provides the film’s surprising outcome.

Excerpt from TheGlobeandMail located HERE

At the beginning of “The Salesman,” Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) must evacuate their Tehran apartment. There are cracks in the walls, and the high-rise building is in danger of collapsing. That flawed edifice might stand as a kind of inverse metaphor for the film itself, which is a marvel of meticulous construction. With exquisite patience and attention to detail, Asghar Farhadi, the writer and director, builds a solid and suspenseful plot out of ordinary incidents, and packs it with rich and resonant ideas.

Admirers of his earlier films — including “About Elly,” “The Past” and “A Separation,” a foreign-language Oscar winner in 2012 — will not be surprised. Mr. Farhadi has distinguished himself in his generation of Iranian filmmakers as an astute psychological realist and a fastidious storyteller. Although his films take place in a thoroughly modern, urban environment, there is something satisfyingly old-fashioned about his approach to contemporary life, an understated belief in the ethical value of addressing the complexities of experience through the clarity and subtlety of narrative art.

Excerpt from the NY Times located HERE

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

The Salesman gets an impressive transfer to Blu-ray from Artificial Eye.  It's dual-layered with a supportive bitrate. Colors are brighter and truer than SD could relate and there is no noise. The 1080P has a bit of gloss and depth in the 1.85:1 frame.  It's pristinely clean showcasing some hi-def detail and there are really no flaws with the rendering. This Blu-ray probably looks like exactly the theatrical version of the film The Salesman. It seems devoid of imperfections of any kind and this provides a pleasing video image.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio :

The Artificial Eye Blu-ray of The Salesman offers a DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 2725 kbps. It has hints of separation but everything is of a subtle nature with only a couple of more aggressive instances. There is also a linear PCM stereo track, also in the original Persian, and the subtle score by Sattar Oraki (A Separation) adds some emotion to the presentation. There are no flaws at all with the sound quality. There are burned-in English subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.

 

Extras :

There are some supplement a 1/4 hour Trafalgar Square screening featurette  - with discussion - plus a similar length Making of... with input from the filmmakers. There is also a trailer.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
The Salesman is a magnificent film - close to a masterpiece. It has such probing, thoughtful, dialogue and themes range from personal identity, cultural contrast, grief, tragedy, survival... Brilliantly realized by director Asghar Farhadi.  The Artificial Eye Blu-ray provides a, predictably, strong a/v presentation with the black-mark of the burned-in subtitles (which may not be an issues to many.) This film needs exposure and hopefully this BD will do that job and be as rewarding to others as I found it. A must-see film! 

Gary Tooze

May 26th, 2017

Also available on Blu-ray from Sony in the US:


 

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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