Discovery Atlas - China Revealed (Blu-ray + DVD-Video/Image Entertainment)
Picture: B/C+ Sound: B-/C+ Extras: C Main Program: C+
There is
an increasing market for smart documentary product and Blu-ray is going to need
as much such content as possible.
Unfortunately, so much of that kind of content has been low-definition
for several decades, before HD and after many years of theatrical and
television filming in 16mm and 35mm. The
Discovery Atlas series is an early HD-produced entry and the series is good, if
not more basic than we would have liked.
That brings us to the China Revealed episode, now on Blu-ray and
DVD-Video.
With all
of its flash and great footage, we are told how the country is on its way to
becoming the next superpower and the conflict of new against thousands of years
of tradition. However, not enough detail
is given and it may be one thing to avoid controversy and politics, but another
to avoid facts, especially when you have so much footage other people do not
have. Too bad, because despite some
problems with playback, this is an interesting look at a country that was
closed for so long that anything seems like a revelation. Too bad this decides to coast on that idea,
but it is still worth a look.
The 1080i
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image on the Blu-ray has its softness and
color limits, but also has some good shots thanks to the access to China
granted. I just wish this had been in
better HD or film, but that is still better than how soft the anamorphically enhanced
DVD version is and unnecessarily so. The
Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is nothing great, with its limited surrounds, but it
plays better on the Blu-ray than the DVD.
Extras include stills, brief director Q&A and look at the making of
the series this is a part of.
- Nicholas Sheffo
