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Studio:Entertainment in Video

Director:Stephen Daldry

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet, David Kross, Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara

Running Time:124 minutes

Product Description

Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet, David Kross, Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria LaraDirector: Stephen Daldry

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Reviews

- "Well, what would you have done?"

The story based on a popular novel "Der Vorleser" by Bernhard Schlink, takes place over several decades from the 1950's through the 1990's.

We start with a boy Michael Berg (David Kross) who is helped home by a streetcar ticket puncher Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet)when he contacts scarlet fever. After recovery, Michael goes to Hanna to thank her. One thing leads to another and they strike up a physical relationship. The relationship deepens and changes course when Michael discovers that Hanna likes to being read to. He ends up reading everything from the classics to comics. Then one day she disappears leaving Michael distraught.

Eight years later Michael rediscovers her. Only this time Michael is a law student and Hanna is on trial for war crimes and accused of voluntarily joining the SS. Michael could save her from prison but at the expense of revealing her secret. What would you do?

The story is not really about Michael (later played by Ralph Fiennes) and Hanna; it is more how the different generations in Germany come to grips with their history.

I have not read the book yet and am sure that this film is just a reflection of the story but it was played well enough to win an Oscar and nominated for many more.

I especially like the scene where Michael is reading Hamlet to Hanna. Hanna says that she does not understand it. Michael says (indignantly) it is a classic. She asked if he understands it and upon reflection, he says "NO".

I will not go into the aspects of the media as Blu-ray is the norm and does not need to be described.

William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Two-Disc Special Edition)

- the reader

Certainly one of the best films released in the last year. Blu-ray quality was of the highest standard and brilliant performances from Kate Winslet and Ralf Fiennes.

- The Reader - bluray review

After reading the somewhat lukewarm & negative comments on the quality of this BD I felt I had to write a review in its support. This is a great movie - beautifully written, paced & directed by Stephen Daldry. Here I just want to comment on the exemplary transfer, which as other's have said may not be Full 1080p 24fps - it is in fact 1080i - but this in no way detracts from what is by any standards a fine looking disc. There is a very fine layer of grain present, which was the directors intent & in no way spoils the experience. Colours are spot on, black levels are deep & inky & fine detail is amazing. This is first rate transfer and far exceeds the SD version. Likewise the DTS HD-MA is always fully immersive with accurate pans to all speakers & dialogue is always crisp & clear. Perhaps those giving this a paltry 2 stars should consider buying a new TV or visiting Specsavers - because this reviewer feels their comments are wholly unjustified. Highly recommended & should be in everyone's Blu-ray collection.

- Flawed but good film, perhaps better value on DVD

When a film tries to be something special, it is sometimes difficult not to be too tough on it for falling short of loftier targets. Whatever its faults, this is an enjoyable adult drama which is very well acted by the three principals: Winslet, Kross and Fiennes. Kross plays a young boy, Michael, who has a brief but passionate affair with the older, and illiterate, Hanna, played by Winslet. He reads to her without realising at the time that she cannot read.

Later he encounters her in court when he is a law student and she is on trial for her role as a guard in the SS. Her illiteracy plays a crucial role in the trial, and I will steer clear of a plot spoiler here. Suffice it to say that she is imprisoned, and that during her imprisonment Michael, now played by Fiennes, sends her tapes of the books he used to read to her. With great determination she finally learns to read by comparing what she hears on the tapes and what she sees on the pages of those books borrowed from the library. The culmination of the plot I found somewhat unsatisfactory, but cannot give details without spoiling the film for those who have not seen it.

The film has its faults. The tempo is often far too slow, and yet still allows for sketchiness. Of course, the film is very much concerned with secrecy, but I am not sure if this licences the extremely cursory treatment given to the end of their affair. Later dialogue makes it clear that Michael feels he was harmed by the relationship, but too little of the substance of this is cinematically shown, and not much told. Unless we are to automatically infer that his life was ruined by losing his virginity to an older woman; which would be strange given that this has probably happened at some point in history without a man's life being ruined! The dialogue is also often shaky. The way in which Hanna calls him "kid" (also when they are both quite old) never rings true. In fact often the dialogue sounds a little unidiomatic, a rare example in films these days of when a source book's status as foreign literature really advertises itself. The dialogue between Fiennes and a camp survivor late on is also very strained and artificial, for my money.

The film is worth seeing, but it is not really the sort of film where Blu-Ray is worth the extra money. I disagree with the other reviewer here about audio quality, I thought it was scarcely recognisable as a high definition sound-track (international customers please note that only English is on this disc!) By way of contrast I thought that "Frost/Nixon" also dialogue driven was worth it as a Blu-Ray. In this film there is so much soft-focus and so few of the kind of shots that make Blu-Ray worthwhile that I would recommend the DVD. Potential customers should also note that this film is NOT in cinema aspect ratio, but in widescreen ratio 1,85:1.

I nearly gave it three stars, but having so often given five stars to plain, honest, action films, I suppose you have to give film-makers some leeway when they try to produce more ambitious films, even if the "Odyssey" motifs are somewhat overdone (the endless baths, Hanna as Circe ?) and end up seeming on the wrong side of pretentiousness.

- The Reader

`The Reader' is the film that finally won Winslett her Oscar and it has to be said that her performance in this film is very worthy. Saying that, all of the performance's from all involved are very strong and the direction is superb as well. The Amazon synopsis explains the story very well, as do other reviews here, but suffice to say this is a richly woven story with an interesting analysis of human nature. Most WW2 or holocaust films can be particularly harrowing and although this is also the case with this film (but only in places) the emphasis is most definitely on the human relationships involved rather than graphic details of cruelty. The relationship between the young Michael and Hanna is intriguing to watch, with an unusual dynamic that is explained as the film develops and you begin to understand why she enjoys being read to so much. The relationship between them when Michael is an adult is more complex and conducted from afar and both these aspects of their relationship are portrayed extremely well. This is quite slow going in places but is worth persevering with and this makes for a couple of hours good viewing and engrossing drama. Well worth a try and worth the plaudits it has received.