Dunkirk (DVD) : Review

Film

May 26 to June 4, 1940, allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire and France are surrounded by the German army at Dunkirk. They withdraw to the harbour, and a massive operation is launched to evacuate them during the very fierce Battle of France, in World War II. An evacuation that included boats requisitioned from civilians, and the many civilians who stepped forward to help.

The fast-paced story follows the land, sea and air aspects of combat, with Commander Bolton (Kenneth Branagh – Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit) as part of the navy,  and civilian Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance). In the air, fighter pilot Farrier (Tom Hardy – Child 44The DropLocke). With the ground covered by soldier Alex (Harry Styles, of boy band One Direction) and Tommy (Fionn Whitehead). Look for a shivering Cillian Murphy (Transcendence)  amongst the men.

The epic story, heroism, and intense action of Dunkirk are a must for any film collector. The action will thrill viewers, and the story engross them with its tales of heroism and sacrifice.

There is a fair amount of rewatch value for the film, whether it is to marvel at the old war planes used in the film, or just to rewatch action sequences.

Read the full SAMDB review of Dunkirk.

Disc

Overall, the Dunkirk DVD is of an average technical quality, let down by the less than ideal picture encoding that comes across grainy, and with visible artefacts and edge sharpening.

However, the main feature itself is a very good film.

Dunkirk is available now, to purchase on disc, in South Africa.

Video

Video is encoded at a high average bitrate, however there is a small amount of grain from compression artefacts visible, and some of what appears to be edge sharpening. This however would not be too visible when viewed at a normal viewing distance on an average size screen.

Artefacts aside, there is no additional colour bleed. And colours do appear to be graded to match the original theatrical release.

Audio

Audio is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, and encoded at a high average bitrate. Dialogue clear via the centre channel. There is a fair amount of surround channel usage, serving to expand the on-screen world, and further draw the viewer into the midst of the action.

Navigation

Navigation is simple, and easy to follow. The main disc menu has a static background, with accompanying music, and text selections to play the main feature, scene selections, and languages.

The scene selection sub-menus have six and five small, colour, still thumbnails, respectively, for a total of eleven chapters.

The languages sub-menu has a list of audio languages, including English descriptive audio, and a further sub-menu to select subtitles, if desired.

Bonus Features

There are no bonus features on the disc whatsoever.

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb