[wp-review id=”71433″]

After WWI, Tom wants a job where he can have responsibility but also be alone with his thoughts. He finds a job as a lighthouse keeper at Janus Rock in Australia. He meets a girl from in town named Isabel who he courts and eventually marries. After some time, they try for children but they miscarry twice.

One day when Tom sees a boat near the shore and rushes to see if anyone inside of it needs help. They find a dead man in row boat with a newborn girl and instead of reporting the discovery, they keep the child as their own.

THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS is written and directed by Derek Cianfrance. He is best known for his films THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES and BLUE VALENTINE. This film is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by M. L. Stedman. Fassbender has this deep stare for the majority of the film and looks like a man who doesn’t know what to do with the feelings he has. As for Vikander, her character has this passion for love and wanting to have a happy family. The two of them are arguably the best actors in Hollywood today and they have superb on-screen chemistry.

Some might feel that the film moves a little slow in the beginning but the idea is to do a lot of character building until the couple discovers the rowboat. You end up really getting a feel for how their relationship is with each other and also what it’s like to live on an island that is cut off from the rest of the world. The cinematography is beautiful with a lot of camera techniques such as wide shots, shaky cam, and closeups.

Cast
Michael Fassbender – Tom Sherbourne
Alicia Vikander – Isabel Graysmark Sherbourne
Rachel Weisz – Hannah Roennfeldt
Bryan Brown a-s Septimus Potts
Jack Thompson – Ralph Addicott

VIDEO QUALITY:

The video is a 1080p AVC transfer that has that quality that Disney is known to have on their releases. There are plenty of details to the point that you can see the little intricacies like facial lines and there is a definite lack of the images becoming muddled. This also makes the contrasting stronger when you can clearly see everything on the screen with distinction. In some of the brighter sunlit scenes, the details do become softer but nothing in the images is lost.
The skin tones are natural and warm and come through nicely. The blacks were a little more like dark greys and didn’t have that depth or inkyness that some might expect to see. Otherwise, the transfer has been incredibly well done.

AUDIO QUALITY:

The audio is a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless mix that sounds excellent. From the very beginning, you hear the movement of the of the strong crashing effects and weather from the ocean. Then, a little later, there is a huge storm with rain whipping against Isabel and the lighthouse. The mix makes sure to utilize the expanded sounds field with effects that tend to sweep in the sensible directions. The voices and other effects have been reproduced well and I’m highly impressed. 7.1 is the perfect choice to capture being in a place with wind that rarely stops.

SUPPLEMENTS & PACKAGING

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-Audio Commentary: Director Derek Cianfrance and his old film studies Professor Phil Solomon.

-Bringing The Light to Life: This featurette looks at the film and breaks it down into speaking with the cast and crew as well as shooting locations.

-Lighthouse Keeper: This looks at shooting in the best place for the film.

Disc Details
1 Blu-ray disc
Digital Copy

Running Time
133 mins

Edition Ratings
Rated PG-13

Region Coding
Region Free

Video Resolution
1080p AVC: MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1

Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
French Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles
English SDH
French
Spanish

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Looking at the film as a whole, this has been beautifully done. The story, acting, and filming come together to create a moving film with the lighthouse location practically being a character. The video looks great but the audio is astounding with a lot of subtleties and depth. The extras are pretty good and some of the information in there is very good. Overall, I would say that this is an excellent movie and a solid release. I highly recommend checking it out.

Order your copy of THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS Blu-ray from Amazon