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The Way Back Blu-Ray

“The Way Back” is a “based on a true story” of escape and survival.  

This film starts in a Russian Gulag in Siberia during World War II and involves an American (Ed Harris), a Russian killer (Colin Farrell), a mysterious girl (Saoirse Ronan) and a Polish political prisoner (Jim Sturgess) among others.  Their escape from the camp and the subsequent trek across 4500 miles of territory  make up the bulk of this Peter Weir film.  The acting ensemble is a good one, made only better by Weir’s direction.   Another star of the film is the changing landscape, looking magnificent in the high def widescreen format, which Weir has captured beautifully.  The plot moves along quickly and only really gets a bit bogged down in the long Gobi desert scenes.  My one beef about the film is the long, drawn out desert survival scenes and very little of the group crossing the Himalayans, which I thought deserved just as much attention, with its challenges.  Still, the film moves from different survival scenes quickly up until this point.

Tech standards for the disc are very good; excellent, sharp high def picture with DTS-MA 5.1 sound.  Extras are sparse; a making of featurette of the film’s production with cast and crew is all that is provided.

Peter Weir’s latest film is right up there with his best.  He not only brings us an interesting survival tale but the grand expanse of the film’s canvas and the rich characterization of the cast make this great adult drama.  Highly recommended.

May 16, 2011 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | adventure, Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, escape, Peter Weir, Saoirse Ronan, survival, The Way Back blu-ray review