UHD Review I Am Cuba – Criterion UHD Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[t1g3r5fan]

Today, I Am Cuba. One of the most regarded Soviet filmmakers of the 20th Century, Mikhail Kalatozov hailed from the Transcaucasian country of Georgia (then part of the Soviet Union) and began his career working on documentaries in the 1920’s – one film, Their Kingdom (1928), he made with Nutsa Gogoberidze, Georgia’s first female director. By the 1950’s, he was already established in the Soviet Union when The Cranes Are Flying (1957) brought him international acclaim (and the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1958) and he followed that up with Letter Never Sent (1960). For the follow up to the latter, Kalatozov was given considerable latitude for I Am Cuba (Soy Cuba), a joint production between the Soviet Union and Cuba to promote the former’s vision of international communism. Criterion has licensed the movie from Milestone Films – who previously released the movie on DVD – for its UHD Blu-ray debut...

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[johnmcmasters]

This is such an achingly beautiful film. I plead guilty to never upgrading since I acquired the old old laser disc back in the day, and this Criterion UHD was a day one preorder. Thank you for the review as it alleviated any lingering concerns I might have had about this release.

 

[bujaki]

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One minor correction in an outstanding review. The spelling of the actress Raquel Revueltas has an "s" at the end of her last name.
Anecdote: This actress, while married, visited Fidel Castro in prison and he sired a daughter with her. The daughter was initially recognized by Raquel's husband until it became too clear that she was so beautiful and couldn't be his. Furthermore, Castro bestowed many favors on the daughter. So the husband left Cuba and his wife and non-daughter behind.
Great actress, BTW.

 

[Leif_sauce]

Is there a reason why there's never anything written in the Video section of each review? Also, I don't think Criterion put HDR on this, which is a shame. Why they would release this and the Apu trilogy without HDR is beyond me.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

Is there a reason why there's never anything written in the Video section of each review? Also, I don't think Criterion put HDR on this, which is a shame. Why they would release this and the Apu trilogy without HDR is beyond me.

The review states:

The film is presented in its original 1:33:1 aspect ratio, taken from a brand new 4K transfer created from a 35mm fine grain positive for this release; on the UHD Blu-ray disc, the movie is presented in HDR, while the Blu-ray disc accompanying this release presents the movie in SDR. Film grain, gray scale and fine details are all presented faithfully with minimal cases of scratches, tears and dirt present on the transfer. This UHD Blu-ray release is likely the best the movie will ever look on home video.