Defiance (Blu-ray Disc, 2009, Sensormatic)

How does a people survive while being hunted down like animals by the Nazis, having no one to turn to due to Nazi collaborators, and no one to trust like the Soviet army who were the enemy of their enemy (the Nazis)? That's the situation that be fronted the The Bielski partisans, four Jewish brothers in 1941 Eastern (Nazi occupied ) Poland. Tuvia (Daniel Craig) and his three brothers Zus (Liev Schreiber), Asael (Jamie Bell), and Aron (George MacKay) elluded the Nazis and their collaborators who confined the Jews to ghettos before sending them to the extermination camps. Tuvia, their leader, shelters a growing number of Jewish escapees from the ghettos whom they encounter in the forest. The forest was their only friend which provided the shelter and cover they needed. This is their story and how they along with 1200 other Jewish people survived. I saw it as sort of a retelling of the Exodus story on a smaller scale but having its obvious parallels, like building their shelters reminded me of Sukkot, and the marsh scene which echoed the crossing of the Reed Sea but with a much different twist. Instead of the desert wilderness of the Sinai, its the forest which in many ways can be just as inhospitable to those who've never taken to the forest. Thus, Tuvia became a sort of Moses figure who must not only deal with the Nazis, the Soviets (his questionable allies), and local antisemitic countrymen, but also the squabbling, bickering, and arguing amongst the very people he was trying to protect and rescue. Craig and Schreiber offer a fine performance in their roles as the two brothers who were at odds with each other but learn what it is to be human in an inhumane world.

The video transfer is pristine. It is full of subtle and fine details even in darker scenes. When Tuvia held the mezuzah in his palm, I could see the weather beaten intricate details still engraved upon it. The colors during the less dark scenes like in the forest during daylight were about as natural as can be captured on film. I commend Eduardo Serra for his excellent cinematography in every situation, indoors and outdoors that really enhance the mood of the scene.

The lossless TrueHD audio track delivered fairly good sound. I enjoyed hearing the quiet yet quite distinct enviromental sounds found in a forest, too numerous to list, but they're all there. At the other end of the scale loud sounds from the canon fire from German tanks or bombs dropped from German aircraft were mediocre and sounded a bit subdued. It was as though DRC was turned on. However that wasn't the case since both my BD player and receiver are never on Auto but always set to wide dynamic range. The dynamic impact of the explosions just weren't that realistic. The rest of the audio is quite good though. The dialogue is right on the mark, very clear and easy to follow. The music score and theme were absolutely delightful. The overall sound quality was very satisfactory, although not excellent and certainly not reference quality.

The extra features will acquaint the viewer with how the film was made, some of Zwick's insights, and how it compared historically to the actual events and lots more. It's true Zwick added some hollywood style embellishments to make it more thrilling like overdoing the combat scenes which perhaps was necessary to provide more funding.

History buffs will definitely want to add this BD to their collection. All others will want to give it a rent before buying. Defiance i