Children of Men Review (Nordisk Release)

[Innerloop]

Here's my quick review of the Scandinavian release of Children of Men.

I was happy to hear that Universal's Children of Men was to be released on Blu-ray in Scandinavia, as this was one of a short list of films I was really envious of on the HD-DVD side. So I jumped on the chance to import it from axelmusic.dk.

The movie is packaged in the same size package used in the US (thinner than the UK packages) and is very nicely presented, definitely up to US standards in terms of packaging and artwork.

The disc itself is presented in AVC with an average bit-rate of ~32-38 according to the PS3 display. The disc boots initially to a menu to select one of several Scandinavian subtitles, then proceeds straight to the movie. The HD "Nordisk" logo is very nicely done in HD, sometimes import logos can be a bit cheesy, but this was slick.

There is no "None" subtitle option, but after starting the movie its a quick fix to turn off subtitles entirely. There is only one audio track, Dolby Digital 48K sampling rate at 640kbps. Nothing astounding there.

The picture quality is very good and sharp. There is no evidence of any filtering of the film image, there's an appropriate amount of grain and the contrast and colors seem accurately rendered, perhaps erring a bit on the darker side, but I recall the film was the same way (a bit bleak, by design).

There is no pop-up menu or special features. There are just 8 chapter stops in the film, so its not terribly easy to navigate, this part of the authoring definitely seems a bit sub-standard.

The disc appears to be a single-layer BD-25 disc. Since the Universal US release was VC-1 encoded, this would appear to be a new encode of the film, so it would be interesting to do side-by-side comparisons of the 25GB AVC version and the ~30GB VC-1 version. There are a lot of challenging scenes with lots of rolling smoke or fog, but I didn't see much banding evident, which I feared.

Overall this probably isn't going to set any Tier-0 records, but it looks like a skillful encode of a well-transferred master.

[XSilentCobraX]

i Just finshed the movie, and i have one word to say, Brilliant! PQ is 5/5. SQ is 5/5.. And this is released with subtitles, only a DD 5.1 track, but it really did its job..

[Zyclone]

i imported The hitcher and , Hannbial rising from denmark both nordisk releases and while they are'nt tier 0 releases im very happy with them both

[XSilentCobraX]

Originally Posted by Zyclone

i imported The hitcher and , Hannbial rising from denmark both nordisk releases and while they are'nt tier 0 releases im very happy with them both

I own The Hitcher aswell, it looks and sounds stunning

[AaronSCH]

I was quite pleased when I popped this one in my PS3. It looks and sounds stunning on Blu-ray. I am not a big fan of supplemental material, however, Children of Men would have been an exception. It is simply one of the best science fiction films ever produced and I would love to learn more about its production.

[JJ]

I hate to sound a mite foolish but, there are eithe English subtitles or the track itself is in English?

I vaguely speak Swedish, but - could never watch a movie in it.

[Kairav]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

I hate to sound a mite foolish but, there are eithe English subtitles or the track itself is in English?

I vaguely speak Swedish, but - could never watch a movie in it.

The track is in English.

[-zombie-]

Originally Posted by Innerloop

There is no "None" subtitle option, but after starting the movie its a quick fix to turn off subtitles entirely.

Would I be correct in assuming the subtitles are turned off by pressing the subtitle button on the remote then? Just want to clarify if it's that easy or not. Hoping to import this soon.

[AaronSCH]

Originally Posted by nyg

Would I be correct in assuming the subtitles are turned off by pressing the subtitle button on the remote then? Just want to clarify if it's that easy or not. Hoping to import this soon.

Yes. Just shut off subtitles.

[Verbal]

Where exactly did you import this from? Link?

[-zombie-]

Originally Posted by Verbal

Where exactly did you import this from? Link?

www.axelmusic.dk

[Verbal]

Your Order:
5780758672702 Children Of Men 1 x DKK 199,95 DKK 199,95
Additional expenses: DKK 39,95
DKK 239,90

I just spent $46 on this movie. Good thing I love it....

Thanks, nyg

[Zyclone]

Originally Posted by nyg

www.axelmusic.dk

i got my two denmark blu rays from axel and im very happy with the service and shipping time i will order from them again no doubt.

[Verbal]

How long did it take to get to Oz?

[flashback8]

Originally Posted by Verbal

Your Order:
5780758672702 Children Of Men 1 x DKK 199,95 DKK 199,95
Additional expenses: DKK 39,95
DKK 239,90

I just spent $46 on this movie. Good thing I love it....

Thanks, nyg

Actually, the final total will be DKK 199,96 if you're outside Denmark. Long story short, you don't have to pay Denmark's 25% VAT, which essentially means you're getting the disc with almost-free shipping. Go Axelmusic!

[denness544]

Will I be able to play this title of Children of Men on my US PS3?

[Zyclone]

Originally Posted by denness544

Will I be able to play this title of Children of Men on my US PS3?

you sure can

http://bluray.liesinc.net has it listed as being region free

[aristotles]

I just ordered this film.

[denness544]

Originally Posted by Zyclone

you sure can

http://bluray.liesinc.net has it listed as being region free

Sweet! I didn't know the PS3 was region free. Thanks.

[Banjo]

Originally Posted by denness544

Sweet! I didn't know the PS3 was region free. Thanks.

The PS3 itself is not region-free. The movie, "Children of Men" is region-free.