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Sunshine
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Ralph Fiennes stars in a triple-role in "Sunshine" a film that arrived to excellent reviews, but whose three-hour running time suprisingly didn't scare away audiences as the art-house film went on to gross 5m. Although some have suggested the feature may have been better as a miniseries,it still plays out well on the screen due to the exquisite cinematography of Lajos Koltai("Mother"), which captures the performances and beautiful scenery brilliantly.
The film follows the Hungarian Sonnenschein family, from generation to generation, as they attempt to keep from crumbling apart. The first story features Fiennes as Ignatz, who falls for his cousin Valerie, much to the anger of both father and friends. To conform, he changes/shortens his name, and begins to open up a new set of problems by doing so. Fiennes also plays Ignatz's son Adam, and then Adam's son Ivan; all three of them give up something to find that giving up who they are was not the right path to choose.
The film splits into about three hours, showing the rise of the family, mainly due to the profit taken in by a herbal tonic that the father had created. Fiennes is, predictably, excellent in all three roles, and it's suprisingly not distracting to see him in these three different roles, although I suppose that's simply a credit to his talent. Personally, I've always wished that the actor could take on more mainstream roles and offer his talents - his portrayal of a corrupt future police offer in Kathryn Bigelow's "Strange Days" was an intelligent, dramatic and funny performance that still strikes me as one of the better roles that year. The other performances are generally very good, especially Jennifer Ehle as Valerie. A couple of the performances seemed slightly overdone, although in a three hour epic, I'd certainly take overplaying rather than underplaying any day of the week.
Speaking of the film's length, is it too long? The answer is actually yes and no. The film attempts to cover three generations in three hours - there are times when I felt scenes went a bit too long, and yet there were some other minor details that seemed rushed by. Yet, I can certainly appreciate the filmmakers ambition - they have brought together a gifted cast and certainly seemed to have spared no expense in the period sets - many offering such lush, detailed items, furniture or architecture that I'll admit that my eye did wander away from the conversation at hand a couple of times. Not usually one who finds an interest in the finer details of sets, I was quite impressed here.
"Sunshine", in my opinion, is a very good - if not great film, that isn't quite outstanding. When it really builds, it reaches some undeniably powerful moments, but it has small flaws in the way that it tells the story. I guess, though, that the fact that the tales of three generations are as told as clearly as they are here is certainly an accomplishment.
The DVD
VIDEO: Although not quite perfect, Paramount's effort for "Sunshine" is an absolutely marvelous work - easily among their stronger efforts. Sharpness and detail are usually quite good, with the exception of some dimly lit sequences that seemed to be a little bit on the soft and undefined side. Otherwise, the picture looked crisp and clear, especially some of the gorgeous, sun-soaked exteriors.
The problems section that I usually include right about here is going to be quite brief. I noticed little, if any print flaws. There seemed to be a tiny bit of grain visible a couple of times, but that's about it. No pixelation, no edge enhancement. Colors were frequently stunning, with a rich, vibrant palette that appeared well-saturated and visually beautiful. Really not much to discuss - aside from a few minor instances of softness, this is fine work from the studio.
SOUND: "Sunshine" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, but it really doesn't play agressively with the audio. Even a fairly solid explosion three minutes into the picture seemed a bit on the subdued side, not really offered much by the surrounds, nor displaying much bass. I did, however, enjoy the subtle details that were often displayed. The picture does have some nice use of ambient sounds, and although nothing enormous, it was at least often brought me slightly more into the environment. The film's score by Maurice Jarre, as well as sound effects and dialogue, all came through without concern.
MENUS:: Menus are non-animated, with film-themed backgrounds.
EXTRAS: There are no extras. Although one might think that this is due to the film's length, viewers in other regions of the world got interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. At least a trailer would have been nice.
Final Thoughts: "Sunshine" is an excellent film that comes quite close to greatness. Some may be a bit put off by the running time, but if you are in the mood for an epic drama and can find the time, "Sunshine" is a moving and powerful picture. Paramount's DVD provides good audio/video quality, but comes up dissapointing in the features department.
Ralph Fiennes stars in a triple-role in "Sunshine" a film that arrived to excellent reviews, but whose three-hour running time suprisingly didn't scare away audiences as the art-house film went on to gross 5m. Although some have suggested the feature may have been better as a miniseries,it still plays out well on the screen due to the exquisite cinematography of Lajos Koltai("Mother"), which captures the performances and beautiful scenery brilliantly.
The film follows the Hungarian Sonnenschein family, from generation to generation, as they attempt to keep from crumbling apart. The first story features Fiennes as Ignatz, who falls for his cousin Valerie, much to the anger of both father and friends. To conform, he changes/shortens his name, and begins to open up a new set of problems by doing so. Fiennes also plays Ignatz's son Adam, and then Adam's son Ivan; all three of them give up something to find that giving up who they are was not the right path to choose.
The film splits into about three hours, showing the rise of the family, mainly due to the profit taken in by a herbal tonic that the father had created. Fiennes is, predictably, excellent in all three roles, and it's suprisingly not distracting to see him in these three different roles, although I suppose that's simply a credit to his talent. Personally, I've always wished that the actor could take on more mainstream roles and offer his talents - his portrayal of a corrupt future police offer in Kathryn Bigelow's "Strange Days" was an intelligent, dramatic and funny performance that still strikes me as one of the better roles that year. The other performances are generally very good, especially Jennifer Ehle as Valerie. A couple of the performances seemed slightly overdone, although in a three hour epic, I'd certainly take overplaying rather than underplaying any day of the week.
Speaking of the film's length, is it too long? The answer is actually yes and no. The film attempts to cover three generations in three hours - there are times when I felt scenes went a bit too long, and yet there were some other minor details that seemed rushed by. Yet, I can certainly appreciate the filmmakers ambition - they have brought together a gifted cast and certainly seemed to have spared no expense in the period sets - many offering such lush, detailed items, furniture or architecture that I'll admit that my eye did wander away from the conversation at hand a couple of times. Not usually one who finds an interest in the finer details of sets, I was quite impressed here.
"Sunshine", in my opinion, is a very good - if not great film, that isn't quite outstanding. When it really builds, it reaches some undeniably powerful moments, but it has small flaws in the way that it tells the story. I guess, though, that the fact that the tales of three generations are as told as clearly as they are here is certainly an accomplishment.
The DVD
VIDEO: Although not quite perfect, Paramount's effort for "Sunshine" is an absolutely marvelous work - easily among their stronger efforts. Sharpness and detail are usually quite good, with the exception of some dimly lit sequences that seemed to be a little bit on the soft and undefined side. Otherwise, the picture looked crisp and clear, especially some of the gorgeous, sun-soaked exteriors.
The problems section that I usually include right about here is going to be quite brief. I noticed little, if any print flaws. There seemed to be a tiny bit of grain visible a couple of times, but that's about it. No pixelation, no edge enhancement. Colors were frequently stunning, with a rich, vibrant palette that appeared well-saturated and visually beautiful. Really not much to discuss - aside from a few minor instances of softness, this is fine work from the studio.
SOUND: "Sunshine" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, but it really doesn't play agressively with the audio. Even a fairly solid explosion three minutes into the picture seemed a bit on the subdued side, not really offered much by the surrounds, nor displaying much bass. I did, however, enjoy the subtle details that were often displayed. The picture does have some nice use of ambient sounds, and although nothing enormous, it was at least often brought me slightly more into the environment. The film's score by Maurice Jarre, as well as sound effects and dialogue, all came through without concern.
MENUS:: Menus are non-animated, with film-themed backgrounds.
EXTRAS: There are no extras. Although one might think that this is due to the film's length, viewers in other regions of the world got interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. At least a trailer would have been nice.
Final Thoughts: "Sunshine" is an excellent film that comes quite close to greatness. Some may be a bit put off by the running time, but if you are in the mood for an epic drama and can find the time, "Sunshine" is a moving and powerful picture. Paramount's DVD provides good audio/video quality, but comes up dissapointing in the features department.
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