Synopsis

Back of the box spin: Two worlds collide, along with the two men who embody the values and essence of these worlds. Attila, King of the Huns, is a visionary who sees more in his people than they see in themselves. While the Huns are content to plunder and extort the surrounding nations, Attila, looks beyond to the possibility of an empire and a new world order. Roman General Flavius Aetius, embodies the best and worst that Rome has to offer in the final years of her existence. He is motivated by one overriding goal: Rome must continue to rule the world. Two different visions of destiny, held by the two strongest men of the century…These conflicts are at the heat of Attila the Hun.

Audio/Video:

The audio is presented in both a DD2.0 and DD5.1. Surprisingly enough, the DD2.0 had more punch than the 5.1. The audio in the 5.1 seemed to struggle along, with the dialogue fighting with the aural effects. The 2.0 presented the audio in a much better format and made it very easy for all the effects to be played out. The 5.1 had one leg up on the 2.0 and that would be the use of the sub. Not thunderous but adequately employed, the sub did a decent job in presenting the "thuds" that are throughout the film. Unlike Braveheart where the hoof beats of the horses could be felt in your chest, the LFE for Attila could have been pumped up a bit to provide a real LFE experience. Visually, the film was very clean for the most part and was presented in a widescreen format. There was a fair degree of edge enhancement as well as pixellation that plagued the presentation. No flecks were present and other than the errors noted, the picture's presentation was nicely produced.

Extras:

The extras on the disc are the film's trailer and a 27-minute behind the scenes look at the making of Attila. It was fairly interesting but relied heavily on showing the scenes from the film to make their point. Interesting but not terribly informative on the making of the film.

Overall:

Historical dramatizations are just that. Dramas. For the sake of fact they employ circumstances and characters that did not exist. A great film, Attila suffered from the commercialization of history and did nothing to tell the true story of Attila. There are elements of historical fact, more like pockets of information but on the whole it's drama for the sake of drama. I enjoyed this film but for the real Attila the Hun, I'll look to the history books. Recommended