Plot: What’s it about?
Diretor Ang Lee has made a few of my favorite and most enjoyable films with The Ice Storm, Hulk and now Life of Pi. He’s also made two films that I simply can’t stand – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain. Not to take anything away from those two movies, I know they’re both “critically-acclaimed” and I did enjoy certain aspects of both – I just feel they were both highly overrated. Then again, everyone has their own opinion. When I heard Life of Pi was going to be made into a film, I was wondering how they’d approach it. Though I hadn’t read the novel, my brother was telling me that it was quite interesting and that he too was wondering how they’d approach it. Having seen the various award shows over the season, Ang Lee’s accolades and subsequent Best Director Oscar, I was excited, yet hesitant to give this a viewing. What if I didn’t like it? What if it was another Brokeback Mountain? Life’s about taking chances and though it might seem mundane to “take a chance” by watching Life of Pi, I took the plunge, so to speak.
The story is told in flashback form as Pi (Irrfan Khan) tells the tale of his youth to a friend. We see a very young Pi as he embraces religion, almost too much as he’s a devout Catholic, Hindu and Muslim. His family owns a zoo, but due to financial reasons has to sell it and the family is en route to Canada. During this voyage, the ship is caught in a storm and Pi (Suraj Sharma) manages to escape, along with a handful of animals. Pi emerges the next day on a boat with a zebra, orangutan, hyena and a Bengal tiger by the name of Richard Parker. Nature has a way of weeding things out and before long it’s just Pi and Parker. The story chronicles the various ups and downs and how a teenage boy can possibly live on a life raft with a man-eating Tiger. The 227 day “adventure” if you want to call it that, is something that affected Pi for the rest of his life and as he tells the tale, we get lost in the sea of his emotion.
Admittedly I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I popped this disc in. On one hand, the movie was so well-reviewed, I felt that if I didn’t like it there was something wrong with me. Then again I have a penchant for veering away from the norm and not liking things that everyone else does. But I’ll say that the film was so flawlessly handled and expertly directed by Ang Lee that not only did I enjoy it, but I felt that it was probably a better contender for Best Picture than the eventual winner, Argo. I’m not a terribly religious person, but I think in a situation similar to the one that Pi was in, I’d turn to God in a heartbeat. The film is about as surreal as they come and about as beautiful too. Some of the effects are so flawlessly intertwined in the movie that it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not. I guess that’s the point, right? I highly doubt an adaptation from book to film could have gone this well and it’s a testament that there can still be some amazing, jaw dropping films out there and not just the same old recycled muck that Hollywood seems to push on us time and again.
Video: How does it look?
Ok, I’m really kicking myself for not requesting the 3D Blu-ray of this film. I really don’t know what I was thinking. I’ll have to drop Fox a line and see if they can spare a copy because from what I’ve heard and read, this is even better in 3D (a format that I still have my doubts about). Having said that, I will say that this is probably one of the most visually aggressive films that I’ve seen in a long time (Lars Von Tiers’ Melancholia comes close, though). The 1.78:1 AVC HD image is simply flawless in every sense of the word. Though Ang Lee plays with the aspect ratio on a few occasions (it looks like 2.40:1 in the flying fish scene and 1.33:1 on the precipice of a storm), it’s constantly fills the screen. The surreal visuals are so mind-blowing and breath-taking that I really don’t even know where to begin. A boat floating on the ocean when you can’t even tell where the water line is, sea life that seems to come at you from the wrong perspective and let’s not forget Richard Parker that was actually a real tiger mixed with CGI. I couldn’t really find a fault in this transfer and it’s one of the more, if not the most, beautifully shot film I’ve ever seen.
Audio: How does it sound?
The skies rumble, as does the sea, boats sink and the roar of Richard Parker are just a few of the sound effects that will occupy your speakers with this very robust DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack. As visually aggressive as the transfer is, this uncompressed soundtrack holds its own with the imagery. Vocals are crisp and sharp, you can hear every inflection in Pi’s accent, every hiccup of nature in the sea and the low frequency effects will make you feel like you’re smack dab in the middle of the ocean. A very immersive soundtrack that’s sure to please.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Again, I’m kicking myself for not requesting the 3D copy as it has a few more supplements than its 2D counterpart. Ah well. We begin with the most robust supplement “A Filmmaker’s Epic Journey” which is aptly-titled as this documentary chronicles the nearly five year commitment that Ang Lee went to get this movie made. We learn pretty much everything about the film and running at just about an hour (it’s in four parts), this is nearly required viewing for anyone who has an interest in the film. “A Remarkable Vision” focuses on the CGI and effects used for the film, with some interviews with those that made it possible. Of note, Ang Lee said he “wanted to make art…” and I think they succeeded. “Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright” focuses on Richard Parker, his trainer and what they went through to blend the actual tiger with the CGI counterpart. We round out the supplements with a gallery and some storyboards that chronicle some of the more noted scenes in the film. There’s also a DVD of the film as well as digital copy.
