“the Bear” And “two Brothers” In Amazon Fr

[donaldheil]

For those who are interested (or familiar with this movies), Jean Jacques Annaud’s “The bear” (L’Ours) and “Two Brothers” (Deux Frères) are available in BLU RAY from www.amazon.fr

Both discs are REGION FREE (or rather "Regions A B C"), so the main feature can be enjoyed on Region A players. And unlike the French Pathè release of INTO THE WILD, in the case of BEAR and BROTHERS (also from Pathè Studios) the movie can be watched with English audio (the ORIGINAL audio of these movies) with NO forced French subtitles (the French subtitles –the only ones included- are removable, and also there is a French audio track included).

In the case of THE BEAR, the extras might play, but since they are PAL encoded (no HD) region A players won’t run the image properly. Most of the extras are in French with no subtitles anyway. In the case of TWO BROTHERS, the only extra included, an extensive “Making of” documentary, will play correctly, but it’s in French, with no subtitles.

The music in both movies is very beautiful, and worth paying attention too. Both features, being widescreen, with the landscapes that they have, and with the main presence of animals in the wild, is an obvious choice to watch in Blu Ray. They somehow work like chapters of Planet Earth with a dramatic story. And anyone who have watched Planet Earth knows that you haven’t watched it until you watch it in Blu Ray.

THE BEAR

I’ve learnt that no widescreen release has been available on DVD in the USA for a long time, so the Blu Ray release, in its original aspect ratio, is very good news.

The bad news for some will be:

-The image is a litlle jittery, meaning, it has slight unnatural movement from side to side, more noticeable in still shots. It’s present throughout the entire movie.

-Noise reduction has been applied, so there’s no grain, and the filmlike quality is absent. Instead, some images, if watched too closely, look like an oil paint.

Since I have a 40’ inch TV, I can say that from my normal distance, I was not bothered by the noise reduction, and got used to the jittery picture after a while, not being distracted as to not enjoy the movie. But something very different might happen to those with bigger sets.

The DTS English track is satisfactory, although it looks like it has been manipulated too. I would have preferred less treble and more bass. But it all might be the product of being a relatively old movie (1988).

TWO BROTHERS

The image of this one has been left alone. Grain is present, for more detail and naturalistic look. In fact, the picture quality is astonishing. Obviously, being a more recent movie (2004), this one didn’t need any kind of restoration (or manipulation, if you will) to look good.

The DTS English track is very good.

This is a more Disney-esque movie, more family oriented. There is more human participation and dialogues. Still, it doesn’t resort to the occasional silliness that can be found in some Disney movies, and it can be perfectly enjoyed by adults.

For more information (especially for those who don's know this movies) you can visit:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095800/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338512/