1917 4K UHD (2019)

[McCrutchy]

My local AMC theater is still showing The Rise of Skywalker in Dolby Cinema, so I found one about 30 minutes away that was showing 1917 instead.

First of all, wow, what a film. I loved the performances of the two leads and the "one-take" nature of the film allowed me to join in their roller coaster of emotions in an unusually effective way. That's only enhanced by Sam Mendes' exemplary direction and Roger Deakins' superlative cinematography. The film looks gorgeous throughout--appropriately dusty and grimy when often necessary, but often able to find a simple, if sometimes horrible beauty in the very outdoor nature of World War I. The Dolby Vision picture was excellent, and I really wouldn't want to see the film any other way, although I'm sure the IMAX DMR and DCP screenings are excellent, too.

This was my first time at this particular Dolby Cinema location, and I noted that it was quite a bit bigger than the one I usually go to. My usual theater also sometimes has the volume up incredibly loud (John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum), but in this theater, while the opening "Dolby Cinema at AMC" intro was loud, the film seemed very nicely balanced. However, there is one sequence mid-way through the film that totally floored me--it starts with a sound that almost comes out of nowhere from the right side of the theater--and was possibly the best use of Atmos I've ever heard. Also, this is one of the few times I have ever noticed proper overhead sound (planes in the sky) from a Dolby Atmos mix, but then I can only hear Atmos in Dolby Cinema since it's really impractical for me to buy the necessary equipment and set up the extra speakers at home, so you should probably take my thoughts with a large grain of salt.

Regardless, as long as it's not gimped in any way versus the Universal releases, I will probably get the UK UHD BD set from eOne. Like I said before, my hope is that they will just use proper British English discs from Universal, anyway, although if the UK doesn't get a bonus Blu-ray, I may have to buy from a second location, too. I really like bonus Blu-rays,

The bottom line, though, is that this is a tremendous film that should look and sound amazing on UHD Blu-ray, and I can't wait to get my copy.

[Leonidas King]

Like I said in the official thread. This is not just a movie, it's an experience. It puts you right in the middle of it.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Regardless, as long as it's not gimped in any way versus the Universal releases, I will probably get the UK UHD BD set from eOne. Like I said before, my hope is that they will just use proper British English discs from Universal, anyway, although if the UK doesn't get a bonus Blu-ray, I may have to buy from a second location, too. I really like bonus Blu-rays,

Not the same movie but the Dogwoof UHD of Apollo 11 was clearly mastered on their behalf by Universal, I can very much envisage it being the same sort of deal for these eOne discs so I don't think we'll have to worry aboot the technical side of things.

[Rizor]

Originally Posted by Sabre95

Damn, I didn't know this was getting an IMAX release since Star Wars has taken all the IMAX slots at my theater. Guess I'll hope the IMAX version gets leaked online like BR2049 did.

I've read some word that 1917 will be opening in IMAX screens on January 24th when they're freed up from Star Wars.

[TheSweetieMan]

This is the most disappointed I’ve been in a film I had been looking forward to in years. YEARS.

I’ll share more layer, but yeah—huge miss for me.

[Alwayshappy]

Saw it yesterday, was a great movie imo. Not usually a fan of war movies where it's just fighting, but the story kept me on the edge of my seat this time around. Recommended.

[bornthisway]

Saw this last night and it was a harrowing experience I won’t forget anytime soon.
Might be too bold to say this soon, but I’d put it neck and neck with Saving Private Ryan as one of the greatest war films of all time.

Must see in theaters, blew me away.

[Desk.]

1917 is a film that wants to have its cake and eat it.

It sets itself up as a very worthy, earnest, perhaps Oscar-aspiring realistic depiction of the horrors of World War I but then becomes a popcorn action blockbuster with increasing superheroic implausibility which does a slight disservice to the subject matter.

That’s not to say it’s not a really good time at the cinema.

Desk

[JT2]

Saw it last night in Dolby. It was solid. Nothing over the top original but solid. Worth checking out but doubt i'll buy it for a second viewing.

[Scottishguy]

I braved my local Cineworld (British multiplex chain) to see this. While Cineworld did not completely bollocks up the sound mix, though the usual nonsense of lacking detail ect where present as always. Basically Cineworld does quiet with decent dialogue clarity, so it sounds louder when things go boom boom, pew pew. Why? Because the stupid punters don't know the difference. Some of them even pay for 4DX! Also I highly suspect they screw with the projection to nerf the PQ on standard 2D screenings, as to encourage mug punter to go for whatever gimmick they are charging out the ar*se for.

I'm very scornful of the general public at the best of times. But in a cinematic setting, I'm even worse. It just gets harder to have any empathy for them when, like today. I had to endure a guy not only checking his phone every minute, but also the fact he had one of those f'ing smart watches! Which, every time he put his phone away, would shine right in my face as he stretched his arms behind his head! I regret not having thrown my empty bottle of Pepsi Max at him now.

Well I'm safely home now, wanting to give my OLED TV a big hug.

So aye, rant about Cineworld aside. On my initial viewing I thought the film was a solid 4 out of 5 affair on my scale. Not a masterpiece by any stretch. But I loved all the nods to Paths Of Glory, Gallipoli ect.

[bradnoyes]

Just got home from my Dolby Cinema and I liked this quite a bit. Sounded amazing and I think it's going to look lovely on UHD, especially those night scenes with all the fires and flares (this better get a good encode). I'm not sure this is one I'll want to revisit anytime soon but I'll definitely pick up the disc once it is on sale.

As for the movie, I had read A World Undone: The Story of the Great War about a year ago and I've been wanting to see a modern film that depicts the sights and sounds of war at the front lines and this movie definitely fit the bill in that regard. Still, I felt it was missing something that could have pushed it to greatness. Presenting it all as if it was once shot was interesting but I don't know if the movie actually benefited from that approach. It was also a bit predictable and there were a few moments where suspension of disbelief was difficult to maintain. The good performances and Deakins magic helped win the day though.

Overall a solid 4/5 martinis:

[BouCoupDinkyDau]

Saw it last night. Loved it (9/10 on technical merit and cinematography, 8/10 as a whole). Will be buying the UHD.

[Eddydess72001]

Watching in it 4DX was not worth it,
My seat was standing still 95% of the time. Got splash with little bit of water and air that's it. The flim was decent but I was expecting more war violence. I did enjoy single shot style they did. Couldn't get my eyes off the screen but I dont think the flim is as intense like saving private ryan and black hawk down.

[elk3605]

Originally Posted by JT2

Saw it last night in Dolby. It was solid. Nothing over the top original but solid. Worth checking out but doubt i'll buy it for a second viewing.

That's kind of how I felt. It was perhaps a bit too humorless and somber in tone for me. It was harrowing and suspenseful and grim, but the characters were so joyless and humorless that it lacked any levity. Maybe that is to its benefit, but I felt the stories and characters of Saving Private Ryan and Hacksaw Ridge much more than this. There were a few tender moments to be sure, but I never really felt like we got to the core of these characters. Maybe that's ok, just how I felt upon the first reaction.

There was a scene where the main character heads to a house and finds a German soldier waiting for him. This scene was shot and felt very much like a FPS, so much so that it felt more like Resident Evil in that scene than any of those movies actually did IMO. Again, not a bad thing, but that was what I mainly got out of this. It's an experience that immerses you in this world, like say Dunkirk, but the action is mostly either far ahead of the characters or off to the side somewhere. This film didn't succeed so well with me with characters or frontline wartime action, but does on a technical and narrative level in so much as it follows these two characters and their mission very closely. I felt most else was lacking.

Even the score, while excellent as Thomas Newman typically is, didn't offer any triumphant tone that the other pictures I mentioned do. This is a very narrow emotional experience compared to Ryan and Ridge IMO. Maybe it serves its focus better, again just my first impression.

[win200]

The single-take approach often feels like a video game; watching the characters marching along over their shoulders had this RPG effect that created a lot of dead air. I think Mendes got bogged down in the technical gimmickry and didn't step back to assess whether it actually worked for his material.

And the cherry blossom symbolism was pretty hokey.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

My local AMC theater is still showing The Rise of Skywalker in Dolby Cinema, so I found one about 30 minutes away that was showing 1917 instead.

First of all, wow, what a film. I loved the performances of the two leads and the "one-take" nature of the film allowed me to join in their roller coaster of emotions in an unusually effective way. That's only enhanced by Sam Mendes' exemplary direction and Roger Deakins' superlative cinematography. The film looks gorgeous throughout--appropriately dusty and grimy when often necessary, but often able to find a simple, if sometimes horrible beauty in the very outdoor nature of World War I. The Dolby Vision picture was excellent, and I really wouldn't want to see the film any other way, although I'm sure the IMAX DMR and DCP screenings are excellent, too.

This was my first time at this particular Dolby Cinema location, and I noted that it was quite a bit bigger than the one I usually go to. My usual theater also sometimes has the volume up incredibly loud (John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum), but in this theater, while the opening "Dolby Cinema at AMC" intro was loud, the film seemed very nicely balanced. However, there is one sequence mid-way through the film that totally floored me--it starts with a sound that almost comes out of nowhere from the right side of the theater--and was possibly the best use of Atmos I've ever heard. Also, this is one of the few times I have ever noticed proper overhead sound (planes in the sky) from a Dolby Atmos mix, but then I can only hear Atmos in Dolby Cinema since it's really impractical for me to buy the necessary equipment and set up the extra speakers at home, so you should probably take my thoughts with a large grain of salt.

Regardless, as long as it's not gimped in any way versus the Universal releases, I will probably get the UK UHD BD set from eOne. Like I said before, my hope is that they will just use proper British English discs from Universal, anyway, although if the UK doesn't get a bonus Blu-ray, I may have to buy from a second location, too. I really like bonus Blu-rays,

The bottom line, though, is that this is a tremendous film that should look and sound amazing on UHD Blu-ray, and I can't wait to get my copy.

.. and the mine collapse had a ton of sound cues falling from above and all around the listener as well. What I found interesting about the mix and in comparison to the first time I heard which wasn't in Atmos and in the most unideal vantage point: the front row, was that the Atmos mix was a mixed bag. At the Regal in 5.1 in the front row, the sound I thought would be pummeling, it wasn't. At the AMC in Dolby Cinema - the gun shots, made me wince and were ear piercing notably in the 'walk on the collapsed bridge' sequence, which added with the bass kickers in the seats, had this amazing quick staccato body sensation. I had pretty ideal seats in the middle three fourths of the way in the auditorium to hear the Atmos mix overall, but there seemed to very mixing in the back surrounds and the side wall object based placement was pretty subtle at times. Honestly, and I know it's unfair to compare this to Peter Jackson's WWI documentary feature: 'They Shall Not Grow Old' but it's Atmos mix was something to behold: ethereal, bombastic, that sound design team really knocked the ball out of the ballpark with it's mix. I will say, I'm not a fan of AMC Tyson's Dolby Cinema screen as the audio can be dodgy at times, voices had some sibilance/echo effect flaws but the UHD on my home theater setup should sound infinitely better. I also have to note, as others have, that the film on the whole seemed very technique over substance: good but not great.

[Pieter V]

Possible release date: March 24th, 2020.

[DOULG1VEN]

4DX at Pointe Orlando? I hope they update their Imax soon with laser

[Eddydess72001]

Originally Posted by DOULG1VEN

4DX at Pointe Orlando? I hope they update their Imax soon with laser

Please save your money and don't watch it in 4DX. 4DX trailer that plays before the flim has more movement than the actual film it self.

[King Crimson]

Originally Posted by Pieter V

Possible release date: March 24th, 2020.

Now these are the kind of posts that I live for.