Atonement Blu-ray

Atonement

 (2007)

Drama | Mystery | Romance | War



In 1935, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) and her family live a life of wealth and privilege in their enormous mansion. On the warmest day of the year, the country estate takes on an unsettling hothouse atmosphere, stoking Briony's vivid imagination. Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), the educated son of the family's housekeeper, carries a torch for Briony's headstrong older sister Cecilia (Kiera Knightley). Cecilia, he hopes, has comparable feelings; all it will take is one spark for this relationship to combust. When it does, Briony - who has a crush on Robbie - is compelled to interfere, going so far as accusing Robbie of a crime he did not commit. Cecilia and Robbie declare their love for each other, but he is arrested - and with Briony bearing false witness, the course of three lives is changed forever. Briony continues to seek forgiveness for her childhood misdeed. Through a terrible and courageous act of imagination, she finds the path to her uncertain atonement, and to an understanding of the power of enduring love.

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

Starring: James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Vanessa Redgrave
Director: Joe Wright

Atonement Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Both achingly filmic and incredibly faithful to its source, Atonement's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer is nothing short of beautiful. Every texture, every detail has been preserved, and edge enhancement and ringing are nowhere to be found. Everything from the second act's blood-stained uniforms, tattered bandages, and plumes of smoke to the first act's fire-lit chambers, fog-swept gardens, and sun-bathed fields are dazzling. Yes, visibility is a bit low in McGarvey's darkest shots, and yes, his hazy, dreamlike cinematography occasionally invites piercing light to flood the image, but crush, noise and other anomalies remain at bay. More importantly, his palette has been perfectly reproduced, granting Wright's lush fields and cold hospital halls equal parts boldness and brilliance. Blacks are deep and natural, skintones are lifelike, and primaries surge, all in service of the director's vision, all in response to his every intention. Instances of softness, rare as they are, can be attributed to the original print; each speck of grain, consistent and unobtrusive as it is, lends value and legitimacy to the presentation. And Universal's technical efforts? Artifacting, aliasing, smearing, DNR and other nonsense are either kept to a minimum or absent from the proceedings altogether. Think what you will of the film's ending, the studio's transfer is truly a sight to behold.

Atonement Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


Dat... dat... dat... dat... dat... dat-dat-dat-dat. So thunders Briony's typewriter as Atonement's hushed but arresting DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track first makes itself known. While it isn't the most aggressive mix I've had the opportunity to review of late, it's nevertheless an exceedingly effective one, freeing the nimble piano runs and tepid string strums of Dario Marianelli's masterful, Oscar-winning score in every channel. Wright's period piece is largely a front-heavy affair, dominated by whispered admissions and restrained conversations, but that's not to say the rear speakers remain quiet. Along with the absorbing music and rhythmic chatter of typewriters, a steady stream of convincing acoustics, nuanced ambience, and precise directional effects heighten the experience. Note the subtle echo of interior voices, the singsong call of distant birds, the rustle of trees, the chick-chack of Robbie's footsteps on a stone path, the gravely crinch-cratch as he shuffles past a collapsed building. LFE output is no slouch either. Though the film doesn't have the explosiveness of a more traditional genre pic, it meticulously massages Marianelli's compositions, makes McAvoy's battlefield encounters more haunting, and adds believable weight to everything from toppling rubble to the harshest French winds. Through it all, dialogue remains clear and compelling, and prioritization (save a few mishaps, all of which are arguably intentional) is spot on. As it stands, anyone who insists Atonement doesn't deliver an engrossing soundfield should seriously consider upgrading their audio gear.

Atonement Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Universal Details Atonement Blu-ray - November 6, 2009


• Universal Does Atonement for Blu-ray - November 5, 2009

Atonement Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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