Come and See Blu-ray
Studio: The Criterion Collection
Release Date: June 30, 2020
Rating: Not rated
Soviet Union - 1985
142 minutes Color 1.37:1
Russian, German monoaural soundtrack
English subtitles
Film: 4.5/5
Plot: From the Criterion website – “ As Nazi forces encroach on his small village in Belorussia, teenage Flyora (Alexei Kravchenko, in a searing depiction of anguish) eagerly joins the Soviet resistance. Rather than the adventure and glory he envisioned, what he finds is a waking nightmare of unimaginable carnage and cruelty—rendered with a feverish, otherworldly intensity by Klimov’s subjective camera work and expressionistic sound design. Nearly blocked from being made by Soviet censors, who took seven years to approve its script, Come and See is perhaps the most visceral, impossible-to-forget antiwar film ever made. “
My Thoughts: I collect foreign war films. I like seeing a different point of view on WWII other than the American one. I’d read about this film but had never seen it before last night. This is part art film, part horror story and part war ( anti – war ? ) movie. I’d say the film moves between a surreal dream like state and hyper realistic. The last third of the film is a WWII horror story and all based on true accounts. In many ways it’s unlike anything I’ve seen. Without too many spoilers, the Nazi destruction of the village near the end of the film has to be one of the most disturbing war movie scene ever. You can watch the main character Flyora age as the film progresses.
Video : 3.5/5 – This 4:3 video is from a new 2K digital restoration by Mosfilm. Quite a few shots look very sharp and highly detailed. Some shots are a bit soft, but all in all, for a film from 1985, overall it looks quite good.
Audio : 3/5 – The uncompressed monoaural soundtrack is decent. Probably as good as it ever sounded. Obviously not a modern Atmos soundtrack, but overall it sounded pretty good.
Extras : An excellent booklet is included which tells about the film and the making of Come And See. And how WWII still affects the people in Belorussia today. There are also extensive extras on the Blu-ray ( which I have not watched yet ).
Conclusion – An incredible piece of film making about the Nazi invasion of Belorussia through the eyes of a teenager. All the more disturbing since it’s based on actual events.
Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS4500 4K Ultra High Definition Front Projector
( Calibrated by Kris Deering )
Stewart Filmscreen – 128” diagonal StudioTek 130 G3 2.35:1 screen
Stewart Filmscreen – 122” diagonal Cima Neve 16:9 screen
Panamorph Paladin DCR lens
Lumagen Radiance Pro Video Processor
Denon X8500H receiver
Parasound Halo A 52+ amp – powering the left / center / right / wide speakers
Oppo UBD203 4K Blu Ray player
Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
9.6.4 Speaker System - Martin Logan Motion 40’s ( 2 ), Motion SLM XL center speaker, Motion FX surrounds ( 4 ), Motion LX16 wide channel speakers ( 2 ) , Motion 4 heights ( 4 )
Two SVS PC 12 Plus cylinder subs
Four SVS SB2000 subs
AC Infinity AIRCOM T8 component cooling fans ( 3 )
GIK Acoustic Panels
PFP M1500 – UPS
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