Children of Men was released by Universal on the ill fated HD DVD format and was a film that I really enjoyed when I could get the darned disc the play properly. if there was ever a disc from hell, it was Children of Men on HD DVD as it was prone to freezing and skipping to the point that you could never just sit down and watch the film from beginning to end without some sort of calamity occurring and your quests asking just why should I invest in that format? It was therefore with some anticipation that I waited for Universal to get around to releasing the film on Blu-ray which they finally have. Thankfully, I can report that the disc plays perfectly without even the hint of any playback issues.
Film
I really enjoy dark, original and thought provoking films that work on many different levels and Children of Men is certainly one of those types of films.
The film is set in England in the year 2027. Large sections of the UK have become armed camps as the government has clamped down on civil liberties. Quite frankly. the UK and the rest of the world has gone to hell in and basket after the entire human race became infertile 18 years prior. At that point, the human race became doomed as the entire world would eventually simply die off in the span of the lifetimes of the youngest people. As a result, social structures began to break down.
Buildings were no longer maintained and became dilapadated. Pollution no longer became a concern as it no longer made a difference if the whole human race would be gone in but one lifetime. Immigration is the real issue that the government wants to battle as they want to keep everyone out of the UK and place those who are there into armed camps.
A group called the Fishes has arisen who the government considers to be terrorists who are involved in moving immigrants about the country. It is here that we find the hero of the story, Theo (Clive Owen), a bureaucrat and a bit of a drunk, who leads a totally nondescript life, just getting by, and upon whom greatness is thrust. He is contacted by the terror group who he discovers is lead by his ex-wife, Julian (Julianne Moore), who seeks his help in getting transit papers so she can get an immigrant woman, who is the first women in the world to become pregnant in 18 years, passage to the coast where she can be picked up by a hospital ship run by a group called the Human Project, which may or may not even exist. Rather than just obtaining transit papers, Theo becomes involved in the group which is double crossed by an insider and has to arise above himself to lead the pregnant woman and her baby to safety, at the risk of his own life.
What I really enjoyed the most about this film is the way it was filmed, with very long takes. It is though you are actually there during the story, following along with the cast. This narrative technique really pulls you into the story, at least it did for me. The more action oriented scenes look as though they were filmed with a hand held camera and have this herky jerky feel to them as though an actual camera crew is making the film in an actual war zone. You get to take in the whole scene as there are no quick edits or alternate angles. You follow the entire scene from one perspective. It is almost like being there. Children of Men is a well written and acted film that really pulls you into the story and is one that is well worth a look. Recommended.
Video
There is quite a bit to like about the look of Children of Men on Blu-ray. However, if you are looking for a bright and colorful film, Children of Men is not the film for you. While colors look quite natural, Children of Men is a dark and dull looking film, with an emphasis on various shades or gray, greens, blue and browns with a hint of yellow thrown in every now and then. The drab look of the film is intentional, as it fits the mood of the time and the increasingly disintegrating condition of both society as well as societies’ building and infrastructure infrastructure. On the whole, I was impressed with the overall black level reproduction which was deep and stable.
I also thought that film grain was well preserved and didn’t really discern the application of any significant digital noise reduction. I also thought that shadow detail was well preserved as well, which was especially preserved during the interior shots in the uprising battle sequence near the end of the film. Where I found the look of the film to be a bit disappointing concerned the level of overall detail and clarity, which I found to fall a good bit short of the best looking Blu-ray releases. Close-ups on the whole looked quite nice but as the camera pulled further back from the action, the images began to lose detail and clarity and became a tad on the soft side. While I would have preferred an image with more detail and clarity but I am sure that the look for the film is very representative with how the film looked in the theater.
Audio
For an action film, and Children of Men is an action film, I would have preferred a more immersive and involving sound design than what is present here. Overall, the fidelity of the sound is quite good, with a smooth and open sound with good transparency and imaging. The dialogue track is also well recorded and well placed in the mix.
Somewhat surprising, the film’s sound design is quite front heavy with long sections of the film containing rather sparse use of the surrounds and lacking little in the way of an immersive feel. However, there are certain exceptions where the surrounds are used aggressively to create very an immersive feel. The most effective use of the surrounds is during the uprising sequence at the end of the film where the government’s military forces invade immigrant camp and begin to kill the inhabitants. There, the surrounds are used very aggressively, placing you right in the middle of the action with Theo, as bullets ricochet and whiz by constantly in addition to explosions which take out large sections of the buildings where the people and militants are hiding. Here, the gun and tank shots and explosions are quite realistic sounding and have the appropriate weight and heft that one would expect. These sections of the film are fully deserving of at least a 4.5 star rating. However, there are simply not enough of them to pull the overall score up above a 4.
Special Features
Surprisingly, Children of Men does not come equipped with any high def extras or a digital copy of the film. The extras include deleted scenes as well as a featurette detailing how CGI was used to create the birthing scene and the actual baby near the end of the film. Also included is a featurette entitled Futuristic Design which details how the sets and locations for the film were selected.
The featurette Theo & Julian details the relationship between these two central characters and features interviews with Clive Owen and Julianne Moore discussing their takes on their respective characters. The featurette Under Attack shows how the battle sequence at the end of the film was staged and shot.
Also included is the featurette The Possibility of Hope which is Alphonso Cuaron’s documentary on how the themes in the film relate to today’s society. The final extra is a filmed commentary on the film by the Marxist sociologist, philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Zizek.
Final Thoughts
Children of Men is a thought provoking film that features solid but unspectacular audio and video presentations that is well worth a look.
