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Knut & Friends Blu-ray
Knut und seine FreundeImage Entertainment | 2008 | 85 mins | Not rated | Dec 08, 2009
Knut & Friends(2008)Documentary | Family     Adorable polar bear cub Knut -- who became a celebrity after defeating the odds to survive at the Berlin Zoo -- stars in this enchanting German documentary, focused on Knut's delightful antics and his relationship with a nurturing Berlin zookeeper. Meanwhile, three newborn polar bears in the Arctic struggle with their harsh environment, and a couple of orphaned brown bears enjoy some mischief-making. For more details about Knut & Friends on Blu-ray, see the Knut & Friends Blu-ray Review Knut & Friends Blu-ray, Video Quality  Knut & Friends tumbles onto Blu-ray with a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that’s incredibly inconsistent, mostly because the documentary mixes 35mm film photography with high definition and standard definition video sources. The sections that follow Maidu and her cubs are quite detailed. Fur texture is nicely rendered, clarity is crisp across the frame, and the arctic whites and blues are perfectly reproduced. There are some stunning landscapes here, especially one time-lapse shot of clouds moving over the barren tundra. I was most impressed, though, by the gleaming, accurate texture of the snow. Likewise, the Masha and Pasha segments are sharp, and the Belarusian forests are given deep greens, strong black levels, and good contrast. Unfortunately, Knut’s share of the film looks far worse, with a lot of home video-style hand-held camerawork that’s obviously upscaled. You’ll notice rampant aliasing, chunky artifacts, overblown highlights, motion blur, and a distinct lack of fine detail. This is definitely disappointing, especially since it constitutes such a large part of the documentary. The kids probably won’t mind, but if you’re a picture quality- conscious parent, you’ll have your share of wince-inducing moments. Knut & Friends Blu-ray, Audio Quality  There’s not a lot to say about Knut & Friends' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, other than it does what it needs to and not much more. The narrator’s voice cuts cleanly and intelligibly through the mix, the bears’ various grunts and bleats and groans are recorded on- location and mostly un-muffled, and the surround channels are given some light homework, putting out some woodsy ambience and whipping wind through the rear speakers. The music, however, is almost indescribably bad. The film recycles four or five truly miserable songs that will haunt your every waking moment. I have one stuck in my head right now, and I’m considering whistling the theme song to M*A*S*H or Rocky just to get it out. The songs sound like Muzak— with flat “studio” mixes and cheesy effects—but they’re actual compositions written for the film. In terms of genre, they fall somewhere between soulful pop and fake reggae, and the female vocalist is trying way too hard to impress us. |
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