Barfly (Barfly - Szenen eines wüsten Lebens) (Blu-ray Review)

Nominated for the prestigious Palme d’Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Barbet Schroeder's "Barfly" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of German distributors Koch Media. The supplemental features on the disc include two theatrical trailers and a collection of posters and lobby cards. In English, with optional German subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked". ...

Video

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Barbet Schroeder's Barfly arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of German distributors Koch Media.

The Blu-ray release represents a major upgrade in quality over the out of print R1 DVD release Warner Brothers issued in 2002. Detail is very pleasing, clarity improved, especially during the bar sequences, and contrast levels stabilized. Color reproduction is also convincing - the soft

Audio

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Koch Media have provided optional German subtitles for the main feature.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track opens up the film rather well, but its range of nuanced dynamics is fairly modest. The dialog is crisp, stable, and easy to follow. There is no problematic background hiss, clicks, or pops. There are no sync issues or audio dropouts to repo

Supplements

• Trailers - original trailers for Barfly.

  -- English trailer. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, PAL).

  -- German trailer. In German, not subtitled. (2 min, PAL).

• Bildergalerie - a collection of posters and lobby cards. (1080p).

Final Words

Barbet Schroeder's Barfly offers a fascinating look into the unusual world of legendary Beat generation writer Charles Bukowski and his famous protagonist Henry Chinaski. Mickey Rourke is simply superb in this film, which, to be honest, isn't for everyone. The R1 DVD release of Barfly has been out of print for quite some time, which is why this surprisingly good looking German Blu-ray release is so easy to recommend. RECOMMENDED. ...

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Barfly (Barfly - Szenen eines wüsten Lebens) (Blu-ray Review)