Dunkirk [Blu-ray] [2017] [Region Free]

It seems a large minority of people have been disappointed by this film, citing an inability to connect with the characters or get engaged with the plot.I found the story perfectly compelling, not least as it is based on real events. As for the characters, they're not especially fleshed out, but they don't need to be. It's a combat situation with no time for character-defining speeches or elaborate back-stories. You empathise with the protagonists on an immediate human level, just like you would for any random person in a war. Mark Rylance in particular is very affecting, and represents the heart of the film; a civilian willingly putting himself in danger out of a combination of duty and altruism.There is a building sense of dread throughout the film, aided by clever editing and a deliberately invasive and unsettling soundtrack. It's an effective combination.Picture and sound quality are excellent. Complaints that the dialogue is hard to hear are more likely the result of a bad sound system than any problem with the film or the disc.The film was shot on both 65mm film and IMAX, and as a result the Blu-ray periodically switches between two aspect ratios depending on the source. The results are similar to the Blu-ray releases of Nolan's last two Dark Knight films, and it's not as distracting as it might sound. The 65mm scenes are brilliant, and the IMAX scenes look even better.The accompanying special features cover many aspects of the making of the film from wardrobe to editing to set building to stunt-work. It's a comprehensive look at the production with lots of interview clips. (If anything, it gets a little bit tiring to hear Nolan constantly reiterate his desire to capture everything for real, in camera, in reality, really, actually, for real, with actual real ships that are really there. He brings it up every few minutes, rephrasing the same point over and over, but you have to give him credit for sticking to his guns. It means a lot to him, and he's clearly dedicated to his work.)It's a very well-made film, and it's served by an appropriately well-done Blu-ray release.

£3.80 for this absolute classic on blu ray.Do yourself a favour.

At one point during this brilliant film someone said that there was no depiction of the bigger picture; in my view, this is what made it so good. We had no idea what was happening elsewhere in the progress of the war; we didn't know anything about the protagonists; we met them for the first time on, around and above the beach, and this added to the sense of intimacy. They were all plunged into positions of terrible peril, and, typical of human beings, some reacted with courage and selflessness, some didn't. But then why should we expect every man (and boy) to be a hero? Old-style Hollywood divided people into goodies and baddies, but (good) modern film makers know better.I loved the fact that quite a lot was left to the viewer's imagination: what had happened to the Cilian Murphy character to throw him into such a fugue state? Why was the young boy who jumped on to the Moonstone at the last moment so determined to prove himself? What was the lead-up to the soldier trying so hard to queue-jump? Also, there was a moving moment of the supernatural when the Mark Rylance character made his comment about 'He was one of you, and I knew he'd look after us'. I think it's significant that I can't remember anybody's names: in a sense they act as symbols/representatives of everyone who was there, and so their identities don't really matter.I'm not sure what to make of Hans Zimmer's soundtrack. All that I can remember of it the morning after watching the film is the slowed-down 'Nimrod' theme and the repetitive, insistent four-beat rhythm (representing a battleship's pop-pom gun?). My initial impression is that it's not one of his best, but maybe it will improve on a second experience of the film. And on the subject of the soundtrack, I found the dialogue almost inaudible at times. Since this was't really a plot-driven film, however, I don't think it mattered very much.I was caught up in the drama from start to finish. It made a change not to have swathes of CGI, which certainly added to the sense of having been right there amid the danger. No stiff upper lips and barely a touch of jingoism (although I could have done with one less shot of Kenneth Brannagh looking wistfully across the Channel towards 'home'; still, that's Kenneth Brannagh for you).Recommended.