[John Mason]

Based on the French version, this one's reviewed by Stanley in yesterday's NY Times . Apparently it's very close, scene-wise, to the original, which appeared here, with captions, on the Sundance channel (see AVS thread ). The returned-from-the--'dead' teen girl, the first of many, is assured by someone she's not a zombie...so that's satisfying. A&E also puts the next-week episode on its "On Demand" list. Watched both out of curiosity Monday after switching out of boredom from yet another bank-robbery/criminal plot on CBS's Person of Interest. Amusing twist on returned; not sure they'll ever answer the endless 'what's going on here' questions everyone asks of the clueless returned. -- John

 

[WilliamR]

We watched it, thought it was interesting enough to give it a couple more episodes.

 

[MeatChicken]

We watched it, thought it was interesting enough to give it a couple more episodes.

Haven't watched it yet ....
How would you compare/describe it in relation to the ABC show, & the HBO series ..?

 

[Josh Z]

We watched it, thought it was interesting enough to give it a couple more episodes.

That's kind of where I'm at. I only watched the first episode. The storyline where the teen girl returns home out of the blue like nothing happened and her parents are totally freaked out was really interesting. Some of the other storylines, less so. The bit where the idiot fake psychic walks through the super-creepy tunnel at night was like something out of a lame slasher flick.

 

[oink]

Guys, just go with the French series.
I doubt the American version will be on the same level.

I have the 1st season on BD (excellent AV).
It is fascinating drama...mysterious and very creepy (AND beautifully shot).

 

[John Mason]

Guys, just go with the French series.
I doubt the American version will be on the same level.

I have the 1st season on BD (excellent AV).
It is fascinating drama...mysterious and very creepy (AND beautifully shot).

Notice at the tech spec page that the French TV series was shot with the Arri Alexa, often used with many nice-looking PBS Masterpiece series. Suprior bitrates on Blu-rays sure do aid fidelity compared to TV bandwidths.


Tech page for A&E's Vancouver-based production so far is bare-bones limited, but details may pop up somewhere soon. Had mixed opinions about PQ watching the two first episodes yesterday. The mountain scenes generally seem to be captured okay. Recall one shot of a necklace on an attractive woman (sitting at a window) that seemed too filtered at the camera, likely meant to minimize any potential wrinkles.


Another scene from the On Demand second episode, showing a woman's face filling half the frame, and lighted from behind, showed lots of straggling hairs. They seemed similar resolution-wise to a frame I'd measured recently from a 35mm-filmed 4k-DI Blu-ray. But the Returned hair images were ~3mm wide compared to ~2mm for the 4k-DI Blu-ray image . -- John

 

[WilliamR]

Haven't watched it yet ....
How would you compare/describe it in relation to the ABC show, & the HBO series ..?

I thought it was better then both. Had more of a mystery element, especially with the reveal near the end.


The ABC show really didn't do anything about the mystery of the returned and how/why, etc. and became to much of a soap drama. The HBO show, I assume you mean the one where 1% of the population disappears?, that one isn't about the returned so it doesn't really compare, but I found this one much more interesting then the HBO show.


The way the returned act in this show is creepy and foreshadowing (possibly) of what is to come. Really creeps you out at times. There is one in particular.

 

[rantanamo]

Didn't think the French version was all that good. Very wooden acting, but the story line was good. This A&E version looked almost exactly like the French version. Like the location and homes even looked similar. Even the daughters were hauntingly similar looking.

 

[MeatChicken]

I thought it was better then both. Had more of a mystery element, especially with the reveal near the end.


The ABC show really didn't do anything about the mystery of the returned and how/why, etc. and became to much of a soap drama. The HBO show, I assume you mean the one where 1% of the population disappears?, that one isn't about the returned so it doesn't really compare, but I found this one much more interesting then the HBO show.


The way the returned act in this show is creepy and foreshadowing (possibly) of what is to come. Really creeps you out at times. There is one in particular.

.. Ok so I watched the 1st 2 episodes ... ( 2nd On Demand) ...
It wasn't "bad", & I'll give this show a shot but here is my major criticism:
Seems like when these people returned, everybody that saw them had, what, a collective brain fart, & no one called any doctor, cop, hospital or authority ... ??
You had a mother, then a Father, "Psycologist", Cop, Doctor woman ect ..
Not one of these otherwise rational types even had the rational thought that the original mangled girl's body had to have somehow been misidentified, & she therefore was actually abducted, or lost or whatever ...
Nobody wanted to tell any authorities in the town that there was a survivor & might be more .. or at least get a DNA test in case there was a weird identity copy/switch ??
The rational Doctor woman would rather hide an unknown creepy child in her home, instead of getting him help at a hospital, child services or police??
I could understand perhaps 1 of these adults acting irrational, but all of them??

 

[oink]

The ABC show really didn't do anything about the mystery of the returned and how/why, etc. and became to much of a soap drama.

Exactly.


I watched a lot of episodes and eventually gave up.
I was a little pi$$ed about how the showrunners took the easy way out and turned a great idea into just another TV show.

 

[sneals2000]

Notice at the tech spec page that the French TV series was shot with the Arri Alexa, often used with many nice-looking PBS Masterpiece series. Suprior bitrates on Blu-rays sure do aid fidelity compared to TV bandwidths.

Isn't pretty much every drama now shot on Alexa? Seems to be that way in Europe. (Where we probably benefit from H264 compression and direct encodes at the network centre at reasonable bitrates - though Blu-rays look nicer)

The French original series (based on a movie of the same title) was brilliant. Eery, multilayered, complex, and with a very distinctive look. Not sure I see the point in remaking it. Just as I didn't see the point in remaking The Bridge or The Killing. The originals were so good, why bother?

 

[tomhunter8]

I watched the original French version and loved it. I was hesitant to watch the USA version because, in my experience, remakes of foreign shows generally fail to capture the nuances that make them so unique and good. I watched the first episode of this remake and decided not to continue. Not because it wasn't good, but because it just wasn't quite as good.

BTW, the little boy in the French version is what I consider perfect casting. He alone is worth checking out the original. Cute and creepy at the same time. He made you feel sorry for him, but lock your doors at the same time.

 

[Selden Ball]

Isn't pretty much every drama now shot on Alexa? Seems to be that way in Europe. (Where we probably benefit from H264 compression and direct encodes at the network centre at reasonable bitrates - though Blu-rays look nicer)

The French original series (based on a movie of the same title)

Not really. While both are about the dead returning, the movie is slow and dream-like. Its returned seemed to barely remember who they were and were more interested in something other than returning to their former lives. Exactly what that something was never seemed clear to me.

was brilliant.

Yes, indeed!

Eery, multilayered, complex, and with a very distinctive look. Not sure I see the point in remaking it. Just as I didn't see the point in remaking The Bridge or The Killing. The originals were so good, why bother?

Supposedly only about the first half of the remake is going to follow the plot of the French TV series, with something very different happening in the later episodes. Unfortunately, they're making the backgrounds of some of the situations blatantly obvious, while the French program was designed to keep you guessing, much like its protagonists were, and thus, for me, it was much more involving than the remake.

 

[sneals2000]

Not really. While both are about the dead returning, the movie is slow and dream-like. Its returned seemed to barely remember who they were and were more interested in something other than returning to their former lives. Exactly what that something was never seemed clear to me.

When the French series was shown here in the UK (on a main OTA network. With subtitles. We coped.) it was reported to be inspired by the original movie.

 

[barth2k]

The French series is on Netflix. It is heavy on atmosphere and settings. Part of what makes it work is it is in a foreign locale and language. You are not sure if their behavior is from them being in this supernatural situation or from them being French in a small provincial town. The remake is fine but it you've seen the original it may feel like a re thread.

 

[oink]

The French series is on Netflix. It is heavy on atmosphere and settings. Part of what makes it work is it is in a foreign locale and language. You are not sure if their behavior is from them being in this supernatural situation or from them being French in a small provincial town.

Absolutely agree.
Very skillfully done.
In some ways, it reminds me of a David Lynch kind of thing.


It really projects the mystery and sense of dread very well.
Always seems like something very threatening is lurking just off screen.

 

[mrvideo]

Loved how they worked in the idea that twins can experience what the other is feeling. So, who when one twin was busy having sex, the twin that was just sitting there was feeling what her sister was feeling.

Not sure what getting of the bus would have accomplished. By the time she got back home, her sister would have been done.

 

[archiguy]

Is the original French version subtitled or dubbed in English?

 

[hooked01]

Is the original French version subtitled or dubbed in English?

Subtitled. I do hope this new version doesn't succumb to the American way where everything has to have an explanation or a tidy conclusion.

 

[John Mason]

^^^Reads like, from a search of the Sundance thread here, it was not dubbed in English. -- John


EDIT: How 'bout that, cross-posted answer from the poster I linked...or something like that.