2046, Finally Available on Blu-ray [Blu-ray Review]

2046 was finally released on Blu-ray. Buy now or wait until 2046 for another?...Read More

EoS Entertainment brings us 2046 on blu-ray for the first time anywhere. Add it to the collection or wait for a better release?

2046 – Korean Blu-ray

  • Starring: Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, Faye Wong, Gong Li, Takuya Kimura, Carina Lau, Chen Chang
  • Directed by: Wong Kar Wai (2004)
  • Distributed by: Eos Entertainment
  • Subtitles: Korean, English
  • Movie: 128 mins
  • Region: A
  • Video: 1.78:1 1080P HD
  • Special Features: Theatrical Trailer
  • Release Date: 09-24-2014

I can’t tell you how excited I was when I saw this blu-ray of 2046 at Kyobo Bookstore late last year. It was an instant purchase as I have been waiting years for this to be released on blu-ray. When I got home I was extremely disappointed at the picture quality. This seems to be merely a DVD transfer upscale to HD.

Little to no work has been done on the image. It is often muddy looking and there are heavy amounts of ugly grain in darker shots. Also there is weird image blurring on the slow-motion shots.

The subtitles are white with little to no grammatical errors and visually they are an upgrade from DVD versions; but it still is not of a high quality that we would expect with blu-ray subtitling. I actually like the picture quality better on my Tartan R2 DVD.

We do get a nice DTS 5.1 mastered audio track but it is not noticeably different from previous DVD editions.

This release feels like it was rushed out for the sake of being the only blu-ray available and I’m sure EoS cashed in on this opportunity. It also feels like they just released this so they could include it in the WKW six film blu-ray box set as well.

This is the third time I have purchased a home copy of 2046 for the home library and apparently it won’t be the last time. I’ll have to buy this one again when a real blu-ray quality version is released. A film this beautiful deserves so much more. SKIP. At all costs avoid purchasing this blu-ray copy of 2046 and get back to praying for a release worth owning. *Cough* *Cough* Criterion please if your listening…

Standard blu-ray packaging with slipcase. No booklet or extra goodies.

 


 

Categories
Blu-rayBlu-ray News

Tyler is a passionate fan of East Asian cinema, especially South Korean films which he has followed closely for nearly two decades. He started one of the Pacific Northwest's first Korean Cinema Clubs out of the University of Idaho in 2004, where he also spent a year abroad studying Japanese at Nagasaki University of Foreign Languages. Since 2011, Tyler has been living and working in Seoul, South Korea as a freelance English teacher and writer. He also spent one year studying at Sogang University's well-known Korean Language program.
No Comment

Angel Donations

If you enjoy this content and would like to support our ability to continue to update and increase the quality of our content.

error: Content is protected !!