Southland Tales Blu-ray Review

Sony's Blu-ray release of "Southland Tales" features a 1080p/AVC encoding with a 2.40:1 aspect ratio, providing a visually pleasing experience that displays the unique visual style of the film with competence, though it fails to be awe-inspiring. The print's overall condition is commendable, revealing minimal film specks predominantly in darker sequences, ensuring the film's original texture is preserved without detriment to its clarity. Visual sharpness is consistent, aided by well-controlled fine grain that becomes noticeable in low-light situations, adding to the cinematic feel of the presentation. While traces of edge enhancement are present, they require meticulous observation to detect, indicating a balanced application that avoids detracting from viewer immersion. Color reproduction offers a duality of vibrancy and subtlety, with certain scenes bursting with vivid hues while others are intentionally muted, reflecting the film's varied tonal palette.

Black levels in the Blu-ray presentation are robust and uniform, providing a solid foundation that adds depth and dimension without suffering from crush, allowing for discernible details in shadows and darker scenes. However, the contrast setting leans towards the high side, imbuing scenes with an ethereal quality but occasionally resulting in whites that appear somewhat exaggerated and details that can seem slightly washed out in brighter areas. The emphasis on foreground detail over background contributes to a hierarchical visual focus that sometimes leaves background elements less defined, fostering a more traditional filmic appearance as opposed to the ultra-crispness sometimes expected of digital video.

The video quality of "Southland Tales" on Blu-ray strikes a balance between maintaining a film-like aesthetic and delivering the high-definition clarity that Blu-ray aficionados appreciate. While it exhibits admirable characteristics like consistent black levels and controlled color dynamics, the overall detail and contrast handling prevent it from achieving the pinnacle of high-definition presentation. This release will satisfy those looking for an authentic representation of the film's theatrical exhibition, though it may leave enthusiasts craving for more in terms of absolute clarity and visual perfection.

The audio presentation of the Blu Ray for "Southland Tales" boasts a remarkable Dolby TrueHD soundtrack, characterized by its 24/48 kHz encoding that seamlessly immerses its audience in a 360-degree audio experience. Unlike the typical, aggressively loud soundtracks that rely on overwhelming explosions and gunfire to make an impact, this soundtrack excels through subtlety and an astonishing attention to detail. It crafts a soundscape with such clarity and transparency that listeners may momentarily forget their surroundings, feeling instead as if the sounds emanate directly from their immediate environment. Moby’s film score is exceptionally well-recorded, with vocals that effortlessly detach from the center speaker, enriching the auditory experience.

The soundtrack's utilization of surround sound is both persistent and flawlessly consistent, engaging every corner of the listener's space with a spacious ambience or precise effects. The panning of these effects between speakers is smooth and exact, challenging the listener's setup to reveal the quality of speaker voice matching. Moreover, the strategic placement of phantom effects leveraging side and rear walls contributes to an enveloping, almost tangible atmosphere. This acute precision in sound engineering demonstrates an exemplary use of audio technology to enhance cinematic storytelling.

This audio track would be an invaluable case study for those studying sound engineering or anyone with a keen interest in the intricacies of film soundtracks. Its technical excellence and meticulous detail render it exemplary, earning it a perfect score not for its volume but for its craftsmanship. Rarely does a soundtrack manage to so thoroughly captivate and transport its audience, making listeners overlook the film’s lesser qualities and instead lose themselves entirely in the auditory experience provided.

Sony's Blu-ray release of "Southland Tales" elevates the home cinema experience with a substantial selection of extras, significantly improving upon the DVD version. While the commentary by Richard Kelly is notably lackluster—being rather unengaging and overly analytical—the disc shines with the inclusion of the Complete Prequel Graphic Novel Series. Despite its readability issues on larger screens, the graphic novel series stands out for its compelling narrative and art. The "USIdent TV: Surveilling the Southland" featurette offers an immersive 40-minute behind-the-scenes look at the film's production, enriched by interviews with the cast and crew. The disc also features "This is the Way the World Ends," an animated short which, despite its lack of direct relevance to the film, remains a noteworthy addition. Additional Sony film trailers and BD Live functionality, which connects viewers to further online content, round out the package, making this release a must-have for fans despite some shortcomings.

Extras included in this disc:

• Commentary by writer and director Richard Kelly: Detailed commentary on the film.
• The Complete Prequel Graphic Novel Series: A collection of graphic novels setting up the movie's story.
• USIdent TV: Surveilling the Southland: A 40-minute making-of featurette with cast and crew interviews.
• This is the Way the World Ends: An animated short set in an alternate universe of the film.
• BD Live: Enables connection to Sony's website for additional content.

Southland Tales," directed by Richard Kelly, is a cinematic upheaval that dares to blend the apocalyptic with the absurd, but ends up tangled in its own intricacy. This $15 million endeavor only recouped a mere fraction of its budget at the box office, a stark testament to its bewildering narrative and execution. Shot in Los Angeles during August 2005 and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2006, the film initially ran an exhaustive 160 minutes before being trimmed to a still overlong 144 minutes. Despite the addition of 90 new visual effects shots financed by Sony, the movie struggled to find coherence. Its plot, centered around a convoluted dystopian future where America is ensnared in World War III following twin nuclear blasts, embarks on a narrative that seems unmoored from conventional storytelling, making it a challenge to either fully embrace or outright dismiss.

The film's ambitious scope — depicting a future America under strict surveillance by the US-IDent agency amidst global conflict and an energy crisis solved by an innovative but catastrophic technology called Fluid Karma — is undercut by its disjointed storyline and thinly drawn characters. Dwayne Johnson and Sean William Scott, among others, navigate this bewildering landscape as characters caught in a web of amnesia, political intrigue, and reality distortion, but their efforts are hamstrung by the film's inability to fully develop its narrative premises. The inclusion of such fantastical elements as alternate realities and time-tearing consequences of Fluid Karma only serves to exacerbate the film's coherence challenges.

Kelly's vision for "Southland Tales," initially promising an intriguing exploration of surveillance, war, and environmental catastrophe, ultimately succumbs to its own excesses. The result is a film that stands as a perplexing piece of cinema, more notable for its missed potential and box office misfortune than its artistic achievements. In spite of a cast that brings significant talent to the table and an undeniable visual upgrade, "Southland Tales" remains an enigmatic experiment in storytelling that struggles to convey a clear and engaging narrative thread.

The overall presentation of "Southland Tales" on Blu-ray offers an enigmatic and polarizing experience, mirroring the complexity and fragmentation of the film itself. With its elaborate narrative and a sprawling cast of characters, the movie challenges viewers with its dizzying array of subplots and thematic elements. The transfer to Blu-ray enhances the viewing experience, offering superior visual and audio quality that is a significant upgrade from previous formats. However, the intricacies of its script and the non-linear storytelling continue to pose a challenge for comprehension, making it a film that benefits from multiple viewings.

Critically, "Southland Tales" remains a divisive piece of cinema, and its conversion to Blu-ray does little to untangle the web woven by its ambitious but convoluted narrative. For aficionados of the film or those with an appetite for unconventional storytelling, the Blu-ray edition is a must-have, offering a more immersive delve into its chaotic world. On the other hand, newcomers or those previously perplexed by the film's dense plot might find the enhanced clarity and detail of the Blu-ray format provides little solace in their quest for understanding. The quality of the Blu-ray showcases the movie's unique visual style but does not simplify its narrative challenges.

In conclusion, the Blu-ray release of "Southland Tales" is a technological triumph that serves to amplify the film's surreal and complex nature. While it presents an opportunity for fans to revisit and perhaps more deeply appreciate its intricacies, it also reaffirms the movie's status as a cult curiosity rather than a mainstream hit. The leap in audio-visual quality is commendable, yet it's imperative for potential buyers to approach with caution, recognizing that enhanced clarity does not equate to a more coherent narrative. Whether it's worth adding to your collection depends largely on your affection for bewildering cinema experiences.