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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  Subtitles
    English, Hebrew
  Extras
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Audio commentary - by director
  • Cast/crew biographies

Savior

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 100 mins . MA15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

I don't know why the Bosnian war was faught and I don't pretend to know. What I do know is that from the various Serbian and Croatian friends I have, they all have their own stories as told to them by their relatives overseas ho have experienced the atrocities first hand and yet it is endearing to see that we are all still a tight group of friends.

Savior is based on a true story about an American soldier named Joshua Rose (Dennis Quaid) who's wife and son were killed in a bombing. He takes the law into his own hands and goes on a shooting rampage to kill the bombers. To escape any sentence he changes his name and identity and joins the French Foreign Legion. After a short stint he moves on and joins the serbian forces to fight the Bosnian War.

With all the horrors that he has lived through, he has become a cold blooded killer with no remorse until he comes across a young serbian girl Maria (Nastassja Kinski) who bears the child of a muslim rapist. By not killing herself, she has dishonored her father and her country and is thus exiled from her home where Joshua must take care of her and her child. In doing so, Joshua learns to appreciate life once more as he did when he had his family.

  Video
Contract

This is an excellent transfer of what can be termed a low budget movie. This 2.35:1 16x9 transfer is rich in sharpness and detail and provides some excellent imagery of both the aftermath of the war in the cities and the beautiful country-side.

Color saturation is at a medium as the tone of the imagery is a little subdued with a dusty/dirty look to it all. I think the lack of saturation and vibrancy is intentional as war is never meant to be cheery and colorful.

Black level is excellent as is shadow detail giving depth to alot of the night scenes even though some sections render the background as pitch black. For what it is, the image is clearly represented here.

  Audio
Contract

There is only a sole english 5.1 soundtrack on this disc which is used superbly. This is not a Saving Private Ryan mix as it is not all out war that is depicted but if ever you wanted a representation of what it would be like driving around the out-skirts of a war torn city and the outlining country side then here is your demonstration.

Never once did the soundtrack feel rehearsed and never once did it lack anything that it needed. All you get is all you need right from the dialogue being simple and clear, to the surrounds being used for emphasis of a scene to the bass being pushed when things got heavy.

There's nothing more to say really other than it is perfectly suited to the movie.

  Extras
Contract

There is a simple handful of extras here.

  • Audio Commentary - Director Predrag Antonijevic provides some background information into the making of this movie and some insight into the conflict that ensued over there. His English is not the best and may deter alot of people from even attempting to continue on. It's decent enough.
  • Theatrical Trailer - a full frame trailer presented in 2 channel stereo.

  Overall  
Contract

I thought this was an excellent film depicting the effect war has on pride and the honor of your family and country. It's a little disturbing at times but these things happened and many things worse have been revealed.

Dennis Quaid puts in an excellent performance and it is surprising that this is the first I've ever heard of this movie as I don't recall it making it to the cinemas here at all. Recommended.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=286
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      And I quote...
    ""
    - Steve Koukoulas
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Pioneer DV-505 Gold
    • TV:
          Hitachi CMT2979 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Onkyo TX-DS777 THX Select
    • Speakers:
          Peterson Labs 100Watts
    • Centre Speaker:
          Sherwood SC-60E
    • Surrounds:
          Sherwood LS-502
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
      Recent Reviews:
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