A Cinematic Tour de force

Rating: 9/10 (11 April 2016)

The Revenant really is a cinematic tour de force. The landscapes and vistas in this film are just gorgeous to look at but at the same time it's a very raw, gritty and gruesome experience. I think the Revenant puts a final stop to pointless arguments that 35mm film is better than digital cameras. Originally planned to be shot on film they decided to shoot 60% on Arri Alexa XT's and 40% on Alexa 65 (65mm size 6.5K sensor). The colors are vibrant but natural, and the play of light and darkness is sublime. Also the absence of film grain (an advantage of shooting digital) removes the veil between the audience and the captured images. I bet when this comes out on Ultra-HD in HDR that this will be a reference disc often used to demo the capabilities of those OLED flatscreens. Soundwise we're in for a treat as well. The rumbling of waterfalls, the roars of the bear and rustling of the wind through the trees is brilliantly mixed and mastered. There are 630 VFX shots in this film and I can tell you, you might spot a few but most are perfectly executed and absolutely invisible. The scene with the bear, might god...looks so real. As for the acting, an Oscar well deserved for Leo. And Tom Hardy is quite excellent as well. So a movie I very highly recommend, though it is as harsh as it is beautiful, it surely is one to put on the bucket list.