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Winter Sleepers
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
German director Tom Twyker first gained notice (and quite a bit of it) from "Run Lola Run", a stunning feature that offered an electric look at themes of fate and love. But, before that, he directed this 1997 feature that was released in the US this year, titled "Winter Sleepers". The two films could not be farther apart in terms of style, but often look at similar themes of fate and life.
The film doesn't give us a great deal of information about the characters, but Twyker is a director who can tell us a great deal from simply silence and looks from his actors. Here, the story begins with Laura and Rebecca sharing a ski lodge with Rebecca's boyfriend Marco. When a stranger steals the car, whose keys were left inside, and gets into an accident, the story begins to unfold. The farmer who was the victim of the accident seeks out the one responsible for injuring his daughter, who he didn't know was also in the car during the accident. All of the characters find themselves interacting with each other, whether they like it or not.
I think that, although some parts of "Winter Sleepers" didn't interest me that much, such as the relationships between some of the main characters, Twyker still proves that he is a director talented in bringing us into the moment, engaging us in the characters and making us feel an undercurrent of something about to happen. I won't tell what happens during "Winter Sleepers", but I will say that I found the performances from the various actors to be enjoyable, and although certainly not as entertaining as "Run Lola Run", "Winter Sleepers" is enjoyable in its own, quiet ways. Definitely don't go in expecting another "Run Lola Run", though, as "Sleepers" sometimes moves at the pace of Winter.
The DVD
VIDEO: I've never really been pleased with any of Winstar/Fox Lorber's releases, and this continues that streak. The non-anamorphic picture is presented at 1.85:1. This is the first of a few problems, as the film, according to the Internet Movie Database, was originally 2.35:1. The trailer, also presented elsewhere on this disc, is presented in 2.35:1. Softness is really the main problem other than the aspect ratio, as some of the dimly lit interior scenes really suffer from looking particularly murky and blurry. Detail is fair at best, and clarity is often lacking.
There are additional problems as well. There are marks on the print used that become irritating at their worst, but thankfully seem to keep to a few isolated areas of the movie. Pixelation also appears occasionally throughout the film, but in minor amounts. The outdoor scenes are rather devoid of color, looking brown and pale, although there is a certain cold beauty to the wintery landscape that still shines through. Indoor scenes have a wider variety of colors, but they sometimes look muddy.
Overall, Winstar really misses the boat with this presentation, which is sometimes hard to watch due to the image quality, which is often lacking. The wrong aspect ratio furthers my dissapointment.
SOUND: The film's audio is German stereo, and the most interesting element is the haunting score, which has the most presence in the soundtrack. Other than that, there really isn't much to the film's audio, except for the German dialogue. English subtitles are optional.
MENUS:: Menus are non-animated, with very basic images serving as backgrounds.
EXTRAS: The trailer (2.35:1, with muddy audio)
Final Thoughts: It's really unfortunate that Winstar seems to have the rights to so many enjoyable independent films. They don't give the viewer much of a presentation, nor do they ever seem to offer much in the way of extra features for the $29.99 retail price. The fact that they've apparently even presented this film in the wrong aspect ratio even furthers my dissapointment. It's really too bad, because I thought it was a good movie that deserves better.
German director Tom Twyker first gained notice (and quite a bit of it) from "Run Lola Run", a stunning feature that offered an electric look at themes of fate and love. But, before that, he directed this 1997 feature that was released in the US this year, titled "Winter Sleepers". The two films could not be farther apart in terms of style, but often look at similar themes of fate and life.
The film doesn't give us a great deal of information about the characters, but Twyker is a director who can tell us a great deal from simply silence and looks from his actors. Here, the story begins with Laura and Rebecca sharing a ski lodge with Rebecca's boyfriend Marco. When a stranger steals the car, whose keys were left inside, and gets into an accident, the story begins to unfold. The farmer who was the victim of the accident seeks out the one responsible for injuring his daughter, who he didn't know was also in the car during the accident. All of the characters find themselves interacting with each other, whether they like it or not.
I think that, although some parts of "Winter Sleepers" didn't interest me that much, such as the relationships between some of the main characters, Twyker still proves that he is a director talented in bringing us into the moment, engaging us in the characters and making us feel an undercurrent of something about to happen. I won't tell what happens during "Winter Sleepers", but I will say that I found the performances from the various actors to be enjoyable, and although certainly not as entertaining as "Run Lola Run", "Winter Sleepers" is enjoyable in its own, quiet ways. Definitely don't go in expecting another "Run Lola Run", though, as "Sleepers" sometimes moves at the pace of Winter.
The DVD
VIDEO: I've never really been pleased with any of Winstar/Fox Lorber's releases, and this continues that streak. The non-anamorphic picture is presented at 1.85:1. This is the first of a few problems, as the film, according to the Internet Movie Database, was originally 2.35:1. The trailer, also presented elsewhere on this disc, is presented in 2.35:1. Softness is really the main problem other than the aspect ratio, as some of the dimly lit interior scenes really suffer from looking particularly murky and blurry. Detail is fair at best, and clarity is often lacking.
There are additional problems as well. There are marks on the print used that become irritating at their worst, but thankfully seem to keep to a few isolated areas of the movie. Pixelation also appears occasionally throughout the film, but in minor amounts. The outdoor scenes are rather devoid of color, looking brown and pale, although there is a certain cold beauty to the wintery landscape that still shines through. Indoor scenes have a wider variety of colors, but they sometimes look muddy.
Overall, Winstar really misses the boat with this presentation, which is sometimes hard to watch due to the image quality, which is often lacking. The wrong aspect ratio furthers my dissapointment.
SOUND: The film's audio is German stereo, and the most interesting element is the haunting score, which has the most presence in the soundtrack. Other than that, there really isn't much to the film's audio, except for the German dialogue. English subtitles are optional.
MENUS:: Menus are non-animated, with very basic images serving as backgrounds.
EXTRAS: The trailer (2.35:1, with muddy audio)
Final Thoughts: It's really unfortunate that Winstar seems to have the rights to so many enjoyable independent films. They don't give the viewer much of a presentation, nor do they ever seem to offer much in the way of extra features for the $29.99 retail price. The fact that they've apparently even presented this film in the wrong aspect ratio even furthers my dissapointment. It's really too bad, because I thought it was a good movie that deserves better.
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