| Savior opens in Paris, 1987. Joshua (Dennis
Quaid) loses his wife and child in a terrorist bombing. His need for revenge is great,
leading him to commit a crime that forces him to go into hiding thus he joins the Foreign
Legion. There he assumes a new identity and takes on a new life as a hired gun. Flash
forward to Bosnia 1993. Fighting with the Serbs, Joshua continues to vent his anger at the
world. Trained to kill, he does that with no second thoughts and no regrets. Naturally,
things must change and something reminds Joshua that his targets are humans, and
everything begins to unravel. During a prisoner exchange, he meets Vera (Nastasa
Nikkovic). Raped by her captors, she carries the child of one of them. Abandoned by her
family for such a disgrace Joshua attempts to redeem his faith in human nature and
together they attempt to flee war torn Bosnia to find haven at the Red Cross in Serbian
Territory. The Director attempts to portray this
film as realistic as he can. He succeeds, the film is violent, extremely so. It attempts
to portray a bitter and violent war in Bosnia and it pulls no punches. It portrays some
graphic human cruelty where you simply say to yourself, how can someone do that to another
person. There are numerous scenes which are not for the faint hearted so be
warned.
So How Does This Transfer Hold Up?
VIDEO
The transfer which is Anamorphically framed at 2.35:1 is generally excellent. It is
again your usual Columbia Tri-Star fare that we have all grown to love. The transfer is
clean, colours are vivid and flesh tones natural. Black level is good and the transfer is
free of grain. It displays some beautifully shot scenes of the Yugoslavian country.
AUDIO
On the disc you'll find only an English Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. This suits
the film perfectly, Dialogue was clear and easy to understand. Although not a constant
aggressive mix, it has it where it counts. There is an explosion early on in the film
which uses the rear channels perfectly. The sound stage is wide and again the LFE is used
appropiately where needed.
EXTRAS
Extras are also quite good. We have a very good audio commentary by the
Director Peter Antonijevic, movie trailer and talent profiles.
Since this is not a special or collectors edition I think the inclusion of the Directors
Commentary alone is fantastic. Subtitles consist of only English and Hebrew.
Overall a very powerful film which deserves a
viewing. Although you will not have a warm all over glow when you have finished.
Recommended for a rental first.
| PICTURE QUALITY |
9/10 excellent |
SOUND -
Quality
5.1 WOW Factor |
.
8/10 Clean and Clear
7/10 5.1 Where it counts! |
| FEATURES |
7/10 Quite Good, even when not a
Collector's Edition |
Review Equipment
TV: Pioneer SD-T43W1 (43inch 16:9 RPTV)
DVD: Toshiba 2109 Region Free
Receiver: Yamaha RXV995 (DD/DTS)
Speakers:-
Fronts: Polk Audio RT55
Centre: Polk Audio CS350
Rears: Polk Audio AB705's
Sub: M&K V125
- Reviewed 17th April 2000 |
