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Seven Years in Tibet: Superbit
Columbia/Tri-Star // PG-13 // March 4, 2003
List Price: $26.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
A failure at the box office, "Seven Years in Tibet" still has gained a following in the years since its theatrical release. While I personally find the film's flaws too large to ignore, aspects of the film are still easy to appreciate. The film focuses on nazi Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pitt), whose book the picture is apparently based upon. As the film opens, Harrer is invited to join a mountain climbing expedition to Nanga Parbat, one of the tallest mountains in the Himalayas. When an avalanche nearly destroys the camp, the group's leader Peter Aufschnaiter (David Thewlis) forces the group back down the mountain. Upon arrival, the group is arrested by British soldiers.
The group eventually breaks free of the prison camp, with Heinrich and Peter fleeing into Tibet. After what seems like ages where the two are wandering around the landscape, they are eventually admitted into the city of Lhasa, where they meet the young Dalai Lama (Jamyang Wangchuk, in a very good performance), who is impressed that they have survived the journey. Fascinated by the ways of the world, Heinrich teaches the young Dalai Lama and becomes his friend.
There are several aspects of the film that do unnecessarily slow the running time down. The first half of the picture, mostly focusing on Heinrich's escape, could have easily been told in less time. The second half could have also focused more on the Dalai Lama than Heinrich, as the journey of the Tibetan people would be far more interesting than the journey of Pitt's character. This is even more of an issue due to Pitt's performance, which is only fair. Although I've gained a great deal of respect for Pitt's acting over the past couple of years, he seems miscast here, and the accent he's trying to offer remains inconsistent.
If there's one big positive, it's the cinematography by Robert Fraisse ("Enemy at the Gates"). The film's stunning mountain vistas are captured beautifully by the film's cinematography. Although uncredited, David Breshears (director of the IMAX film "Everest") also handled some of the cinematography on the film, too. John Williams offers a strong, emotional score, as well.
While I've warmed up to "Seven Years in Tibet" since I first saw it in the theater in 1997, a few smaller films have offered a far better exploration of the Tibetan culture. Martin Scorsese's "Kundun" was released the same year as "Seven Years in Tibet" and 1999 brought both "The Saltmen of Tibet" and "Himalaya". "Himalaya" is a particularly amazing feature directed by "Seven Years" second unit director Eric Valli, shot on location in the actual area and using non-professional locals as actors. That film's simple (but highly involving) tale follows two competing caravans - one lead by the village elder, one lead by one of the younger members of the tribe - during the tribe's annual salt trek. That film offers not only compelling drama, but remarkably big, breathtaking cinematography for a low-budget feature.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Seven Years in Tibet" is presented on this new edition in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen once again. Stunningly photographed by Robert Fraisse ("Enemy at the Gates"), with uncredited addtional cinematography by David Breshears (director of "Everest"), this is certainly a beautiful film to view. This new edition, with audio and video optimzed due to lack of supplements, does offer a somewhat improved visual presentation over the prior release. Still, this new presentation isn't without fault, as some concerns were spotted.
Sharpness and detail were certainly not an issue; the picture appeared consistently crisp and clear throughout. Fine detail was often apparent and the picture boasted very nice depth. The only real problem throughout the film was edge enhancement. Mild amounts appeared in a handful of scenes and, while not terribly distracting, were still noticable. Other than that, I spotted no compression artifacts, no print flaws and only a hint of grain.
The film's color palette looked beautifully rendered, with rich, vivid colors occasionally showing through. Colors appeared accurately rendered and well-saturated, with no smearing or other issues. Black level remained solid, while flesh tones looked natural. The differences between this release and the prior one are noticable, if not major. This release has the anamorphic widescreen presentation on its own dual-layer disc, while the prior one shared the disc with a pan & scan version. The result is a picture that boasts a smoother, crisper appearance.
SOUND: This Superbit edition offers the film's soundtrack in both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1. The film's soundtrack is adequate, offering excellent dynamic range and clarity, but it comes up short in terms of envelopment. Little in the way of ambience is offered by the surrounds in the outdoor scenes, while the score by John Williams also receives a similar amount of attention by the rear speakers. An avalanche scene early in the picture is one of the few instances of aggressive sound use. Audio quality is perfectly pleasing, as the John Williams score sounds warm and rich, while dialogue and narration remained clean and natural. It's understandable that this is not a terribly aggressive soundtrack in the traditional sense, but I was surprised that, given the outdoor scenes and some locations, more ambience wasn't offered. The DTS soundtrack does add some additional warmth and clarity to the experience, but the differences between the two soundtracks were not major.
EXTRAS: Nothing. The previous release had no supplements, either. Here, we get no supplements due to the "Superbit" process, where all available space goes towards audio/video. Rather than a Superbit release, I almost would have prefered a special edition that provided more educational material on Tibet and offered a look at some of the obstacles and other issues in the production of this $70 million film.
Final Thoughts: "Seven Years in Tibet" provides a somewhat involving adventure/drama, but it should have focused more on Tibet and the Dalai Lama than Pitt's character. The film's Superbit edition once again provides no supplements (as expected) and somewhat improved video (and audio, on the DTS track) than the prior edition. I wouldn't recommend an upgrade for those who own the prior release, but for those seeking a purchase, I'd recommend this edition over the prior release.
A failure at the box office, "Seven Years in Tibet" still has gained a following in the years since its theatrical release. While I personally find the film's flaws too large to ignore, aspects of the film are still easy to appreciate. The film focuses on nazi Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pitt), whose book the picture is apparently based upon. As the film opens, Harrer is invited to join a mountain climbing expedition to Nanga Parbat, one of the tallest mountains in the Himalayas. When an avalanche nearly destroys the camp, the group's leader Peter Aufschnaiter (David Thewlis) forces the group back down the mountain. Upon arrival, the group is arrested by British soldiers.
The group eventually breaks free of the prison camp, with Heinrich and Peter fleeing into Tibet. After what seems like ages where the two are wandering around the landscape, they are eventually admitted into the city of Lhasa, where they meet the young Dalai Lama (Jamyang Wangchuk, in a very good performance), who is impressed that they have survived the journey. Fascinated by the ways of the world, Heinrich teaches the young Dalai Lama and becomes his friend.
There are several aspects of the film that do unnecessarily slow the running time down. The first half of the picture, mostly focusing on Heinrich's escape, could have easily been told in less time. The second half could have also focused more on the Dalai Lama than Heinrich, as the journey of the Tibetan people would be far more interesting than the journey of Pitt's character. This is even more of an issue due to Pitt's performance, which is only fair. Although I've gained a great deal of respect for Pitt's acting over the past couple of years, he seems miscast here, and the accent he's trying to offer remains inconsistent.
If there's one big positive, it's the cinematography by Robert Fraisse ("Enemy at the Gates"). The film's stunning mountain vistas are captured beautifully by the film's cinematography. Although uncredited, David Breshears (director of the IMAX film "Everest") also handled some of the cinematography on the film, too. John Williams offers a strong, emotional score, as well.
While I've warmed up to "Seven Years in Tibet" since I first saw it in the theater in 1997, a few smaller films have offered a far better exploration of the Tibetan culture. Martin Scorsese's "Kundun" was released the same year as "Seven Years in Tibet" and 1999 brought both "The Saltmen of Tibet" and "Himalaya". "Himalaya" is a particularly amazing feature directed by "Seven Years" second unit director Eric Valli, shot on location in the actual area and using non-professional locals as actors. That film's simple (but highly involving) tale follows two competing caravans - one lead by the village elder, one lead by one of the younger members of the tribe - during the tribe's annual salt trek. That film offers not only compelling drama, but remarkably big, breathtaking cinematography for a low-budget feature.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Seven Years in Tibet" is presented on this new edition in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen once again. Stunningly photographed by Robert Fraisse ("Enemy at the Gates"), with uncredited addtional cinematography by David Breshears (director of "Everest"), this is certainly a beautiful film to view. This new edition, with audio and video optimzed due to lack of supplements, does offer a somewhat improved visual presentation over the prior release. Still, this new presentation isn't without fault, as some concerns were spotted.
Sharpness and detail were certainly not an issue; the picture appeared consistently crisp and clear throughout. Fine detail was often apparent and the picture boasted very nice depth. The only real problem throughout the film was edge enhancement. Mild amounts appeared in a handful of scenes and, while not terribly distracting, were still noticable. Other than that, I spotted no compression artifacts, no print flaws and only a hint of grain.
The film's color palette looked beautifully rendered, with rich, vivid colors occasionally showing through. Colors appeared accurately rendered and well-saturated, with no smearing or other issues. Black level remained solid, while flesh tones looked natural. The differences between this release and the prior one are noticable, if not major. This release has the anamorphic widescreen presentation on its own dual-layer disc, while the prior one shared the disc with a pan & scan version. The result is a picture that boasts a smoother, crisper appearance.
SOUND: This Superbit edition offers the film's soundtrack in both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1. The film's soundtrack is adequate, offering excellent dynamic range and clarity, but it comes up short in terms of envelopment. Little in the way of ambience is offered by the surrounds in the outdoor scenes, while the score by John Williams also receives a similar amount of attention by the rear speakers. An avalanche scene early in the picture is one of the few instances of aggressive sound use. Audio quality is perfectly pleasing, as the John Williams score sounds warm and rich, while dialogue and narration remained clean and natural. It's understandable that this is not a terribly aggressive soundtrack in the traditional sense, but I was surprised that, given the outdoor scenes and some locations, more ambience wasn't offered. The DTS soundtrack does add some additional warmth and clarity to the experience, but the differences between the two soundtracks were not major.
EXTRAS: Nothing. The previous release had no supplements, either. Here, we get no supplements due to the "Superbit" process, where all available space goes towards audio/video. Rather than a Superbit release, I almost would have prefered a special edition that provided more educational material on Tibet and offered a look at some of the obstacles and other issues in the production of this $70 million film.
Final Thoughts: "Seven Years in Tibet" provides a somewhat involving adventure/drama, but it should have focused more on Tibet and the Dalai Lama than Pitt's character. The film's Superbit edition once again provides no supplements (as expected) and somewhat improved video (and audio, on the DTS track) than the prior edition. I wouldn't recommend an upgrade for those who own the prior release, but for those seeking a purchase, I'd recommend this edition over the prior release.
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