|
“The
Unbearable Lightness of Being”
|
 |
Reviewed
by: |
Wayne
Klein |
| Genre: |
Drama |
| Video: |
1.85:1 Anamorphic
Widescreen |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
2.0 |
| Languages |
English,
French |
| Subtitles |
English |
| Length |
172 minutes
|
| Rating |
NR |
| Release Date |
2/14/06 |
| Studio |
Warner Home
Video |
| Commentary:
|
Philip Kaufman,
Walter Murch, Lena Olin and Jean Claude Carierre |
| Documentaries:
|
Emotional
History: The Making of ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’”
|
| Featurettes:
|
None |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Theatrical trailer |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche,
Lena Olin, Derek de lint, Donald Moffat, Stellan Skarsgård
|
| Written
By: |
Jean-Claude
Carriere and Philip Kaufman based on the novel by Milan Kundera |
| Produced
By: |
Saul Zaentz
|
| Directed
By: |
Philip Kaufman
|
| Music:
|
Mark Adler
|
| The
Review: |
Set during the Russian invasion
of Prague in 1968, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” takes
us deep into a romantic triangle involving Tomas (Daniel Day-Lewis)
a doctor, Tereza (Juliette Binoche) a waitress and Sabina
(Lena Olin) a painter. The swinging 60’s have arrived in Prague
in its odd sort of way; open relationships rule Tomas. Tomas
uses his sexual promiscuity to hide from the reality of the
crumbling social revolution around him and involved in his
own little world. It’s a brilliant film from Philip Kaufman
(“ & June”, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”) and like all
of Kaufman’s films the relationships and sexuality provide
the heart and soul of the film providing a mirror for the
narcissistic Tomas and Sabina. ---
|
| Image
and Sound: |
The transfer itself is decent despite
issues with shimmer and other digital artifacts the source
itself is very disappointing. Contrast varies from scene to
scene and the color isn’t quite as robust as I recall for
this film. The film comes marred with analog defects as well
in the form of dirt and other debris. The film isn’t unwatchable
it could just look a whole lot better. This transfer and the
film source don’t look any better to me than the previous
release from Criterion which didn’t live up to that company’s
usual high quality and appeared to be transferred from a worn
print of the film. Audio is solid throughout the movie. ---
|
| The
Extras: |
We get a new documentary on the
making of the film “Emotional History: The Making of Unbearable
Lightness of Being on the second disc which provides historical
perspective on the events we view during the movie. We also
get the theatrical trailer for the film.
|
| Commentary:
|
The Criterion
commentary track featuring director Phil Kaufman, editor Walter
Murch, Jean Claude Carierre and actress Lena Olin appears intact
here. It provides fascinating information on the film from the
first attempts to adapt it for the screen to the finished product.
|
| Final
Words: |
A terrific film served by a poor
transfer and mediocre source material, “The Unbearable Lightness
of Being” deserves better than this transfer from Warner Home
Video. I’m a bit surprised as usually most of the releases
that come from Warner are top notch and this is the type of
release I would expect from Universal. It’s a great movie
and the extras are nice but fans of the film will be a bit
disappointed by the image quality.
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