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Check out our review of James Gray's The Immigrant, the story of an immigrant woman who is tricked into a life of burlesque and vaudeville until a dazzling magician tries to save her.
The Review at a Glance:
(max score: 5 )
Film:
Extras:
Audio/Video total rating:
( Max score: 100 )
85
Details:
Studio and Year: Starz/Anchor Bay - 2013
MPAA Rating: R
Feature running time: 117 minutes
Genre: Drama, Romance
Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 2.40:1
Resolution: 1080p/24
Audio Format(s): DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Starring: Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Renner
Directed by: James Gray
Writteb by: James Gray, Ric Menello
Music by: Chris Spelman
Region Code: A
Blu-ray Disc release Date: March 7, 2015
"Is it a sin to survive?"
My Take:
Set in 1921 New Your City, The Immigrant is he story of Ewa Cybulska (Marion Cotillard) who along with her sister Magda (Angela Sarafyan) sets sail from Poland to America. Upon arrival at Ellis Island, Magda is found to be sick and put into a mandatory quarantine. Ewa ends up alone and lost and becomes easy pray for Bruno Weiss (Joaquin Phoenix) who forces her into prostitution. Ewa eventually meets Bruno's cousin a magician named Orlando (Jeremy Renner) and is swept off her feet. She is then wrapped up in a bitter feud between the two estranged cousins and their jealous rivalry.
I found The Immigrant to be a beautiful film with superlative acting and direction that suffered from a muddled narrative that was confused to what the true essence of its story really was. Was it The immigrant Ewa and her sisters crushed dreams and struggles as new arrivals in America or was it this dark and awkward feud between cousins...or was it a sad love story? One could easily say it was all yet none of them were truly strong enough to carry the film. Thankfully the acting was so good, and the film felt and looked such away that it seemed to hypnotize- even considering its issues with narrative. Writer and director James Gray (Two Lovers, Little Odessa) has matured as a film maker but still needs a bit of work in the screenwriting department.
Parental Guide:
Rated R for sexual content, nudity and some language
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.**
Audio: 84
(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)
- Dynamics:
- Low frequency effects:
- Surround Sound presentation:
- Clarity/Detail:
- Dialogue Reproduction:
- Low frequency extension * (non-rated element): NA
Video: 86
(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)
- Resolution/Clarity:
- Black Level/Shadow Detail:
- Color Reproduction:
- Fleshtones:
- Compression:
The Immigrant comes to Blu-ray Disc from Anchor Bay featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 27.8 Mbps and lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 3.6 Mbps.
Captured on 35mm, this encoding of The Immigrant still looks like film with a visible grain structure intact. Blacks are inky and contrast is stable, however, finer details are not the sharpest as the image favors an artistic choice to appear soft. Colors are intentionally on the warm side with lots of red, yellow and gold hues which are all and very rich. Thankfully this didn't effect flesh-tones as much as it should. The audio track is great with its placement and clarity of dialogue, atmospherics and general imaging. Music is light and airy, adding a needed layer to this minimalistic track.
Bonus Features:
- Audio Commentary: With Writer/Director James Gray
- (HD) The Visual Inspiration of The Immigrant
- (HD) The Immigrant Trailer
Final Thoughts:
The Immigrant could have been, and was so close to being a deep and impactful tale of what arrivals to america would have to endure in the early 1900's. Unfortunately the films muddled narrative detracted from some amazing acting, directing and design. Worth a watch, but I am sorry to report not a purchase.
Lee Weber
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews
Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS4910 3D 1080p 3D High Definition Front Projector
Falcon Screens Horizon 138" 2.35:1 Acoustically Transparent Screen
Da-Lite Pro Imager Projector Screen Masking Syste
Yamaha CX-A5000 Pre/Pro
Parasound Halo A51 & A21 7x250
Sony BDP-S790 Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Triad Gold LCR's
Triad Silver Surrounds x4
Triad Bronze Subwoofers x4
Panamorph DC1 Anamorphic Lens
AudioQuest Wires
Panasonic TC-P65ZT60 3D 1080p Plasma
Anthem MRX-310-AV Receiver
Sony BDP-S790 Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
MKSound MP-7 LCR's
MKSound SUR-55T Surrounds
Triad Bronze Subwoofer