- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: Multilingual Dolby Digital 2.0
- Subtitles: English (Forced)
- Subtitles Color: White
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: NR
- Run Time: 93 Mins.
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Digital Copies: N/A
- Studio: Drafthouse Films/Image Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: October 23, 2012
- List Price: $29.97
–
Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:2.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:2.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
–
The Film
[Rating:4.5/5]
Financed by daring filmmaker Lars von Trier (Melancholia; Klown; Antichrist), equally daring Danish documentarian Mads Brügger heads into the Central African Republic for The Ambassador. Using a guerrilla style of filmmaking that fuses comedy and satire with serious hard hitting journalism – a style Brügger refers to as “performative journalism” – the filmmaker goes undercover as an ambassador. He exposes the corruption of the war-torn African nation, easily manipulated by European avarice, as he himself plays the part of a corrupt dignitary looking to get his hands on blood-diamonds. Brügger’s film is an engrossing, instantaneous classic that, if it weren’t so sad in the terrible deeds it exposes, would be a comedic triumph as well.
Video Quality
[Rating:2.5/5]
The low quality of hidden video cameras doesn’t make for high quality high definition, so, truthfully speaking, this may be an instance where Blu-ray may very well be overkill except for the fact that it improves quality by the slightest degree since it is still less compressed on disc than DVD. Outside of that, you won’t be blowing anyone away with how great HD looks if you put this release on.
Audio Quality
[Rating:2.5/5]
With so many hidden camera recordings and so forth making up the bulk of the material here, I don’t know that any audio track would sound great, but a lowly Dolby Digital 2.0 mix is provided for the multilingual soundtrack. It does well enough to convey the dialogue, even if there is lots of clipping and distortion in the source. English subtitles are encoded directly onto the video.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
There’s little offered here, but there is an interesting audio commentary from director Mads Brügger.
The supplements:
- Commentary by Director Mads Brügger
- Theatrical Trailer (1.78:1; 1080p/24)
- 16-page booklet
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3/5]
Fantastically entertaining, The Ambassador is a a brilliantly conceived concept of documentary with which the filmmaker goes all the way and becomes part of the film. It crosses the line between performance art and documentary as it exposes the horrible truth, with skill and humor, and cutting wit. Highly recommended.
Additional Screen Captures
[amazon-product]B007XGUZ7C[/amazon-product]
Purchase The Ambassador on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
–
[amazon-product]B007XGUZ7C[/amazon-product]
Purchase The Ambassador on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:2.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:2.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
–
