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Come Away (Blue-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Signature Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Rick Curzon (20th April 2021). |
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The Film
 Directed by Brenda Chapman, the Oscar-winning director and co-writer of Pixar's Brave, COME AWAY is a whimsical and inspiring British made live-action fairy-tale and an ingeniously conceived prequel to two of the world's most beloved and enduring pieces of children's literature Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. Starring Angelina Jolie, David Oyelowo, Anna Chancellor, Michael Caine, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Reece Yates, the film follows the adventures of siblings Alice and Peter who transform into Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland in a bid to help their parents overcome the tragedy of losing their eldest son. Peter and Alice find strength in the power of their imaginations and set off on a real adventure to try and rescue the family - escaping to a destiny of eternal boyhood in the distant isle of Neverland - whilst Alice delves into a world of Wonderland.
Video
Yet another fairy tale flick; this one a mashup of Peter Pan (1902) and Alice in Wonderland (1865) starring Angelina Jolie with a dodgy posh British accent; I guess no UK actors were available the day they were casting this film. Not a good idea when you have her acting alongside a cast of proper UK thespians. The film is nothing special and doesn't really bring anything new to the party beyond colourblind casting of well to do Brits in mid-late 19th century UK setting. It'll keep the small fry happy I'm sure but adults are likely to find it all very predictable and not a patch on some previous versions of these classic tales and dramatically obvious. Digitally shot using Arri Alexa Mini, Panavision Primo, C- and E- Series Lenses Arri Alexa SXT, Panavision Primo, C- and E-Series Lenses in the now ubiquitous aspect ratio of 2.4:1; less wide ratios seem to be becoming a thing of the past these days. The negative format is CFast 2.0 Codex and the cinematic processes are ARRIRAW (source format), Digital Intermediate (master format) and Panavision (anamorphic) (source format) (thanks IMDB!). The image has a healthy, warm colour palette favouring earthy colours such as browns, reds and beiges with primaries coming off well when present; greens can be quite lush as well. Flesh tones are rich and deep and black levels are satisfyingly velvety. Contrast is lowkey allowing detail to shine through on all focal planes but punchy when needed; especially in exteriors. I saw no blown out highlights. I saw no signs of digital tinkering or compression artefacts on this BD25. Encoding is strong, detail ever present but there's little grain to be seen which means the image isn't very filmic but that's fairly typical of modern, digitally lensed productions. It's a very recent production and looks about as good as can be given the production choices. 1080/24p / AVC MPEG-4 / BD25 / 2.4:1 / 94:19
Audio
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English LPCM 2.0 Surround Subtitles: English HoH The 2.0 track is encoded for surround and will play as such without having to channel it through Prologic II or similar; it's decent enough but not in the same league obviously as the 5.1. This is an active track best experienced in the full blooded 5.1 option. The surrounds are mainly used for ambiance and score but during actionful moments they become more active. LFE is adequate no more with the subwoofer not being challenged hugely. Subtitles for the hearing impaired have been provided and are very welcome.
Extras
Cast Interviews (15:29) Puff piece EPK interviews recorded in lockdown so in a split screen in standard definition 1.78:1 with lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound. Startup Trailers: - Rams (1:46) - Music (1:55) Standard promos for forthcoming releases in 1080/24p 2.4:1 with lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo.
Packaging
Standard blue BD Keepcase with card outer slipcase.
Overall
A rather insipid, predictable mashup of Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland gets a decent release from Signature Entertainment in the UK. Image and sound are very good if not top flight for the format but much of the issues are down to production decisions; this isn't the kind of film to give your home cinema a workout but does provide an adequate home cinema experience. Extras aren't up to much. This is a cheap disc and so is recommended.
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