Media

Home Theater Movie Renter's Guide - January, 2013

"Samsara" (Blu-ray) - Reviewed by Chris Heinonen

Synopsis

Samsara is a non-verbal documentary, set around the world in over 20 countries.  Searching for a connection between the lives of those around the world, Samsara travels to churches, disaster zones, industrial zones and natural wonders.  Moving from the old Bagan Temples in Myanmar to the towering new Burj Tower in Dubai and many places in-between, Samsara will take you on a tour of this world showing you sites you have never seen in this way.

Commentary

With no dialogue and no real plot, Samsara isn't for everything.  Showing scenes of our world, with different situations juxtaposed sometimes to communicate a message, many people will find Samsara boring.  I never could sit back and watch all of Baraka in a sitting, but found Samsara to be far more interesting and involving than its predecessor.  I found it to be interesting and entertaining the whole time, though I fully understand where many people will not.

Technical

No matter what you think of the content, it is nothing but gorgeous.  Shot on native 70mm film, transferred at 8K resolution, and mastered at 4K resolution, Samsara looks perfect.  Detail is impeccable, colors are pure and rich, and the images themselves are just gorgeous.  If you want to really show off what your home theater can do, the images from Samsara will do that better than anything.

The audio accompanying it, while free of dialogue, is up to the task as well.  With a high resolution, 24/96 7.1 channel mix, the accompanying audio pulls you into the film.  You feel completely immersed in the film, and the dynamic range never leaves anything to be desired.  It isn't as exciting as a gunfight scene might be, but it's a wonderful audio track.

Extras

A documentary on the making of the film, as well as an Internet teaser trailer and a regular trailer.