7 Days in Entebbe Blu-ray Review

Universal's AVC-encoded 1080p transfer of "7 Days in Entebbe" masterfully captures the film's 1970s aesthetic while delivering a clean, crisp digital image. The visuals are richly detailed, with facial features like pores, moles, and scruff rendered with impressive clarity. The filmmakers skillfully recreate the era's vibe, utilizing lightly sepia tones and a dusty look, especially noticeable on military uniforms. Despite some mild softness and occasional crush in darker scenes, the overall presentation maintains superb clarity and sharpness. Colors predominantly feature golden earth tones with vibrant and well-saturated primaries, particularly blues, enhancing the film’s authenticity.

The texture quality of "7 Days in Entebbe" is commendably filmic, with sharp, accurate depictions of the film’s gritty environments and characters’ increasingly sweaty and disheveled appearances over time. The more vivid set pieces, such as Amin's military dress uniform, stand out with exceptional sharpness. Though black levels at the beginning can appear flat during the dance sequence, they tighten up significantly as the movie progresses, providing a robust sense of depth. Flesh tones consistently reflect the scene's context and lighting, whether in the stuffy and warm settings or the lower lit areas featuring Israeli government officials. Source or encode flaws are rare, making this a high-quality visual presentation from Universal.

The audio presentation of "7 Days in Entebbe" on Blu Ray boasts a dynamically engaging DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that impeccably marries intensity with restraint. The opening hijacking scene is particularly notable for its visceral sound effects, with shouting voices, muffled footfalls, and claustrophobic thumps creating a sense of tension and claustrophobia. These elements envelop the soundstage, making for an immersive experience. The dynamic range is impressive yet not overpoweringly aggressive, balancing moments of high tension with the dialog-heavy nature of quieter scenes.

The film's sound design further exemplifies its quality through expertly balanced ambient effects and dialogue. Noteworthy is Rodrigo Amarante’s score, which complements the film’s pacing by maintaining perpetual tension and anxiety, while the interpretative dance sequences punctuate the audio landscape with pulsating beats and rich LFE tones. Surround channels are intelligently utilized to provide ambient sounds like the continual hum of the airplane and buzzing insects during the hostage scenes, adding layers of authenticity to the quieter passages. Despite some criticisms about the lackluster impact of certain gunfire sounds during key sequences, the overall mix remains clear and precise.

With coherent and well-pronounced dialogue throughout, the Blu-Ray audio mix ensures that no adjustments are needed to appreciate the intricacies of spoken lines against the backdrop of action and environmental sounds. The surround channels hold their own by contributing detailed ambient noise without overwhelming the central audio. Overall, this robust and finely-tuned sound mix enhances the viewing experience by striking an optimal balance between energetic action sequences and moments requiring subtle quietude.

The "7 Days in Entebbe" Blu-ray offers a modest but informative collection of extras that provide a deeper look into the film's production and the historical events it portrays. "The Entebbe Team" featurette examines the real-life story behind the film, with insights into script development, Jos� Padilha's direction, casting, Rosamund Pike's portrayal of a German character, and the symbolic dance sequences. "Inside the Raid" explores the truth behind the Entebbe raid through interviews with individuals directly involved, as well as details on the film's set design and period authenticity. The "Additional Dance Sequences" provide more of the interpretive dance not included in the final cut. The extras offer a respectable glimpse into both the making of the movie and the actual event, though they adhere to standard EPK formats.

Extras included in this disc:

• The Entebbe Team: Featurette on script development, direction, casting, and symbolic dance sequences.
• Inside the Raid: Interviews with individuals involved in the real Entebbe raid, along with insights on set design and period accuracy.
• Additional Dance Sequences: Extended dance scenes not featured in the film.

"7 Days in Entebbe" retells the dramatic events of June 1976 when an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris was hijacked by two German revolutionaries and two Palestinian militants, culminating in a standoff at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. While the film has an exciting premise grounded in real-life intensity, director José Padilha's choice to employ a fractured narrative that attempts to humanize all players, including the terrorists, somewhat dilutes the tension and suspense. The focus fragments between hijackers Wilfried Böse (Daniel Brühl) and Brigitte Kuhlmann (Rosamund Pike), Israeli officials Shimon Peres (Eddie Marsan) and Yitzhak Rabin (Lior Ashkenazi), and dramatics like a soldier’s relationship with his dancer girlfriend, even overlaying segments of an interpretive dance during crucial action sequences, which significantly impairs the pacing.

Although the film excels in its authentic portrayal of the era, with compelling performances from Brühl, Pike, Marsan, and Ashkenazi, its attempt to give equal narrative weight to all perspectives stretches thin the central tension. The political intricacies of the hijacking and the subsequent commando raid that led to the rescue of the hostages are undercut by excessive subplot diversions. This balanced portrayal of both hostages and terrorists, while aiming for depth and empathy, might border on controversial for some viewers, especially with moments that ask for empathy towards characters ready to commit heinous acts.

The robustness of Padilha's ensemble cast and the initial gripping buildup when flight 139 is commandeered establish a promising start. However, the dispersion into multiple plot streams saps momentum, leaving the climactic raid feeling less impactful. Although loaded with strong performances and striking historical context, “7 Days in Entebbe” struggles to maintain suspense due to its sprawling focus.

While "7 Days in Entebbe" offers a complex retelling of an important historical event, it fails to deliver the tight, engaging thriller it aspired to be. The attempt to present multiple perspectives detracts from the film's overall impact, resulting in a somewhat disjointed narrative. The direction is commendable in parts, but the inclusion of metaphorical dance sequences and overemphasis on empathizing with terrorists undermines the core story. The performances by Daniel Bruhl and Rosamund Pike are noteworthy, but they aren't compelling enough to elevate the film significantly.

Universal's Blu-ray presentation, however, stands out with its excellent video quality and robust DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track. The aspect ratio of 2.39:1 ensures a visually rich experience that does justice to the film's aesthetic aspirations. Bonus features are minimal but provide enough substance to warrant exploration for those keen on understanding more about the film's background. Despite the high technical standards of the Blu-ray, the movie itself does not meet the same level of excellence.

In conclusion, while "7 Days in Entebbe" never truly coalesces into what it wanted to be, it’s an interesting look at one of modern history’s more memorable international moments of excitement. The film tries to be rather crafty and uses several different storytelling devices to tell the true story. Sadly, some of them fall flat, and the effort in trying to give all sides a voice detracts from the overall experience (especially trying to overempathize with the terrorists themselves). The true event was stunningly heroic and one of the 70s' biggest international stories, but the movie itself is a bit disjointed and not as entertaining as I would have hoped for. Universal once again displays good technical specs for the Blu-ray itself, and it's definitely worth a watch for those interested in the subject matter, but I would do so with low expectations and give this one a rental at most.