Blu-ray Review: Defiance

Release Date: June 2nd, 2009
Running Time: 136 minutes

The Film

I loved Blood Diamond. I thought it was a powerful film with outstanding performances, stellar camerawork, and top-notch action. Needless to say, I have been looking forward to Edward Zwick’s next film. With two extremely talented actors in Daniel Craig and Live Schreiber, Defiance is another one of Zwick’s films that balances historical relevancy with excellent drama and serious action. Though the boxoffice and awards season may have largely ignored the film, Defiance is everything you would expect from a filmmaker as talented as Zwick.

Based on a true story, the film opens in 1941 with the Nazis having occupied Belorussia. The Nazis, along with the Belorussia police, all hunt down Jews for inevitable extermination. This is the story of the four Bielski brothers: Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Liev Schreiber), Asael (Jamie Bell), and Aron (George MacKay). After their parents are murdered, they seek refuge in the vast Lipiczanska Forest. Under the leadership of Tuvia, more and more refugees join the forest colony. They build shelter, find ways to obtain food, and collect weapons and ammo to defend themselves. Their goal: survival. While Zus takes a more active role killing Germans along side the Russians (who barely treat the Jews better than the Germans), Tuvia is committed to maintaining a peaceful existence and fighting only when necessary to protect the colony. Outnumbered, surrounded, and on their own, the colony looks to the unerring strength of Tuvia to keep them alive as well as preserve their humanity.

Defiance is an extremely interesting tale of survival. Much of the film is incredibly well done. The cinematography is gorgeous from start to finish. The acting is stellar on all accounts, particularly from Schreiber and Craig. Their brother story is the heart of the film. Zus’ activist tendencies constantly clash with Tuvia’s more peaceful rule, creating some of the most dramatically intense moments in the film. The scene where Zus finds out his family is dead is beyond heartbreaking.

The setting is also completely unique and rather captivating. They build these whole colonies that remind me of Lost. You see how a community is formed, how no one is turned away, and how everyone helps to make this existence work. They even establish new forms of bonding, such as the women taking on “forest husbands.” It is truly incredible to think about how these people survived in hiding for years in the woods, having to find their own food, medicine, etc.

The only thing that bothered me about the film is that you are instantly thrown into the thick of it all. Immediately the Bielski brothers are on the run and setting up a hideout in the woods. I felt like I needed just ten minutes of character scenes with the brothers before everything went to hell. I understand you learn who the characters are based on the actions they take in the woods, but the opening ten minutes or so were pretty jarring. Regardless, this is an important story worth telling. For a group to choose to live a life of hardship, but freedom, in the woods rather than being corralled in the ghetto is the ultimate testament to the human spirit.

The Disc

The video is presented in a 1.78:1, 1080p High Definition transfer. Colors are often muted with a blue tint over the image. There are some exceptions, however, such as the lush greens of the forest foliage, and Daniel Craig’s piercing blue eyes. Black levels are deep with excellent detail and no problems with noise. Fine detail is top-notch through and through, such as the grime on the actors’ faces, their tattered clothing, or the textures in their camps. The level of detail and depth in the forest is great as well, from the leaves and tree trunks, to the beautiful snow. The action sequences preserve an immense level of detail as well, particularly in Zwick’s trademark hand-held action shots where all of explosions and dirt kicked into the air are perfectly crisp. The print itself is clean, and compression artifacts are not an issue. A layer of natural grain gives the film an appropriately gritty feel.

The audio is offered in an English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix as well as French/Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with English/French/Spanish subtitles. Ambience is the name of the game here. There are multiple layers of realistic, accurate atmosphere in the forest that brings it alive and makes it feel like a sanctuary. The action scenes are rugged as well, with deep bomb hits and scattered gun fire that mix together in utter chaos. Whether it is a quiet character scene in the forest, or a full-on assault, the entire soundstage is always utilized. The score is another highlight of the mix, featuring pristine violin highs and appropriate bass. My one gripe is that I had to adjust the volume for dialogue a few times because the accents can sometimes be hard to understand.

The Extras

Commentary is offered with Director Edward Zwick. Though his delivery can be dry, Zwick has a lot to talk about historically, thematically, and in terms of the actual production. His analysis of the film is in-depth and will give anyone a further appreciation of his work.

“Defiance: Return to the Forest” is a 26-minute making-of featurette focusing on a variety of production-related topics, such as props and costumes, the effects used in the battle sequences, and dialect coaching. Spliced between behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with the cast and crew cover the story, characters, and history of the true tale.

“Children of the Otriad: The Families Speak” is a powerful 14-minute featurette with the children and grandchildren of Tuvia and Zus commenting on their forefathers’ bravery while providing a more personal look at the brothers. There is also footage of these family members visiting the set along and vintage footage/stills of Tuvia and Zus.

“Scoring Defiance” is a 7-minute piece with Zwick and Composer James Newton Howard talking about the score with footage of the recording sessions. Particular emphasis is placed on the violin solos.

“Bielski Partisan Survivors” is a 2-minute photo montage of survivors.

Lastly, two Theatrical Trailers are offered.

Final Thoughts

Defiance is a powerful, though uneven, film that documents an extraordinary tale of determination and survival. With a gorgeous Blu-ray disc packed with historically relevant special features, I’d recommend at least renting the title if you are at all intrigued by the story.