Welcome to Marwen – Blu-ray Movie Review

Synopsis

On April 8, 2000, aspiring artist Mark Hogancamp (Carell) became a victim of a violent assault when five men beat him up and left him for dead. Following the attack, Mark was left with little to no memory of his previous life due to brain damage inflicted by his attackers. In a desperate attempt to regain his memories, Hogancamp constructs a fictional, miniature World War II village called Marwen in his yard to help in his recovery. Unfortunately, Mark’s demons come back to haunt him when he’s asked to testify against the five men that attacked him. This Robert Zemeckis film is based on a true story and the special effects are quite unique.

Specifications

Universal Pictures
2018, 1080p, Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Rated PG-13, 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio, 1 hour and 56 minutes
Starring: Steve Carell, Eiza Gonzalez, Gwendoline Christie, Nikolai Witschl and Leslie Mann
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis

Rating

Entertainment:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Violence: Yes
Language: Mild
Sex: No

Commentary

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The film is based on the (now famous) photographer, who after a severe beating was left with memory loss. Hogancamp built a miniature town in his yard and uses figurines of mostly female resistance fighters and a doll of himself as a downed Air Force pilot as leader of the pack. The film also explores the fact that he is more than just a quirky odd-ball that likes to wear women’s shoes, but is an artist that captures provocative pictures from a dolls perspective. In fact, much of the film displays the characters as living dolls. The special effects are clever and interesting to watch. Though this movie may not appeal to everyone’s interest, Zemeckis really knows how to let the characters unfold and develop right before our eyes. They is plenty of action and more than a touch of romance. If imagination and heartfelt movies are on your list of things you enjoy, give this a spin.

Technical

As mentioned before, the special effects of creating living dolls is wonderful. The picture quality is very good and for some reason, my display said it was in HDR10. All I can say is the colors and contrasts were very good, with plenty a vibrant primary colors and natural lighting. Sound was uniformly excellent.

Extras

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Included are: Deleted Scenes, Marwen’s Citizens, A Visionary Director, Building Marwen, and Living Dolls. All of these extras were quite interesting and worth watching, not just filler.

Jim Milton

Jim Milton has been interested in high fidelity since his college years in the late 70's. It was there that he first became interested in classical music. He has been part of choral music, both in opera and oratorio and is an avid collector of classical music from the Baroque through the Romantic periods. He enjoys an occasional night at Boston Symphony Hall or attending an organ concert at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, ME. Currently he is the director of Nuclear Medicine at the North Shore Medical Center, located just outside of Boston. He also serves as an adjunct professor for Salem State University where he teaches a course in nuclear instrumentation. During his leisure time, he enjoys listening to his music collection and an occasional movie with his wife of 30+ years. Living on the longest stretch of sandy beach north of Boston offers him plenty of opportunities to take a relaxing stroll or soak up some sun. "Remember, acquiring good A/V gear takes lots of time...but doesn't necessarily take lots of money."