Sir Terrence the Terrible
07-12-2005, 07:42 AM
Wes Anderson has a different kind of humor. I find it rather off beat, but mostly in the detail of the movie itself. It is intelligent humor which is my favorite, but it is well suited to this kind of movie.
Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) is an oceanographer and filmmaker – in a nod to the great Jacques Cousteau down to the red crew hats – whose partner was killed by an unknown species of shark in front of the eyes of Zissou. Zissou swears revenge and names the fish the "Jaguar Shark." Much to the amusement of his colleagues, Zissou scrapes together the last resources and mans an expedition. The mission, to find and kill the Jaguar Shark! Along the way his life is filled with personal problems, such as dealing with his estranged wife (Anjelica Huston), getting to know his new-found could-be grown-up son, falling in love with a pregnant reporter (Cate Blanchett), battling out feuds with his competitor (Jeff Goldblum) or simply being a good captain to his crewman (Willem Dafoe). There’s always something happening, and when there’s not, there are pirates…
The Video:
Criterion is presenting a flawless widescreen transfer on this 2-discDVD that is devoid of any flaws or blemishes. An incredible amount of detail can be found in the picture, making for a great and engaging viewing. Colors are vibrant but never over-saturated, creating a world that is sometimes bleak, rich and vivid at others, and always pleasant. Solid black levels root the image firmly, giving it visual depth and rendering perfect shadows with just enough detail. No edge-enhancement is evident and the compression is without flaws.
The Sound:
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou" comes with a 5.1 channel Dolby Digital and a DTS audio track. Both of them are equally well produced and perfectly reproduce every nuance of the audio production. Surround usage is good and effective and the good frequency response makes it all the more enjoyable. I found that the Dts soundtrack had a slightly warmer, more coherent sound field, and cleaner more articulate bass than the Dolby track.
As a stylistic device, the film’s sound track contains a large number of David Bowie tunes from his Ziggy stardust era. The kicker here is that they are almost throughout in Portuguese this time around. Brazilian recording artist Seu Jorge, who plays one of the crew members in the movie, has a knack for these tunes and keeps singing them aboard on every possible occasion with his guitar in his hand. It is a humorous device that Anderson employs throughout the film, making for some great moments and for some nice memories.
Though I had never heard of this film before, I was intrigued by it during my weekly shopping at BB. Bought it blind and haven't regretted the purchase.
Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) is an oceanographer and filmmaker – in a nod to the great Jacques Cousteau down to the red crew hats – whose partner was killed by an unknown species of shark in front of the eyes of Zissou. Zissou swears revenge and names the fish the "Jaguar Shark." Much to the amusement of his colleagues, Zissou scrapes together the last resources and mans an expedition. The mission, to find and kill the Jaguar Shark! Along the way his life is filled with personal problems, such as dealing with his estranged wife (Anjelica Huston), getting to know his new-found could-be grown-up son, falling in love with a pregnant reporter (Cate Blanchett), battling out feuds with his competitor (Jeff Goldblum) or simply being a good captain to his crewman (Willem Dafoe). There’s always something happening, and when there’s not, there are pirates…
The Video:
Criterion is presenting a flawless widescreen transfer on this 2-discDVD that is devoid of any flaws or blemishes. An incredible amount of detail can be found in the picture, making for a great and engaging viewing. Colors are vibrant but never over-saturated, creating a world that is sometimes bleak, rich and vivid at others, and always pleasant. Solid black levels root the image firmly, giving it visual depth and rendering perfect shadows with just enough detail. No edge-enhancement is evident and the compression is without flaws.
The Sound:
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou" comes with a 5.1 channel Dolby Digital and a DTS audio track. Both of them are equally well produced and perfectly reproduce every nuance of the audio production. Surround usage is good and effective and the good frequency response makes it all the more enjoyable. I found that the Dts soundtrack had a slightly warmer, more coherent sound field, and cleaner more articulate bass than the Dolby track.
As a stylistic device, the film’s sound track contains a large number of David Bowie tunes from his Ziggy stardust era. The kicker here is that they are almost throughout in Portuguese this time around. Brazilian recording artist Seu Jorge, who plays one of the crew members in the movie, has a knack for these tunes and keeps singing them aboard on every possible occasion with his guitar in his hand. It is a humorous device that Anderson employs throughout the film, making for some great moments and for some nice memories.
Though I had never heard of this film before, I was intrigued by it during my weekly shopping at BB. Bought it blind and haven't regretted the purchase.