|
|
|
Run Lola Run AKA Lola Rennt (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (12th December 2013). |
|
The Film
 ***This is an A/V and extras review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), who works as a small-time courier for a big-time gangster, is in huge trouble. He has accidentally left the cash from a mob deal on the subway, and he has only twenty minutes to deliver the 100,000 marks to his unforgiving boss. Desperate, he calls his girlfriend, Lola (Franka Potente), the only person who can rescue him from certain death. As the seconds tick away and the tiniest choices become life altering, Lola must try to reach Manni before the line between fate and fortune begins to blur.
Video
It was no surprise that so many people were sceptical in 2008 when this high definition release of Run Lola Run was announced by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. After all, the previous DVD releases by Columbia/Sony had left a lot to be desired due to the rather drab look of the transfers. However, this release manages to pull off a much improved transfer, using an AVC MPEG-4 codec and the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The first thing that strikes you with this transfer, is Lola's (Franka Potente) hair, the vivid colour of which manages to leap from the screen in order to keep full attention on her character. The transfer feels vibrant and colours are heavily saturated, which I assume is a choice made by director Tom Tykwer for overall style. There is some very occasional grain, and sometimes the blacks are not as deep as they perhaps should be (notably during the more fast moving scenes), but there are no scratches or any sign of digital noise reduction. The feature was shot on a mixture of film and video - and there are noticeable differences between these segments - but overall Sony provide us with a solid improvement on the DVD counterpart, and this is easily the best I have seen this film look so far. The disc is region free and the feature runs 79:50.
Audio
There are several audio options provided here: - German Dolby TrueHD 5.1 - English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 - Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 - Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 It should be noted that the feature plays without subtitles and with the English dub by default, so purists are reminded to hit up the menu screens first and switch to the original German track. As expected from such a visceral film, the audio track is designed to be kinetic and adrenaline pumping. As much as I have a deep hatred for dance/trance music in real life, it suits the action here perfectly and is well selected. Dialogue is generally confined to the front speakers with the rears mainly used for the score and some of the effects, such as glass smashing every time Lola lets out one of her incredibly deafening screams. There are no causes for concern with the track, with no detectable dropouts, scratches, or background hiss. Optional subtitles are available in English, English HoH, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
Extras
We start the extras with an audio commentary by director Tom Tykwer and actress Franka Potente which is in English, and not German as some sites report. It's quite a light-hearted affair with no real lulls in fluidity. They cover the usual bases such as the story, cast and technical aspects, adding in a few anecdotes from on-set for good measure. The "Still Running" featurette [HD] (16:58) was not available on the previous DVD releases, and features behind the scenes footage interspersed with interviews with director Tom Tykwer and actress Franka Potente. They cover some similar ground from the commentary, but with a little more focus on certain aspects such as the budget limitations involved. We next have a music video called "Believe" (4:01) which is performed by actress Franka Potente. It was released as an official music video for the movie and is firmly placed in the dance sub-genre. It suits the feature well, but as always with music, will not be to everybody's tastes. There is also a start-up trailer [HD] for "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1:39) and bonus trailers [HD] available from the main menu for "Blu-ray is High Definition" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".
Overall
|
|||||
|