United States 
|
|
|||
|
||||
|
Most Popular Blu-ray Deals at Amazon
|
Show latest price drops |
 $19.99 |  $15.99 |  $24.99 |  $16.99 |  $19.99 |  $19.99 |  $15.49 |  $9.49 |  $16.99 |  $7.99 |  $7.99 |  $16.99 |  $9.49 |  $21.49 |  $45.49 |
|
|
|
United States
|
|
|||
|
||||
|
Most Popular Blu-ray Deals at Amazon
|
Show latest price drops |
$19.99 | $15.99 | $24.99 | $16.99 | $19.99 | $19.99 | $15.49 | $9.49 | $16.99 | $7.99 | $7.99 | $16.99 | $9.49 | $21.49 | $45.49 |
|
|
|
For All Mankind Blu-ray
Masters of CinemaEureka Entertainment | 1989 | 79 mins | Not rated | Nov 16, 2009 (New Release)
For All Mankind Blu-ray ReviewReviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov, November 15, 2009 Al Reinert’s unforgettable “For All Mankind” (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The disc contains a newly restored, supervised and approved by the director, high-definition transfer of the film created on a Spirit Datacine from a 35mm interpositive. The original Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack has been remastered at 24-bit from the 35mm magnetic tracks. Amongst the supplemental features on the disc is an audio commentary with the director and Apollo 17 commander Eugene A. Cernan (which was recorded exclusively for the Criterion Collection in 1999), “An Accidental Gift: The Making Of For All Mankind”, "NASA Sound Archive and lift-off footage", a 28-page full-color booklet, etc. With optional on-screen identification of astronauts and mission specialists, and optional English subtitles (SDH) for the hearing impaired. Region-B "locked".
Al Reinert’s For All Mankind is a film that nowadays brings out different kinds of emotions in me. On one hand, it reminds me about a time when America was united behind a group of men who made history. The joy and elation our nation experienced was unprecedented. To this day, I still get emotional when I watch the documentary footage with Neil Armstrong setting foot on the lunar soil. It is a very special scene. On the other hand, For All Mankind also makes me incredibly sad. It reminds me about a time when the world was on the brink of World War III, divided by political ideologies that nowadays seem so preposterous. The film also reminds me about President Kennedy. Times have changed but we, the human race, have not. We are as divided and as suspicious of each other as we have ever been. For All Mankind chronicles the history of the Apollo 11 mission and the three astronauts – Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin – who landed on the Moon. Throughout the film, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin as well as a number of other people who played an important part in the Apollo 11 mission, including Bill Anders, Stephen Bales, Walter Cunningham, Frank Borman and Charles Conrad amongst others, are heard sharing their thoughts while archival footage from the preparation, initiation and completion of the mission is shown. It is important to note, however, that none of the men whose voices are heard on the archival footage are identified by their names. Initially, it feels strange, as it takes time to get used to hearing different voices without knowing the persons behind them. Eventually, though, one begins to understand that the voices belong to us, the overwhelmed human race, recognizing an event of historic proportions. The majority of the archival footage used in For All Mankind looks incredible. Director Reinert and a team of specialists spent hundreds of hours working on the film elements supplied by NASA. Color, contrast, clarity and stability were dramatically improved. As a result, the archival footage from the astronauts’ landing on the Moon looks as if it was recorded only a decade ago. What else is there to say about this film? As cliche as it may sound, one really has to see it to fully understand and grasp the type of atmosphere that surrounded the Apollo 11 mission. Simple words can only go so far in describing what America and the rest of the world felt on July 20, 1969. The event had different significance for different people, and I know that the film will have a different impact on different viewers who will now see it for the first time. I have seen a number of documentaries during the years. Many of them were well done, focusing on important subjects and debating them convincingly. But I don’t remember all of them vividly. I do, however, remember For All Mankind and I know exactly how I felt when I first saw it. I was overwhelmed and filled with pride. It was a very special experience that made me dream impossible dreams. I hope that those of you who are about to see For All Mankind for the first time have a similar experience. Video  Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Al Reinert's For All Mankind arrives on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom courtesy of local distributors Eureka Entertainment. Those of you who could not take advantage of Criterion's Region-A "locked" release of For All Mankind would be delighted to know that Eureka Entertainment have ported the exact same supervised and approved by producer-director Al Reinert new high-definition transfer the U.S. distributors introduced. Indeed, the Region-A and Region-B releases look identical to me - detail is solid, the color-scheme very good, and clarity impressive (when compared to Criterion's SDVD transfer). As expected, when blown through a digital projector, the image also remains notably stable. All in all, this is indeed an excellent presentation of a historic film that should please even the most demanding amongst you. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" disc. Therefore, in order to access its content, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player). Audio There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and English Dolby Digital 2.0. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles and identifications, and identifications only for the main feature. I really can hear much of a difference between the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. I have a couple of favorite scenes in this film where Brian Eno's score is very effective, and after testing them with both tracks, I could not hear anything that separated them. There are no issues to report with the dialog either. All in all, the audio treatment is most definitely as impressive as the video treatment. Supplements  Note: With the exception of "On Camera" - the audio-only interviews director Al Reinert conducted with the Apollo astronauts - the rest of the supplemental features found on the Criterion release of For All Mankind appear on Eureka Entertainment's release. Audio Commentary – a commentary by filmmaker Al Reinert and astronaut Eugene Cernan recorded exclusively for the Criterion Collection in 1999. A veteran of three missions, including Apollo 17, on which he served as commander, Cernan was the last to set foot on the lunar surface, in 1972. An Accidental Gift – director Al Reinert mined NASA’s film repository at the Johnson Space Center to create For All Mankind. This program explores his commitment and the materials used, with comments by Reinert; Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean; and NASA film editors Don Pickard and Chuck Welch, film vault curator Morris Williams and lead librarian Mike Gentry. (32 min). Paintings from the Moon – Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean was the fourth man to walk on the moon, and he later commanded the Skylab 3 mission, staying a then record fifty-nine days in space. After retiring from NASA, he turned full-time to his other passion, painting. Presented here is a video introduction with Bean and a gallery of his paintings, each work accompanied by commentary from the painter himself. (8 min). NASA Audio Highlights – twenty-one sound bites, collected from the first ten years of the American space program. Clip number one if from Alan Shepard’s historic first ride into space, and the last is Eugene Cernan’s final words on the Moon during Apollo 17. (7 min). 3, 2, 1…Blast Off! – a collection of launch footage showing one example of each of NASA’s five rocket boosters (the Mercury-Redstone, Mercury-Atlas, Gemini-Titan, Saturn 1B, and Saturn V), which were the launch vehicles for the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab missions. (3 min). 28-page booklet - containing an extract from a special message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs delivered by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961; the essay "Al Reinert on For All Mankind"; and "Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks", linear notes written to accompany Brian Eno's 1983 album, commissioned by director Al Reinert. Final words Those of you residing in Region-B territories would be delighted to know that British distributors Eureka Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Al Reinert's For All Mankind looks and sounds just as impressive as the one Criterion introduced for the U.S. market. Additionally, with the exception of a compilation of on-camera interviews Al Reinert did with the Apollo astronauts, all other supplemental features from the Criterion release have been ported on this disc. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. 
Back to For All Mankind Blu-ray »
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
This web site is not affiliated with the Blu-ray Disc Association. All trademarks are the property of the respective trademark owners. © 2002-2009 Blu-ray.com. All rights reserved. Registration problems | Business Inquiries | Legal Notices |
