The Film
There are few who have not heard of Interstellar by this time. It was all the buzz during awards season, and it’s clear to see why.
As the story goes, the Earth is in peril. A team of explorers undertake an important mission, beyond our Milky Way galaxy, in order to locate a planet to which mankind can migrate, in order to save the species.
This sci-fi extravaganza follows Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and Brand (Anne Hathaway) on their inter-galactic journey. The science depicted in the plot has been carefully researched, meaning that it is about as real as the filmmakers could make it, and this alone adds great credence to the story. Something that will draw sci-fi and science buffs alike, yet it is not too complex that it will lose the average viewer.
On top of this, the acting, directing and cinematography are sure to astound, saying nothing for the great sound mix and soundtrack.
With a running time of close to three hours, one is left wanting more at the end, and this is something few films can claim.
Broken down to its simplest form, the story of Interstellar is one about love, family, and what one will give up in order to keep them safe. It touches on our values as a species, and looks at the differing values of the individual.
Interstellar is certainly a film that is going to be on any list depicting top films for a long time to come, and is certainly one that any movie going person should see.
The film most definitely holds up to repeat viewing, and is a masterpiece of cinema that will show off any home theatre.
Disc And Bonus Features
The disc is encoded at a reasonable bitrate, however there are no artifacts visible, and it can be scaled, within reason, for viewing on an HD screen.
Audio is presented in a 5.1 surround track, and makes full use of this throughout the movie, whether with scenes on Earth, or the more action packed ones in space and other worlds.
There are unfortunately no bonus features on the DVD, which is a great pity.
The BluRay
For those who prefer the BluRay version of the film, presented in high definition, and superior sound encoding, there is a bonus disc full of additional features and information.
Starting with the hour long video, The Science Of Interstellar, narrated by Matthew McConaughey. This feature is packed full of the details on how the filmmakers and Christopher Nolan went about making sure that all the science represented in the film was true and accurate. There are interviews with their science advisor, who at the end of the film wrote two papers on wormholes, one for the science community and another for the computer graphics community, all based on the collaboration between his mathematical genius and the advanced visualisation capabilities of the computer graphics crew.
There is also Inside Information with no less than fourteen shorter videos showing many aspects of the filmmaking process, from set pieces, to locations, from costume to the effects used. This will keep anyone busy for hours, marvelling at the hard work that went in to creating Interstellar, and provides a very insightful look at how things were done.
And, finally, there are four versions of the trailer, each with it’s own feel and mood, promoting the film.
Interstellar is available on disc, to purchase in South Africa, now.
