CULVER CITY, Calif. (February 29, 2016) – SON OF SAUL, Academy AwardŽ, Golden GlobeŽ and Independent Spirit Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, arrives on Blu-ray™, DVD & Digital on April 26 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. A powerful feature film debut from director László Nemes, this Sony Pictures Classics film is anchored by a compelling performance by Géza Röhrig and superb cinematography by Mátyás Erdély. In addition to the winning the Academy Award, Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award, SON OF SAUL won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and was named the Best Foreign Language Film by associations including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Board of Review and the Broadcast Film Critics Association. SON OF SAUL was an official selection at the 2015 Toronto International and New York Film Festivals.
Special features on SON OF SAUL include a commentary with director László Nemes, actor Géza Röhrig and cinematographer Mátyás Erdély as well as a Q&A with Nemes, Röhrig and Erdély at the Museum of Tolerance and a deleted scene.
Synopsis
October 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau. Saul (Géza Röhrig) is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners forced to assist the Nazis. While working, Saul discovers the body of a boy he takes for his son. As the Sonderkommando plans a rebellion, Saul decides to carry out an impossible task: save the child's body, find a rabbi to recite the mourner's Kaddish and offer the boy a proper burial.
SON OF SAUL is directed by László Nemes, with a screenplay by Nemes and Clara Royer. Produced by Gábor Sipos and Gábor Rajna. Cinematography by Mátyás Erdély. The film stars Géza Röhrig.
Special Features:
Commentary with director László Nemes, actor Géza Röhrig and cinematographer Mátyás Erdély
Museum of Tolerance Q&A with director László Nemes, actor Géza Röhrig and cinematographer Mátyás Erdély
Deleted Scene
SON OF SAUL has a running time of 107 minutes. It is rated R for disturbing violent content and some graphic nudity.
The film is in Hungarian, Yiddish, German, Russian and Polish with English subtitles.
Saw this at the theater yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised it was in the Academy ratio. I haven't seen Shoah, but this seems like a fairly faithful depiction. The film is mostly composed of medium to fairly long tracking shots and the lens used keeps the faces in the foreground in focus with background action mostly blurred. The film has one of the most intricate sound designs I've encountered in a while. In fact, I'm surprised it wasn't nominated for an Oscar in the sound editing or sound mixing categories. Despite some cringe inducing moments, I'm looking forward to watching again once the blu comes out.
Saw this at the theater yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised it was in the Academy ratio. I haven't seen Shoah, but this seems like a fairly faithful depiction. The film is mostly composed of medium to fairly long tracking shots and the lens used keeps the faces in the foreground in focus with background action mostly blurred. The film has one of the most intricate sound designs I've encountered in a while. In fact, I'm surprised it wasn't nominated for an Oscar in the sound editing or sound mixing categories. Despite some cringe inducing moments, I'm looking forward to watching again once the blu comes out.
When you saw it, was the framerate really weird, so it looked very video-y, like The Hobbit at 60 frames a second?
It looked like that when I saw it, along with all the trailers, and I complained, but the theater manager SWORE the film was meant to look like that. The theater is in LA and he said they have directors and all coming there all the time and nobody has complained before.
Needless to say, I didn't believe him. wondering if anyone else saw the film and noticed anything like this.
When you saw it, was the framerate really weird, so it looked very video-y, like The Hobbit at 60 frames a second?
It looked like that when I saw it, along with all the trailers, and I complained, but the theater manager SWORE the film was meant to look like that. The theater is in LA and he said they have directors and all coming there all the time and nobody has complained before.
Needless to say, I didn't believe him. wondering if anyone else saw the film and noticed anything like this.
a L.A theater - that has director's 'coming there all the time' and this was digital projection and NOT 35mm ?? that's very odd. what theater was this?
a L.A theater - that has director's 'coming there all the time' and this was digital projection and NOT 35mm ?? that's very odd. what theater was this?
Almost all theaters in LA use digital projection. It was at the Landmark at the Westside Pavilion. It ran in 35mm at another nearby theater for a few weeks, but that theater is a dump and I routinely avoid it. Now I wish I had gone there instead.
He was telling the truth though about filmmakers coming there all the time, it's a favored location for Q&A screenings, especially during Oscar season. I've attended many there.
Last edited by James Luckard; 03-01-2016 at 12:56 AM.
I did not notice anything odd with the projection at my showing.
BTW, I recommend seeing this in the theater if you can. I will be buying the BD as well but am grateful I was able to see it on the big screen first. Even with the tight framing and focused narrative this is a larger than life experience deserving of a theater viewing.
That said, if it's home viewing or nothing, then by all means watch any way you can.
I did not notice anything odd with the projection at my showing.
BTW, I recommend seeing this in the theater if you can. I will be buying the BD as well but am grateful I was able to see it on the big screen first. Even with the tight framing and focused narrative this is a larger than life experience deserving of a theater viewing.
That said, if it's home viewing or nothing, then by all means watch any way you can.
Sounds like it was indeed a fault with the digital projector. And the manager went on and on about how carefully it was calibrated. Ugh. Wish I had seen it during the 35mm special engagement at the other theater. Apparently SON OF SAUL played for its first few weeks at a handful of theaters around the country only in 35mm, at the request of the director.
For all the problems 35mm projection could run into, people didn't realize that digital projection can look just as bad, if not worse, if done poorly. The high framerate/motion smoothed appearance was enormously distracting. And Ive encountered it at other multiplexes in the LA area recently - AMC Universal Citywalk, when I went to CINDERELLA for example, where I demanded a refund and saw it on the IMAX screen instead. Lots of people are used to all their movies looking like soap operas because they have their TVs set incorrectly, so they don't notice at theaters. It's presentations like this that drive me to only see movies at the Arclight, or wait for Blu-Ray. Sigh.
The film looks really good and I looking forward to see how it handles the subject matter. I've read about it and it's sounds novel how the director chose what not to show but only suggest in both framing and sound design.
For me the ultimate take on the Holocaust will always be WAR AND REMEMBERANCE. I only saw it once, during the intimal airing, and the emotional impact has haunted me for many years. A close second was The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
I didn't care for Shindler's List - certain imagery was stolen from WAR AND REMEMEBERENCE, done prior.
Has anyone seen W&R to compare with SOS?
Sounds like it was indeed a fault with the digital projector. And the manager went on and on about how carefully it was calibrated. Ugh. Wish I had seen it during the 35mm special engagement at the other theater. Apparently SON OF SAUL played for its first few weeks at a handful of theaters around the country only in 35mm, at the request of the director.
For all the problems 35mm projection could run into, people didn't realize that digital projection can look just as bad, if not worse, if done poorly. The high framerate/motion smoothed appearance was enormously distracting. And Ive encountered it at other multiplexes in the LA area recently - AMC Universal Citywalk, when I went to CINDERELLA for example, where I demanded a refund and saw it on the IMAX screen instead. Lots of people are used to all their movies looking like soap operas because they have their TVs set incorrectly, so they don't notice at theaters. It's presentations like this that drive me to only see movies at the Arclight, or wait for Blu-Ray. Sigh.
This was also the case for select prerelease film festival screenings . I had had tix for the Middleburg Virginia screening but couldn't go at the last minute so I can't vouch for that Festivals two screenings; but UVA' s Film Festival was 35mm as was AFI' s European Union Festival in early December (the director was in attendance and did a post film Q&A)
Anybody else read DVDtalk's review? 3 stars for PQ:
[Show spoiler]"Video: With an aspect ratio of 1.35:1 (1080p HD) and shot using Arricam LT & Arriflex 235 cameras with Zeiss Master Prime lenses, the video quality of the Blu-ray disc is not what you watch this film for. The picture actually doesn't stretch to fill in a widescreen format TV, keeping the black sides and that near-square picture box in the middle. The clarity of the picture is fine, but it's the cinematography that will stun you. Matyas Erdely follows Auslander around in a manner that perhaps we've seen attempted before, but never executed to this level of perfection."
In 2016 a professional reviewer is complaining that a movie is being presented in its OAR? I can't tell if the low score is because of that or whether there's other issues with the PQ.
Anybody else read DVDtalk's review? 3 stars for PQ:
[Show spoiler]"Video: With an aspect ratio of 1.35:1 (1080p HD) and shot using Arricam LT & Arriflex 235 cameras with Zeiss Master Prime lenses, the video quality of the Blu-ray disc is not what you watch this film for. The picture actually doesn't stretch to fill in a widescreen format TV, keeping the black sides and that near-square picture box in the middle. The clarity of the picture is fine, but it's the cinematography that will stun you. Matyas Erdely follows Auslander around in a manner that perhaps we've seen attempted before, but never executed to this level of perfection."
In 2016 a professional reviewer is complaining that a movie is being presented in its OAR? I can't tell if the low score is because of that or whether there's other issues with the PQ.
He doesn't like it or doesn't know it's OAR.
I personally hated the camerawork. This isn't a movie you want to watch on the big screen. Further on the fact the camera is so close to the protagonist, it feels kinda fake. It's like the protagonist is allowed to get further into the situation // getting closer to guards, since the camera is so close on him.
The film looks really good and I looking forward to see how it handles the subject matter. I've read about it and it's sounds novel how the director chose what not to show but only suggest in both framing and sound design.
For me the ultimate take on the Holocaust will always be WAR AND REMEMBERANCE. I only saw it once, during the intimal airing, and the emotional impact has haunted me for many years. A close second was The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
I didn't care for Shindler's List - certain imagery was stolen from WAR AND REMEMEBERENCE, done prior.
Has anyone seen W&R to compare with SOS?
Branko Lustig, an Auschwitz survivor, was a producer on both films. That said, I never noticed any imagery in Schindler's List that was too similar to W&R, and W&R is one of my favorite films ever.
I agree, Boy in the Striped Pajamas is brilliant too, and an exceptionally accurate and nuanced portrait of that world, with the obvious exception of the stylized way the two boys meet, which is meant to be like a fable.
I thought it was a good movie with the highlight of it being experiencing the Holocaust from the perspective of the Sonderkommandos, who were forced to assist with the disposal of gas chamber victims amongst other things.
The film is incredibly well-made for a debut film, with the strongest parts for me being the pre-credits introduction involving
[Show spoiler]the gas chamber deaths
and the ending involving
[Show spoiler]Saul seeing a boy appear in front of the shack doorway. Many have interpreted this as Saul witnessing what he believes to be his son's spirit, but as we soon find out, the boy is merely a pawn in locating the prisoners for the Germans (intentionally or unintentionally).
No matter how many times I read or watch something involving the Holocaust, I'll never be able to fathom how something like this was allowed to occur. Simply put, it's despicable and sickening.
This film was like a nightmare come to life. I don't see myself owning it, but it's probably one of the best movies I've ever seen. So powerful. It's one of those movies where the filmmakers made all the right choices and created such a strong vision.
This disc is Region AB LOCKED. It will not play on a Region C player.
Sony have provided the original audio in DTS-HD MA 5.1, along with an English: Dolby Digital 5.1 descriptive audio track, and an English-language audio commentary with Writer/Director László Nemes, Actor Géza Röhrig, and Cinematographer Mátyás Erdély. The main feature comes with optional English SDH, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles, while the audio commentary comes with optional English SDH, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles.
Video extras include a deleted scene, a lengthy Q&A with Nemes, Röhrig and Erdély, and the Sony Pictures Classics Trailer for the film. The deleted scene and Q&A also come with optional English SDH, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles, while the trailer comes with burned-in English subtitles and optional Portuguese subtitles.
All subtitling is in white font.
Code:
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track Secondary Audio Track
----- ------ ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------ ---------------------
00001.MPLS AVC 1:47:10 25,145,438,208 37,732,152,328 31.28 24.94 DTS-HD Master 5.1 3633Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)
I was surprised to see this not sold in Best Buy this week. I also don't like the current $24.99 price that much. If other movies like Spotlight and Room can be cheaper than so should this.
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