Adam Resurrected Blu-ray

Adam Resurrected

 (2008)

Drama | War



A Jewish circus entertainer is kept alive by the Nazis to entertain Jews as they march to their deaths. He ends up in an asylum for Holocaust survivors, fighting to survive the madness around him.

For more details about Adam Resurrected on Blu-ray, see the Adam Resurrected Blu-ray Review

Adam Resurrected Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


After very limited theatrical engagements, Adam Resurrected is reborn on Blu-ray with a beautiful and detailed 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. My most immediate response was to the film’s color palette. The scenes in the asylum have a cold warmth, if that makes sense, rich in somber greens and concrete grays. The tones are strong, yet restrained, giving a look that’s just stylized enough to remind us that this is all a fiction. As Schrader moves through different time periods he approximates the style of each era’s film stocks, shooting the WWII segments in stunning, high contrast black and white, and then moving into an Ektachrome, almost Technicolor look for the scenes in late-1950s Haifa. Black levels are finely tuned through much of the film, and contrast tends to be slightly overheated, which fits the somewhat unreal look to which the cinematography aspires. As the film is shot largely with handheld and steadicam-mounted cameras, focus sometimes drifts, but overall the image is sharp, exhibiting fine detail in both close-ups—you’ll make out every pore on Goldblum’s iconic schnauz—and longer shots, which are nicely resolved. Finally, the image is overlaid with a pleasing dispersion of grain that gives the picture a warm, filmic texture. The film fits comfortably on a 25 GB platter, and I didn’t notice any pesky compression issues.

Adam Resurrected Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


More restrained than the color palette is the film’s DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, which nonetheless impresses by being clear and precise. There’s not much, audio-wise, for this track to get worked up about—no explosions or gunplay, no big cross-channel pans or swooping front-to-back effects—but it handles Goldblum’s chatty dialogue with aplomb. More so, the acoustics of each room have a keen and noticeable effect on the timbre of the characters’ voices. As the asylum is basically a concrete, Bauhaus sepulcher, dialogue here is carried with a tinge of reverb. Sound effects—like the clacking of Nurse Grey’s heels through the corridors, the slamming of doors, and the clinking of silverware—carry a convincing presence, and though the rear channels aren’t incredibly active, you’ll notice environment-establishing ambience throughout, if you listen close enough. Though it rarely makes full use of it, the track has a strong range, and I was even surprised by some healthy LFE rumble from time to time. Hairs most definitely won’t be raised on the arms of audiophiles worldwide, but Adam Resurrected sounds great for a talky drama.

Adam Resurrected Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Adam Resurrected BD for September - June 10, 2009