Why So Blu?

Black Coal, Thin Ice (Blu-ray Review)

With more than 30 premieres and 20 awards from top film festivals around the world, BLACK COAL, THIN ICE is the story of a disgraced cop and his partner, still seeking the truth behind the high-profile murders that ended their careers – because it seems the killer is at it again…

Film 

Black Coal, Thin Ice is the story of some gruesome killings involving body parts strategically placed in coal and gravel containers being pulled by train through China and its providences. Detective Zhang Zili (Fan Liao) is assigned the investigation but when he lets his personal life interfere with the investigation – his judgment becomes cloudy. Initially he has some violent lashings out towards a woman who turns out to be his ex-wife – then reconciliation with his ex-wife before falling for a woman who is the wife of one of the dismembered victims. I know, right?

As the investigation turns to mush the film flashes forward 5 years and there is still no resolution. Zhang is disgraced and demoted to being a security guard and the killings begin again almost as a taunt. Did he miss something or was the killer just hiding in plain sight? Black Coal, Thin Ice is one of those films that just drips with atmosphere, style, but has very little substance, because it’s a cluttered mess.

I would say that 99% of the characters depicted are not likable – that goes for the good guys and bad guys and it doesn’t help things when the film runs at a snails pace. One could almost just turn the volume off and watch it for its amazing composition and predictive shots, because it has those aplenty. Black Coal, Thin Ice won several prestigious awards in 2014 all over the world and now Well Go USA has brought the Blu-ray release to the United States.

As I mentioned before, the film is dull, but looks amazing. It’s got a Se7en meets Fincher’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo vibe. It’s a totally neo-noir Chinese picture and that’s the reason the film portion of this review gets a 2-star. I’m normally all up for style over substance but you gotta give me a little something to gravitate towards. Unfortunately for me, there was nothing to gravitate towards in terms of depth or coherency in this film. I will recommend the film as a possible rental, because it’s a fantastic looking one.

 

 

Video 

Encoding: AVC/MPEG-4

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Clarity/Detail: There’s a layer of softness throughout the film but the sharpness levels counter that and give everything some nice detail. Contrast tweaking is kept to a minimum and only used for stylistic purposes, which this movie drips with.

Depth: You can scoop this up with a spoon. Certain perspective shots bring you right into the action, and at times, it was like watching a Terry Gilliam film.

Black Levels: Black levels are kept deep and inly and I did not spot any instances of crush.

Color Reproduction: The film is cold and can look muted but most of the time, and by design, looks colorful and lively. Banding and pixilation were not a problem.

Flesh Tones: Flesh tones looked natural all things considered. It’s set in winter, so some folks could have used a tan, but still.

Noise/Artifacts: Dirt and debris were not detected unless it was during scenes involving coal and gravel trucks.

 

Audio 

Audio Format(s): Mandarin DTS-HD MA 5.1, Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles: English

Dynamics: Black Coal, Thin Ice sounds great on Blu-ray. I would say that if it had a bot more “action” then it would have gotten a reference score in that department. Granted, we do get a couple of scenes of action but not enough to get the blood pumping – if you get my meaning.

Low Frequency Extension: The LFE bass handles the low-end quite well.

Surround Sound Presentation: The surround sound channels handle the ambience without muddling up the front stage.

Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue levels are top notch.

 

Extras  

N/A

 

Summary 

I really wanted to like Black Coal, Thin Ice but I was not invested into the material. It’s totally style over substance. the Blu-ray has great video and audio but drops the ball on the special features. I’d wait until this shows up on Netflix.

 

 

Black Coal, Thin Ice is now available on Blu-ray & DVD!

 

ORDER NOW!