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#1 ·


The Review at a Glance: (max score: 5 )

Film:


Extras:


Audio/Video total rating:

( Max score: 100 )

76






Studio and Year: PBS - 2011
MPAA Rating: NR
Feature running time: 330 minutes
Genre: Documentary

Disc Format: BD-25
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 1.85:1
Resolution: 1080i/30


Audio Format(s): English/Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English/Spanish SDH
Directed by: Ken Burns & Lynn Novick
Written by: Geoffrey C. Ward
Region Code: A

Blu-ray Disc release Date: October 4, 2011







"The Noble Experiment"



Film Synopsis:


PROHIBITION, directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, takes viewers beyond the oft-told tales of gangsters, rum runners, flappers and speakeasies to experience the rise, rule and fall of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.



My Take:


I am a fan of Ken Burns America Collection film series and consistently find his documentaries to be compelling, poignant and enlightening. Narrated by Peter Coyote and featuring voiceovers by Patricia Clarkson, Blythe Danner, Paul Giamatti, Tom Hanks, John Lithgow and Oliver Platt .PROHIBITION is a three-part, five-and-a-half-hour documentary film directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick that presents a fascinating look at the rise and fall of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution and the entire era it encompassed. As told through interviews with historians, journalists, photos and vintage era footage this film delves deep into how a society founded on individual freedom became a nation of scofflaws and hypocrites. Here is an excellent overview taken from the PBS website:

The culmination of nearly a century of activism, Prohibition was intended to improve, even to ennoble, the lives of all Americans, to protect individuals, families, and society at large from the devastating effects of alcohol abuse. But the enshrining of a faith-driven moral code in the Constitution paradoxically caused millions of Americans to rethink their definition of morality. Thugs became celebrities, responsible authority was rendered impotent. Social mores in place for a century were obliterated. Especially among the young, and most especially among young women, liquor consumption rocketed, propelling the rest of the culture with it: skirts shortened. Music heated up. America's Sweetheart morphed into The Vamp.

Prohibition turned law-abiding citizens into criminals, made a mockery of the justice system, caused illicit drinking to seem glamorous and fun, encouraged neighborhood gangs to become national crime syndicates, permitted government officials to bend and sometimes even break the law, and fostered cynicism and hypocrisy that corroded the social contract all across the country. With Prohibition in place, but ineffectively enforced, one observer noted, America had hardly freed itself from the scourge of alcohol abuse - instead, the "drys" had their law, while the "wets" had their liquor.

The story of Prohibition's rise and fall is a compelling saga that goes far beyond the oft-told tales of gangsters, rum runners, flappers, and speakeasies, to reveal a complicated and divided nation in the throes of momentous transformation. The film raises vital questions that are as relevant today as they were 100 years ago - about means and ends, individual rights and responsibilities, the proper role of government and finally, who is and who is not a real American.

The documentary's segments are spread out over three BD-25 Blu-ray Discs with the bonus features contained on Disc one. The three part series premieres on PBS on October 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Whether you catch it live or opt to pick up this set you are in for another wonderfully enlightening and engaging experience from acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns.



Parental Guide:


This film isn't rated but is suitable for general audiences.





AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100 / EXCELLENT = 83-91 / GOOD = 74-82 / AVERAGE = 65-73 / BELOW AVERAGE = under 65

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**


(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)


Audio: 72


  • Dynamics:

  • Low frequency extension:

  • Surround Sound presentation:

  • Clarity/Detail:

  • Dialogue Reproduction:






Video: 80


(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

  • Resolution/Clarity:

  • Black level/Shadow detail:

  • Color reproduction:

  • Fleshtones:

  • Compression:

Prohibition comes to Blu-ray Disc from Paramount Home Entertainment featuring 1080i AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 24 Mbps and lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 channel audio that has a constant bitrate of 640 kbps.

This is a solid looking encode that has a grainy visual aesthetic and dialed down contrast that appears to hold true to the filmmaker's vision. This documentary style film is made up of large amounts of archival black and white footage, vintage photographs and filmed interviews. The interview segments don't offer any visual stimulation but appear natural enough. The full framed still photography looks terrific and is clearly the star of the show. White and black levels are consistent which lends balance to the variable nature of the presentation. This isn't the type of film that is going to shine in high definition but this appears to be a faithful rendering that capably represents the conglomeration of it elements and looks fine.

I was a little surprised that, unlike the other Ken Burns Documentaries I have reviewed on Blu-ray, this one doesn't contain a lossless soundtrack. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack does a decent job of rendering the audio in this dialogue driven documentary. Peter Coyote's narration and the vocal reproduction during the various interview segments/voiceovers are clear and definitively rendered. Other than the music score's lightly bled rear channel ambience the mix remains front oriented. Being a documentary film there is little call for an active surround mix and to that end I didn't find the presentation lacking in any way.



Bonus Features:

  • 8 Bonus Scenes

  • (HD) In the studio with Florentine Films - 7 minutes

  • 14 interview outtakes





Final Thoughts:


The story of Prohibition's rise and fall is a compelling saga that goes far beyond the oft-told tales of gangsters, rum runners, flappers, and speakeasies, to reveal a complicated and divided nation in the throes of momentous transformation. The film raises vital questions that are as relevant today as they were 100 years ago - about means and ends, individual rights and responsibilities, the proper role of government and finally, who is and who is not a real American. As with other works by acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns I found myself completely immersed in the subject and drawn in by the compelling nature of its telling. Prohibition comes to Blu-ray Disc from Paramount Home Entertainment in this three disc offering that features adequate high definition video quality and over 90 minutes of additional footage. The series debuts on PBS on October 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Whether you catch it live or opt to pick up this set (or both!) you are in for a wonderfully enlightening and engaging look at one of the most interesting and turbulent eras in our history.















Ralph Potts
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews





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Sherbourn Technologies - 7/200 Seven Channel Amplifier

Oppo BDP-93 Universal Disc/3D capable Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Panasonic DMP-BDT310 3D capable Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Sony Playstation 3 Blu-ray disc Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

System Controller: Apple iPad/iRule Pro HD Universal Remote Control

Canton "Ergo" Series speakers

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Wireworld, VizionWare, Better Cables (Silver Serpent) - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling

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#4 ·
Count me as another Ken Burns fan. I have setup the Prohibition series to record and am very much looking forward to seeing it. The prohibition era was a fascinating chapter in American history. It was a classic example of the kind of mischief the unintended consequences of well meaning but naive radical changes in the law can wreak on an unsuspecting people. It was a warning to us all to be very careful before making extreme changes in the law. I can hardly wait to see Burn's take on the era.
 
#6 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jbug /forum/post/21030402


Burns is the Pixar of documentary films. I find his stuff mesmerizing.

Burns does put beautiful images on the screen. I was particularly impressed by the incredibly high resolution of the many old black and white photographs Burns used for Prohibition. I'm looking forward to the last two episodes.
 
#7 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by gwsat /forum/post/21032723


Burns does put beautiful images on the screen. I was particularly impressed by the incredibly high resolution of the many old black and white photographs Burns used for Prohibition. I'm looking forward to the last two episodes.

Same here. "Big Al sends his regards" Rat-a-tat-tat (lol).
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the review Ralph. I've heard some coworkers mention that the first part of Burns' new documentary was quite good so hopefully I can catch them all on PBS.
 
#9 ·
I caught a good portion of the first two episodes on PBS, and as usual, Ken Burns puts together a fascinating documentary. I might have to pick this up on blu-ray just to see the entire thing in one or two sittings.


I was surprised that many of the interview segments looked kind of bad, with poor contrast and odd coloring, whereas the archival black and white pictures, at times, were pristine and gorgeous! Luckily, there's a lot more of the archival stuff, and it makes for a beautiful presentation on the whole.


I wonder how the blu-ray looks compared to the television presentation. There's bound to be an improvement, but how much?
 
#10 ·
A couple of co-workers thought Prohibition moved too slow. I didn't agree with them though. Before the first show on Sunday the Chicago Sun-Times ran an article about Prohibition and mentioned Elliott Ness. I thought he would be mentioned in the documentary but I didn't hear one word about him.


The article mention what I already knew about him not being the one to bring Capone to justice. The article mocked Ness as doing nothing but busting up a few stills and kegs. I've read a couple of books about him and would give him credit for even wanting a job crippling the business's of bloody killers like Capone and Moran.
 
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