Dunkirk (DVD)

This retelling of the true story of the Dunkirk rescue is great. I suspect this film will find itself on short lists of superior war movies in time. A very well done movie.

It's a dark time in WW II and the British, along with French troops have moved to Dunkirk in hopes of being evacuated to England. The movie is set with several different story lines, one being the events befalling young British soldiers who try their best to get away on one ship. When it is sunk, they end up back at Dunkirk. Another story line follows a man and his son, along with his son's friend, depart to Dunkirk to pick up some of the soldiers on their small boat. A third line follows members of the RAF shooting down any Germans flying over the groups of private boats sailing to pick up soldier at Dunkirk. Some are shot down, while one survives long enough to shoot down an enemy flier over the beaches of Dunkirk and becomes an instant hero, even though unknown. There are times you wish the movie wouldn't move away from the story line you're on. I occasionally found that annoying but then again, the story lines are so good, I really didn't mind when all was said and done. A good movie and it made me review history for that time to learn more about what was happening in France. I do hope we don't ever have another World War again.

The story telling method in Dunkirk is one of a kind and masterful. We see three converging threads in a central story. At one point all of the characters will come together but they are presented along their own timelines. The first time I saw the movie I was disoriented at first but soon grew to understand the direction the tale was head. Like the confused soldiers, airmen and civilians order came from chaos. The action sequences are truly terrifying. We see ships sinking, huge objects now wallowing in the sea, solid surfaces slipping out from beneath the feet of the men they carry. The dogfight scenes are intense. I found myself leaning in the banking planes. In Dunkirk, we rarely get a full sense of the aerial situation. We see the pilot's face more often than his view and when we see his view it is restricted, not some godlike sense of what is happening. Only on occasion do the camera's pull back and give us an idea of the over situation. Tension builds in most scenes and the way the story is cut together it builds and builds until the moment when the characters come together. Dunkirk is a story of a victory within a defeat. It is not an attempt to be a historical documentary. It is an amalgam of experiences and accounts assembled into a telling that allows you to enter the world of those who lived it. If you want to understand history, movies are not the place to look since that is not their purpose. I was entertained by this movie. Watching is a second time at home I felt the tension and emotions that welled up when I saw this in the theater.

This was a good movie. I had never heard of Dunkirk before, so some movies can be a gateway to diving deeper into history. I don't know how accurate this film is. The cinematography was splendid and the action sequences held my interest, which is rare considering that I tend to find war films boring, but this one wasn't boring. There were some mild negatives or cons. One of them is that as I was watching this I thought, "Wow they really didn't develop the characters much." There isn't much in the way of character development, which can make it difficult for some to gain any interest when they're not being pulled in by any one character. Maybe that was purposely done, I don't know. Tom Hardy and Kenneth Branagh may be the biggest known names in this, but they're so hardly in this that I wonder why they agreed to it in the first place. I had heard that Tom Hardy turned it down, but Christopher Nolan who wrote and directed this had worked with him before in "Inception" and "The Dark Knight". And that Christopher practically had to beg Tom to do this. I'm still not sure why he begged him to do a role that anyone could do. Tom flies a plane the entire film with a helmet and mask on. You don't even see his face until the end for about fifteen seconds. My guess is that having Tom's name attached to this on the marquee would draw in more of an audience. As it stands, I had never heard of this film until the DVD popped up in my recommendations and I bought it because it was the price of a rental. It was worth it and entertaining aside from those mild complaints. I did recognize that actor that was the scarecrow in the dark knight, and some guy that kind of looked a bit like that Harry Styles, who turned out to be him as I noticed in the credits. The other is I do wish there was a bit more story as I wasn't entirely sure what was going on, except for knowing that the British and the French had aligned together in a war where Germany was their enemy. The English and French get stranded on a beach in Dunkirk awaiting to be rescued before the Germans find and kill them. They have to cross the ocean which lends for some spectacular visuals and fight scenes.

I’m not going to go on and on about what an incredible film and hands down to Chris Nolan and all that garble. I would like to simply ask what does any of your personal views on this film have to do with the quality of the disc itself? When I came on here to actually read legitimate reviews about the disc, resolution, etc all I get is a trail of Troll reviews about what a bore this movie was and all that nonsensical writing. Write actual reviews worth reading and understand that reviews on Amazon have more to do with the product quality over the subject matter. If you want to ramble on about how much you hate this film go find an actual forum online and have a ball! As for anyone who has yet to see this film understand that the simple reason that there is very little dialogue is because the director wanted to focus on what it would actually feel like to be on those beaches awaiting eminent doom or slim salvation. But people want the same old same old mashed up and cliche war film after another, with those epic speeches right before a big battle. What you get in this film is brilliant accuracy and respect for the actual historic event. It’s not your typical blockbuster and if you appreciate the subtleties in life you will appreciate what Chris Nolan set out to do with Dunkirk. You don’t need to see a giant Nazi flag waving to be able to tell who the enemy is if you know a little bit of history on WWII. You don’t need useless long drawn out dialogue with the rumble of bombing raids in the background. It’s about time someone had the courage to take us front row to actually sense what so many sensed during those days on the beaches in Northern France, fear.

It's a very good movie, with a different perspective

If you're a history buff or a fan of cinematic masterpieces, then "Dunkirk" is a must-watch film that will leave you breathless. This 4K Ultra HD version takes Christopher Nolan's World War II epic to a whole new level, with stunning visuals and immersive sound that put you right in the middle of the action. The film tells the true story of the Dunkirk evacuation, where over 300,000 Allied soldiers were stranded on the beaches of France and surrounded by German forces. The tension and sense of danger are palpable from the start, as we follow the struggles of soldiers on the ground, pilots in the air, and civilians on boats trying to rescue the stranded soldiers. The cinematography is breathtaking, with sweeping aerial shots of the beaches and intense close-ups that capture the fear and desperation of the soldiers. The sound design is equally impressive, with the sound of bullets whizzing past your head and explosions rocking your living room. But what really sets "Dunkirk" apart is its storytelling. Nolan expertly weaves together three different timelines, each with its own characters and perspectives, until they converge in a thrilling finale. The result is a film that is both suspenseful and emotionally resonant, with characters you care about and a sense of awe at the bravery and sacrifice of those involved in the evacuation. Overall, "Dunkirk" is a cinematic tour de force that deserves a place in any film lover's collection. The 4K Ultra HD version only enhances the experience, making it feel like you're right there on the beaches of Dunkirk. Highly recommended!

So I have some bifs with both the film and the UHD HDR presentation. Film: The nonlinear storytelling is more compelling the first time you watch the movie. Its not nearly as interesting on repeat viewings. While yes, it does help to spread the drama around... it is also really confusing, and that confusion takes you out of the movie as you try to recognize faces of actors you don't really know at all as you see them out of place in the timeline. This mechanic is as much a help as a hindrance in the film. Additionally the score, is ANNOYING, my goodness, Hans Zimmer's score is punched up way to high when he's trying to create tension with the sound track it really undercuts the drama of the scenes because its overbearing at all the wrong moments. It is a matter of good ideas implemented to opposite effect. Yeah the score I think is solid but the mixing of the score is putrid. The scores use in the film is distracting and suffocating. Beyond those critiques this is a peerless film. I don't know how timeless it will end up being, but perhaps we will see at the very least a remixed audio on a future release of the film. For now my view of this movie is, must see, but not a must own because I'm unsure how rewatchable it really is, between the score and the editing style I doubt it gets any better on repeat viewings. UHD, HDR: So the very best cameras they make for modern filmmaking are the IMAX 70MM, and they shot a great portion of this film on that camera. YEAH!!! This cameras footage is all rendered in HDR and is formated in 16:9. But not all of the film is shot this way, and this leads to one of the most jaring aspects of this film, the transition in and out of both the 16:9 aspect ratio and HDR. WOW this is annoying. This is something that he does with all his IMAX releases and I hate it on all of them. I could probably forgive the aspect ratio swap... but the darn HDR shift is BRUTAL if you have an OLED. He will cut to a midday scene in standard color from HDR and its like the whole set is dimmed, oh and the aspect ratio shifts. His Batman trilogy isn't HDR, so the shift is more gentle because its just the aspect ratio. The whole effect is very amateurish. Its disconcerting to have achieved so much with the very difficult 70MM IMax camera and then have about 5-10% of the run time chopped up with these rough cuts to standard format and color. If you have an OLED, IMAX footage is the best demo reel you can hope for on that monitor. But darn I'd settle for a more uniform non HDR option.