100 Streets Blu-ray Review
One Square Mile
Score: 57
from 2 reviewers
Review Date:
100 Streets presents well-acted, engaging stories, but its loose interconnectivity and average Blu-ray presentation may not satisfy all viewers.
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Disc Release Date
DTS-HD MA
Video: 67
The 1080p transfer of '100 Streets' offers adequate detailing with some notable anomalies, including noise variance and occasional macroblocking. While colors are modestly vibrant in brighter scenes, overall desaturation and a darker, hazy grading impact the visual pop. Black levels and skin tones are satisfactory.
Audio: 67
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix of '100 Streets' offers a well-balanced, front-heavy presentation with clear dialogue and adequate ambient effects, though it lacks immersive surround engagement, maintaining a restrained and practical sonic experience suitable for the film’s tone.
Extra: 33
The Extras of '100 Streets' provide a 14-minute standard EPK style featurette titled 'A Look Inside 100 Streets' in 1080p, discussing character diversity, script quality, shooting logistics, environmental challenges, and charity work with cast and crew insights. No DVD or digital versions are included.
Movie: 57
While '100 Streets' showcases commendable performances, particularly from Idris Elba and Franz Drameh, its loosely connected narratives and overreliance on bleak, emotional turmoil offer little novelty or deeper connection, resulting in a technically sound yet thematically redundant film.
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Video: 67
The Blu-ray video presentation of "100 Streets," captured digitally, delivers a 2.39:1 1080p transfer that retains the director's intentional, mood-driven color grading, albeit with some minor issues. The overall image quality straddles the line between adequate and slightly underwhelming. While detail rendering is acceptable, it does not elevate to impressive high-definition standards; facial close-ups provide decent definition for skin textures and facial hair, but cityscape wide shots lack the same level of intricacy. Colors appear desaturated and skew cooler, with vibrant hues like an orange safety vest or red headphones offering occasional pops of brightness amidst an otherwise muted palette.
The transfer grapples with a few technical anomalies. Noise varies, surfacing from mild blips in lighter scenes to severe grain in warmer, low-light settings. Instances of macroblocking and smudgy corners manifest sporadically, primarily impacting the indoor sequences. Daylight outdoor scenes hold up better with livelier presentation compared to their indoor counterparts, where haze levels often undercut black depth and overall clarity. Blacks approach a respectable inky consistency but are frequently undermined by pervasive haziness. The overall visual experience aligns with a deliberate stylistic choice rather than a bid for pristine high-definition clarity, making for a competent yet uninspiring disc transfer.
Audio: 67
Sony's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless audio presentation for "100 Streets" is a restrained yet effective mix that aligns well with the film's subdued sonic requirements. Music is primarily front-focused, exhibiting a noticeable low-end that adds depth to the otherwise minimal surround engagement. Ambient effects, such as general city noise, applause, and chirping birds, are adequately spaced and serve to define the mood without overwhelming the listener. Even in the more active scenes, like a powerful gunshot or a rumbling train sequence, the front channels take precedence, delivering impressive force and depth.
Dialogue clarity is a strong suit of this mix, consistently coming through cleanly and clearly across most of the film. However, there are sporadic moments where the dialogue sounds either lightly muddy or sharp-edged. Despite this, the sound effects and score are skillfully layered to create an atmosphere that enhances the viewing experience. While the surround channels engage sparingly, emphasizing front and side channels predominantly, the mix remains faithful to the tone of the film. Overall, the differences between this DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix and a stereo mix are subtle, yet they complement the narrative's nature effectively.
Extra: 33
The Blu-ray extras for "100 Streets" offer an insightful exploration into the filmmaking process through a single featurette. "A Look Inside 100 Streets" provides a comprehensive overview, showcasing the diversity of characters and the quality of the script. It delves into logistical challenges during the shoot, highlights key moments, and addresses the environmental sounds encountered. Additionally, it sheds light on the cast and crew's experiences on set, emphasizing their performances and social contributions. The feature serves as an EPK-style supplement that touches briefly yet effectively on various film aspects. No DVD or digital versions are included.
Extras included in this disc:
- A Look Inside '100 Streets': An examination of characters, script quality, shoot logistics, key moments, environmental sounds issues, and charity work.
Movie: 57
"100 Streets" is an earnest endeavor offering a poignant examination of life's unpredictable ebbs and flows, but it struggles to present anything remarkably novel. The film interweaves three distinct narratives that lightly intersect, yet fail to coalesce in a deeply purposeful manner. Each story feels more compelling as a standalone short film, revealing slice-of-life insights into contemporary societal challenges and personal quests for meaning. Within these threads, we meet Max (Idris Elba), an ex-rugby star grappling with infidelity, addiction, and a crumbling family; George (Charlie Creed-Miles) and his wife Kathy (Kierston Wareing), who face ongoing struggles in their quest to adopt; and Kingsley (Franz Drameh), a young man whose life takes a hopeful turn through the guidance of mentor Terence (Ken Stott).
The thematic consistency of transformation under duress is prevalent, underscoring the characters’ resilience amidst life’s relentless adversities. What distinguishes Kingsley's narrative is its relative depth, underscoring themes of mentorship and hope, despite its predictability. Max’s story, though portrayed with commendable intensity by Elba, treads familiar territory of fame-induced disintegration. Each narrative thread is fleshed out with sufficient complexity; however, they don’t synergize into a memorable collective whole. London serves as a dynamic backdrop, lending authenticity to the characters' experiences amid its cultural diversity.
The performances are the film’s cornerstone, especially Elba's portrayal, which captures the nuanced implosion of his character’s public persona and private turmoil. Charlie Creed-Miles brings a natural gravitas to George's struggles, while Drameh and Stott share an authentic chemistry that enriches Kingsley's storyline with genuine humanity. Technically, the film is competent, though it lacks a distinct directorial vision or storytelling spark to elevate it from being just another addition to the genre of fragmented narrative dramas. Therefore, while "100 Streets" offers moments of emotional heft and thoughtful performances, it ultimately does not provide significant revelations or lingering impact.
Total: 57
"100 Streets" presents itself as an ambitious ensemble drama that intertwines the lives of several characters in contemporary London. The film is character-driven, with outstanding performances that anchor each subplot. Idris Elba and Gemma Arterton stand out with their profound portrayals, adding gravitas to an otherwise loosely connected narrative framework. The stories themselves are captivating and emotionally enriching but lack a cohesive link to elevate the sum of its parts.
Sony's Blu-ray release of "100 Streets" delivers a satisfactory viewing experience with clean video quality and sound that adequately captures the film's emotional undercurrents. However, the disc falls short in the extras department, offering only a single, overarching supplement that leaves much to be desired. It’s evident from the A/V presentation that while serviceable, it does not significantly enhance the immersion into the stories being told.
In conclusion, "100 Streets" satisfies at its broadest qualities but is unlikely to leave a lasting impression. The interwoven narratives do not seamlessly integrate, making the film feel like a series of short films pieced together rather than a unified story. Nevertheless, it’s worth appreciating for its well-acted vignettes that explore intriguing facets of human nature. Considering its presentation on Blu-ray, it might be best approached as a rental rather than a purchase. The film offers moments worthy of contemplation, but manage your expectations to enjoy it fully.
Blu-ray.com review by Martin LiebmanRead review here
Video: 70
Environments are suitably sharp and the various city locations find enough textural richness to satisfy format demands, but this isn't a wonderland for high definition detailing....
Audio: 70
Music is well spaced along the front, not offering any serious surround engagement but delivering a quality low end support element....
Extras: 20
A Look Inside '100 Streets' (1080p, 14:05) examines the movie's diversity of characters, quality of script, logistics behind the shoot, characters and performances, making a few key moments, dealing with...
Movie: 50
The celebrity with a drug addiction and crumbling home life isn't all that interesting, and the man struggling to get by and forced to confront a worst-case scenario hits a few quality emotional high and...
Total: 50
That said, there's an interesting connection between the George and Max stories at the very end that's very subtle but engenders a thought-provoking exercise about reality versus perception....
High-Def DigestRead review here
Video: 60
Part of the issue is the film's color grading, it looks like it was pushed a couple notches darker and hazier to evoke a mood and, as a result, close-ups and middles look decent, but wide shots tend to...
Audio: 60
While in keeping with the tone of the film, the differences between what would normally constitute a stereo mix and this surround mix are minimal....
Extras: 0
This is your typical EPK style bonus feature that only briefly touches on the various aspects of the film with the cast and crew talking up their experiences on set....
Movie: 40
Somewhere in there, there's supposed to be some endearing life lesson about things eventually getting better, but in all honesty and fairness, movies like 100 Streets bring out the raging cynic in me and...
Total: 40
I try to give every film their due chance to suck me in and hold my attention, but these multi-story interwoven life lesson platitude festivals just don't do it for me....
Director: Jim O'Hanlon
Actors: Gemma Arterton, Idris Elba, Ken Stott
PlotIn a vibrant and contemporary London, the lives of three distinct characters intersect over the course of one day. Max, a former rugby star, struggles to overcome his infidelity and drug addiction while attempting to rebuild his fractured relationship with his estranged wife Emily. Despite his efforts, the tension between them escalates, making reconciliation seem increasingly unlikely. Meanwhile, cab driver George battles to provide stability for his family amidst personal grief and the challenges of city life. He faces a moral dilemma when offered an opportunity that could secure his financial future but at great personal cost.
Simultaneously, Kingsley, a young ex-convict with dreams of becoming a successful actor, finds himself pulled back into a life of crime as he faces limited prospect for legitimate work. His path crosses with that of a kindly retired actor, Terence, who becomes a mentor and offers Kingsley a chance for redemption by encouraging him to pursue his ambitions. As their stories unfold within a tightly-knit urban environment, the individual choices each character makes ultimately highlight themes of hope, failure, and resilience. Through their intertwined narratives, a poignant and multifaceted portrayal of modern life and its complexities emerges.
Writers: Leon Butler
Release Date: 13 Jan 2017
Runtime: 93 min
Rating: TV-MA
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English