Project-Blu ‘Defiance’ Review, by Nate Boss

Defiance

By: Nate Boss, 6.2.2009

The Movie Itself:
 It's kind of sad, really, that for every WW2 tale told, there are probably 10 equal, if not greater, tales that have been forgotten to time, with the only witnesses long dead, or just locked away due to the trauma involved. This war, far more than any other, has so many stories, heroes, villains, it's a virtual never ending supply, yet it takes what seems like forever (over 60 years now) for some of these tales, real or fiction, to hit the collective conscious. You have Americans, thrust from mediocrity at home to being war heroes, Germans, who may have done horrific acts under orders, or may have even dissented and saved hundreds, or thousands of lives, or Jews, facing oppression or death, living in hiding, or taking a stand for their fellow man. Nearly every country in Europe have an amazing amount of tales that should be known.

Defiance is one of the more recent films that hits on a topic, a story, that had not received prior fame on screen, telling of a Jewish family in a Belarussian territory, fighting against the Nazi occupation and obliteration of their race. Helmed by Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond), one of the most underrated directors in Hollywood, I knew I was going to be in for a treat.

The Bielski's are Jewish bootleggers, whose occupation avoiding the law may have saved their lives, as they were not in their homes when the Nazis came to kill and round up any Jews in the area. The brothers survived, witnessing the atrocity from the forest, as their father was murdered. They take to the forest, rounding up fellow Jewish survivors, trying to survive the harsh climate, reduced to living off the land, with the most quaint of shelter, constantly in fear of a Nazi patrol that may discover them.

Tuvia (Daniel Craig) is the eldest brother, who is idealistic and passionate,wanting revenge against the man who killed his father, while Zus (pronounced the same as the norse god Zeus) (Liev Schreiber) is more hands on, wanting revenge against the entire German occupying army. With their numbers constantly growing, as Tuvia cannot turn any man or woman away to their death, the conflict becomes more human, as the brothers struggle with their ideals and contrasting beliefs, and eventually even the Jews that they save begin to quarrel. With their wives murdered in similar Nazi raids, the Bielski's have nothing to lose but each other.

To be honest, the film is fairly slow moving, but the funny thing is, the time does fly right by, if that makes any sense. The 136 minute runtime just seems to roll, as the story is quite gripping, an amazing human struggle, against their enemies, nature, and themselves. The film is packed with plenty of action, though it is spread out in the film, predominantly in the opening and closing portions of the film, to try to appease those who cannot find interest in a story far greater than any bloodshed.

Zwick again does a masterful job, crafting a tale where the men must become one with their environment to survive, while Schreiber and Craig each do an amazing job with their roles. I'm not one who often pulls himself out of a film to say "hey look, it's James Bond!," but the way these men performed, it was like no other role in their past mattered, as they were brothers, they were that convincing.

The one problem I had with the film was it's logistics, and it's predictability. I could see plot twists coming a mile away, they were quite obvious, so no moment in the film felt truly dramatic. I guess one could say it is fairly formulaic. In the later battle scenes, it seems the fight would be put on hold for the characters to talk things out between themselves, and come up with solutions, to the point that they reach a plan, which is creepingly slow to execute, but not once do the group get shot at from the advancing Nazi troops. It was just too convenient, and required suspension of belief in a film that, up to that point, didn't require it in the least.

Still, I did enjoy Defiance. There have been many good WW2 based films that have focussed on the human struggles and losses for the Jews recently (something that earlier WW2 films really never touched upon), starting with Schindler's List, the award winning The Pianist, up to the somewhat recent Black Book. Defiance takes a spot somewhere in the middle of that list, and while it didn't win any big awards (it was only nominated for one Academy Award, for it's score), it certainly is a powerful film about men who chose to be heroes in times of need.
Rating: 7/10

The Presentation:
Defiance features a 1080P, AVC MPEG-4 codec that is very much pleasing to the eye.

The most obvious topic for conversation on this transfer is the brilliant amount of detail. Everything, from foregrounds, backgrounds, clothing, facial details, you name it, it's crisp. It's sharp. When Craig gets all dirtied up, along with the other actors, the amount of detail in these smudges is so real that it's unreal. These guys look like they've been in the middle of what their characters have been, they look completely ragged, with layers of dirt and grime coating them. It's truly awesome.

The film has a nice contrast levels, details doesn't get sucked up in darker shots, and skin tones can be pretty darned decent, though a bit flawed (I'll get to that later). There is no obvious edge enhancement here. No DNR. No artificial sweetener, period, just a gritty film about people forced to live a gritty life. The one complaint I have is somewhat of an aesthetics issue, in that the entire film has a blue and green tint to it. Skin does absorb this, as do the trees, and all surroundings, to be frank. Stubble shows up blue at times, as do the whites of many an eyeball. This gives the film a more earthy feel, but I do think the film would have looked absolutely brilliant, borderline perfect, otherwise.

Paramount didn't skimp out on the audio, with a lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix that is a bit limited by it's source, but shines when given the chance.

Dialogue is clear, though it slips into tongues a few times, so I can't exactly say how clear those portions of the film are. The sounds all blend nicely, with score, effects, and dialogue all synching quite nicely, in a mix that never needs a volume adjustment. Rears aren't overly utilized, as there are times it should have had plenty of rustling or light background dialogue, but we are given some nice atmospheric nature sounds at times. The subwoofer pops it's head in for some ambiance at times, as well, but also brings it (as in "Bring it!") for the few explosions in the film. There is a sequence of a post bomb high pitched scream that sounds perfect, like a blown out eardrum, while the other high part of this mix, the gunshots, do come up a bit short with just a light pop. This film is for the most part a talker, so the action sequences are just a bonus, really.
Rating: 8/10 ( 8/10- video, 8/10- audio)

The Extras:
Audio Commentary
With Director Edward Zwick

Defiance: Return to the Forest (HD, 26 min)
The inspiration for the film (Zus' obituary) is discussed, Zwick makes a brilliant analysis of refuges, Jewish or no, throughout history, and actors discuss their characters, meanings, and so on. There is some discussion of how the crew couldn't film in Belarus, so they filmed on the border next to it. A nice making of feature, loaded with information.

Children of the Otriad (HD, 13 min)
The children and grandchildren of the Bielskis speak out about the family past, while on the set (with Defiance hats, kinda gave it away). These children discuss their relationships with their parents, how they coped after their experiences in the woods, with some pictures and video footage of these actual men from the film. A strong extra, very well made, hitting on all of the Bielskis, not just Zus and Tuvia. A must see. Period.

Scoring Defiance (HD, 7 min)
The owner of the one Academy Award nomination for the film, the score is given a quick look here, from the director and sound engineers watching a recording of the orchestra, to their thoughts on their intentions for the music for the film.

Bielski Partisan Survivors (HD, 2 min)
A series of photos featuring the survivors of the Bielski Partisan Group, taken in 2008. A powerful short little photo montage, though interlacing makes it look a bit too glimmering. This extra belonged positioned right after the Children of the Otriad feature, in my opinion, but oh well.

Theatrical Trailers (HD)
Two HD theatrical trailers are included to round out the supplement package.
Rating: 6/10

Overall:
I have numerous internally rationalized rules of thumb for my movie viewing (most particularly: if it sucks for the first hour, the second hour is not likely to be brilliant), but perhaps my second-most believed in rule is simple: If the cover has a quote from Pete Hammond, I'm not going to be a fan. I know, that may sound mean, but I have a few years worth of looking at both DVD and Blu-ray box art, noticing this "trend."

Defiance steps in as the rule breaker, as the film was actually quite good. With a solid audio and video presentation, this Blu-ray is equally as recommendable. The safest way to describe Defiance would be as one of the sleeper hits of 2009, and one of the better WW2 films that don't focus on any particular battle, but the people directly affected by the war and the actions taken by the men at war. Worth a look, to be sure, either as a rental, or a blind buy.
Rating: 7/10