Baraka: Remastered (Documentary) (Blu-ray)

Baraka is the worlds first 8k restoration of a film from its original 65mm negative. This is simply mind-boggling it means that each picture contains 33Mg of data and approx 8000 pixels in length compared to blu-ray's current 1080p. This meant that the finished transfer was 33 terrabytes in size thats 33,000 Gig for 1 movie! Its 16x more detail than 1080p!

Naturally the movie was then downconverted to 1080p and the result is a spectacular digital to digital transfer that is flawless. Now I would say that I'm quite techy, I would check video codecs, compression ratios, I look out for artifacts, color banding, halos, ghosting etc. So I'm very picky in my Blu-ray's particularly because we all own a decent DVD collection so I will only buy Blu-ray wherever I feel is justified.

Baraka is without doubt the finest detailed movie i've ever seen. It has without doubt the best motion resolution of any film too. The colour pallete is superb, the contrast is wonderfully balanced, and… more »

Baraka is the worlds first 8k restoration of a film from its original 65mm negative. This is simply mind-boggling it means that each picture contains 33Mg of data and approx 8000 pixels in length compared to blu-ray's current 1080p. This meant that the finished transfer was 33 terrabytes in size thats 33,000 Gig for 1 movie! Its 16x more detail than 1080p!

Naturally the movie was then downconverted to 1080p and the result is a spectacular digital to digital transfer that is flawless. Now I would say that I'm quite techy, I would check video codecs, compression ratios, I look out for artifacts, color banding, halos, ghosting etc. So I'm very picky in my Blu-ray's particularly because we all own a decent DVD collection so I will only buy Blu-ray wherever I feel is justified.

Baraka is without doubt the finest detailed movie i've ever seen. It has without doubt the best motion resolution of any film too. The colour pallete is superb, the contrast is wonderfully balanced, and the restoration lacks any evidence of grain.

The movie itself is very newage, and kinda Phillip Glass. I haven't watched it all in a single sitting, its basically National Geographic the movie for me, which is no bad thing. The whole concept is based on spirituality. Theres a lot of fantastic scenery naturally and my highlight is Chapter 20 and the mirrored mosque in Iran, surely a hidden gem of the world.

The score is ok if you like panpipes, and elevator music and it sounds good on my HD AV amp. But intelligently the score does stop at moments where the natural sound is preferred like the memorable monkey chants in Bali.

In summary this is a trophy showcase of what Blu-ray can do, you are guaranteed to have jaws dropping. Hey, it don't half look bad on my 50" Plasma. If you think I'm writing everything I can to make you buy it, you're right - don't hesitate just get it!

If this is what an 8K restoration can do, then all Blu-ray's in the future should be done this way. Its fantastic to see this company take the lead and show so much much care and attention to their films and their viewers by going through such an expensive and worthwhile process - for this reason alone I urge you to buy it.

Bellaly