The Fall
October 2008 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: Blu-ray	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Like the movie itself, many things about this Blu-ray Disc are unusual. There are two production featurettes, but instead of the usual voice-over and head-shot interviews, we’re shown what essentially amount to home movies, very medium-def shots of director Tarsem Singh filming key scenes of the movie. One is called "Wanderlust" and the other "Nostalgia." They both show Singh as an exacting yet easy-to-work-with director. In one segment we see him fussing over the costumes in a scene where swirling dancers are shot from above. He has wardrobe redo the costumes entirely and then modifies that, seeking the right contrast between clothing and background. When one sees the end result, the effort seems well spent.

The commentaries are also unique. Singh sticks to talking about the scene being shown, only telling us about the rest of the film at the very end. The second commentary gives over to lead actor Lee Pace, writer/producer Nico Soultanakis, and writer Dan Gilroy, and they seldom overlap Singh’s insight, so for once there seems to be a point in having more than one commentary track.

You have probably heard a lot about this movie being shot in many different exotic locations, and in truth the credit roll lists ten or more, including India, Italy, Spain, and England. It follows that it was filmed at different times, but the end result is entirely cohesive. If there are joints, they don’t really show.

I have to tell you a little plot before going further into the video aspects of this demonstration-caliber Blu-ray. Two very different people end up at a very empty hospital in Los Angeles at the time silent movies were being made. Roy (Lee Pace) is a movie stuntman who has damaged his legs doing a foolhardy stunt. He’s friendly and affable but also depressed over being dumped by a girlfriend. He meets a five-year-old girl, Alexandria (Catinca Untaru), who is recuperating from a broken arm. Roy tells her a story of a band of adventurers who have all been wronged by a Governor Odious (Daniel Caltagirone). They band together to try to thwart his evil actions. Alexandria imagines the sweeping action as Roy narrates it, and it comes out on a grand scale, looking something like the old Universal Arabian Nights movies if directed by Terry Gilliam.

Fantasy and reality become blurred until it becomes clear that Roy has an ulterior motive for spinning his yarns. More cannot be told without ruing a viewer’s voyage of discovery.

The hospital is drab and lifeless, and the fantasy world is the opposite. Imagine the bright colors from Korda’s The Thief of Bagdad and you will have some idea: bright reds and blues against golden sand. There are lots of swirling capes and imaginative masks. The villain’s minions are clad in black armor, and the locations resemble the Taj Mahal a lot of the time. This is the most visual film in a long time, and the transfer to Blu-ray Disc is simply breathtaking. All of the details of the costumes and accessories are razor sharp without an iota of edge enhancement. The exteriors are deep and three-dimensional in effect, thanks to the sharp focus of things seen in the distance. Contrasts and black levels are all perfect.

The sound is just about at the same level. There is a broad front stage and plenty of LFE-channel punch (but never too much), and the surrounds are busy most of the time. The remarkable thing is that there’s a lot going on, but it is all so well focused and transparent that you are really unaware of that. The dialogue comes through with absolute clarity; not a word is lost.

Oddly the film is rated R for reasons I just can’t fathom. It is not a movie for little kids, but surely teens would enjoy it and not be worse for wear. It is not a movie for everyone. There’s a lot of excess and spectacle at the expensive of narrative, but it is a joy to look at from beginning to end. That is especially true in this hard-to-fault Blu-ray edition.

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