- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (24Hz)
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit), LPCM 2.0 (48kHz/16-bit)
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Run Time: 99 Mins.
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: March 20, 2012
- List Price: $29.98
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Purchase A Lonely Place to Die on Blu-ray at CD Universe
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Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:4/5]
The Brits take a turn at the action/adventure thriller à la Cliffhanger and The Edge with this visually gripping, edge-of-the-seat actioner set in the Scottish Highlands. A Lonely Place to Die is suspenseful, packed with a smart, thrill-a-minute script, but only slightly uneven and a little weak in its ending.
Four friends vacation in the Scottish Highlands for a little bit of “relaxing” rock climbing. Immediately, A Lonely Place to Die takes us into the gripping suspense with dizzying POV shots from on high and a near death experience for one of our heroes that is only a sign of things to come. On their second day, the group sets out to do a little climbing when they make a startling discovery – a young girl buried alive in a box with nothing but an air hole.
Alison (Melissa George; TV’s Grey’s Anatomy; 30 Day’s of Night; Mulholland Drive) and the rest of the group determine to save the girl, Anna (Holly Boyd), who doesn’t speak a word of English. They are soon embroiled in something far more ominous. They have become the prey of two hunters who want them dead and want to reclaim the girl. Chasing them through the rocky landscape, it becomes a race for their lives to get to the nearest town, miles away, to save the girl, and themselves. Meanwhile, something else is going on as another group of men are stalking the two men who are after Alison, her friends, and Anna.
While A Lonely Place to Die is at it best when it remains active, (read: the adventure scenes in the rocky terrain), the overall pacing and somewhat unexpected twist in the film’s last third keep it interesting at all times. It does tend to falter once it hits civilization without the splendid vistas as a backdrop to help drive its story. It also suffers somewhat from a clumsy ending to the overall arc. In the end the positives far outweigh the negatives, however, and I dare say this is one of the best adventure/thrillers I’ve seen in a long time.
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
A Lonely Place to Die is another in a growing list of films captured entirely in high definition using the Red One cinematographic high definition camera. Additionally, according to the credits, some underwater shots used the Canon 5D digital still camera’s HD video feature. What the image lacks in an absolute sense of depth in its darker colors and wideness of contrast, it makes up for in a clean and superbly detailed image that flawlessly renders the breathtaking cinematography of Ali Asad. The only serious flaws appear where you would expect them to, given the equipment used, and that is in the underwater sequences that show some very obvious color banding. The film arrives on Blu-ray from IFC Films and MPI Media Group in an AVC/MPEG-4 1080p/24 encodement framed at 2.35:1.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) and LPCM 2.0 Stereo (48kHz/16-bit) mixes are provided for the soundtrack. I chose the lossless 5.1 as my reference for this release and I must say it was enjoyable, though hardly as aggressive and immersive as some of the best Hollywood blockbusters on Blu-ray, like the recent Hugo or Immortals. Still, the mix was more than effective at capturing the thrills in this adventure with clear dialogue and a clever balance of front and rear effects. Dynamics were good while lows were nice and deep, but not quite ground shaking.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
Only the theatrical trailer (2.35:1; 1080p/24) is offered which, in my opinion, really doesn’t count as a supplement at this stage in Blu-ray’s evolution.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:4/5]
A truly exciting, heart pounding thrill from the very beginning, A Lonely Place to Die is a well acted and beautifully filmed action experience. The Blu-ray, despite its barebones release, is a great way to see it given the strong picture quality and solid lossless sound. Recommended.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product]B006JSY2GU[/amazon-product]
Purchase A Lonely Place to Die on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for More Blu-ray Titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
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