{jatabs type="content" position="top" height="auto" skipAnim="true" mouseType="click" animType="animFade"}

[tab title="Movie Review"]

The Revenant - Movie Review

{googleAds}

5 stars

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu returns to cinemas this year with a harrowing journey into the bruised and bloodied heart of the relatively undiscovered landscape of the American territories in the early 1820s.  If last year’s Oscar-winning Birdman was the director’s ode to the literary genre of magic realism, then The Revenant is his solid championing of the heart and soul of American Literature. 

This is tough film to sit through only because the events it depicts are so incredibly realistic and unflinching.  Iñárritu is a mad genius at the helm of this western.  Alongside the incredible cinematography of Emmanuel Lubezki (of Gravity and Birdman fame), he couldn’t be in better (or more inspired) company to completely re-charge the genre of Naturalism and regional writing.  And, speaking as a former AP teacher of American Literature, his latest journey is an epic combination of some very real American themes.

Based on the experiences of frontiersman and fur trapper Hugh Glass (played here by a very engaging Leonardo DiCaprio), The Revenant takes viewers on a tense tale of survival and revenge in the harshest of conditions as a group of hunters and trappers find themselves at odds with the natural world after an ambush by the Native American Arikara Indians.  With supplies low and half their party dead, tensions begin to mount as the remaining men make a bee-line back to their outpost.

Days pass and Glass comes face-to-face with a protective grizzly bear.  It is a battle he barely survives but, with limited medical resources, he is merely a drain on their speed.  The hunting party leader, Captain Andrew Henry (Domhall Gleeson) can’t being himself to kill a member of his own party even after being slowed down on their return to base by a very crippled Glass.  Instead, he offers a reward to the brave souls who stay behind to watch over Glass and see that he is properly buried before returning to the outpost. 

It is John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) who agrees to stay behind alongside two young men, Jim Bridger (Will Pouter) and Glass’ half-breed son, Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) to see that Glass has a proper burial when the time comes.   He, of course, is only in it for the money and – as much as he might try to convince himself of his intentions – becomes impatient with everyone and gives in to his self-preservation.  When fresh blood begins to rise to the surface and Glass is abandoned in a makeshift grade, Fitzgerald’s own actions becomes all Glass needs to survive his injuries and make the return home. 

Revenge will be Glass’ and the length at which he must travel to accomplish that will leave you and him both questioning our motives when it comes to this human condition.  He survives the originating bear attack but, in order to get back safely and track down Fitzgerald, he must also withstand the trials of the natural world and, after taking refuge within the guts of a horse, his own stink while his own mind betrays him with hallucinations of better times among his native brothers and sisters. 

Truly, that’s the strength of The Revenant.  The film is ambitious and god-like and oh so very human as it unwinds its narrative.  It is a fierce display of cinematic power and passion where the elements all come together to make an experience that is, at once, both unshakable and worth revisiting time and time again.  There’s poetry here; pure pictorial poetry that is as haunting as any declaration of beauty that has come before it. 

While Creed continues to gain momentum in the awards department, The Revenant remains my top pick for this year’s Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography.  See for yourself and tell me just how wrong I am to throw such praises at its undeserving feet.

[/tab]

[tab title="Film Details"]

The Revenant - Movie Review

MPAA Rating: R for strong frontier combat and violence including gory images, a sexual assault, language and brief nudity
Runtime:
156 mins
Director
: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Writer:
Mark L. Smith, Alejandro González Iñárritu
Cast:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter
Genre
: Drama | Western
Tagline:
(n. One who has returned, as if from the dead.)
Memorable Movie Quote: "As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. You breathe... keep breathing."
Distributor:
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Official Site:
Release Date:
January 8, 2016
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
April 19, 2016
Synopsis: http://www.foxmovies.com/movies/the-revenant

[/tab]

[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

The Revenant - Movie Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - April 19, 2016
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles
: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1; French: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD); UV digital copyiTunes digital copy; ; Google Play digital copy; D-Box
Region Encoding: Locked to A and B

Presented in a rich 1080P MPEG-4AVC encoded transfer with a crisp 2.39:1 aspect ratio, Inarritu's film looks every single bit the masterpiece it is. With a film this visually striking it is important that the transfer be up to the task of replicating the journey. That's exactly what you get with this release. Natural lighting runs throughout the shoot and the details of the naturalistic shoot are striking and deep. Inky blacks are everywhere and the edges are fine. The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround audio track is a loaded with heavy bottoms, solid atmospheric elements, and handles the dialogue well.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

We'll probably be seeing a Special Edition release of the film in the near future. The bonus features are a bit of a letdown considering the 44-minute making of featurette has been available on YouTube since January. It is nice that it is included here as it is a good look at the filming of the movie but the fact that there are only two offerings – the other being a gallery of photos – is a bit of a bummer.

  • A World Unseen (44 min)
  • Gallery

[/tab]

[tab title="Trailer"]

[/tab]

{/jatabs}