Children of Men, Blu-ray (2009)
Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Studio: Universal [Release date: May 26, 09]
Video: 1.85:1 Widescreen for main feature, 1080p HD and 1080i/p SD for special features
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 for feature, DD 2.0 for extras
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Italian, German, Castilian Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Korean, Dutch, Portuguese, Traditional Mandarin, Greek
Extras: Deleted scenes, Visual Effects; Creating the Baby, Theo and Julian, Under Attack, The Possibility of Hope documentary, Children of Men comments by Slavoj Zisek
Length: 110 min.
Rating: *****
Children of Men tells the story of a distant future (the year 2027) in which humanity has become infertile, causing countries to collapse and creating anti-immigrant fervor worldwide. When Theo (Clive Davis), an alcoholic office worker in the Minister of Energy, is asked by his former girlfriend and current revolutionary leader, Julian (Julianne Moore), to help a pregnant immigrant girl, Kee, out of country. He soon finds himself in the middle of a plot to use Kee’s child to incite a revolution.
With gorgeous cinematography and many long, unbroken takes, Children of Men is well served by the Blu-ray format. The DTS-HD audio is amazing as well, especially during the action scenes–you don’t realize how desensitized you are to the sound of gunshots in movies until you hear one as sharp and clean as they are in Children of Men. As someone who considers himself relatively jaded when it comes to suspense films, I was shocked at how tense I felt every time I heard a loud sound ring out.
The DVD’s extras include The Possibility of Hope, a documentary made by Alfonso Cuaron, which features interviews with activist Naomi Klein, philosopher Slavoj Zisek and others talking about real world problems addressed in the film, such as global warming, anti-immigrant governmental policies, and globalization. Bleaker than the film, the documentary is a fascinating look at the way the film’s dystopian vision is closer to the real world than we’d like to believe. Under Attack, a featurette about the one of the film’s most impressive scenes, a single shot sequence where the car carrying Theo, Julian, and Kee is attacked by a mob on motorcycles, is required viewing as well.
— Daniel Krow
