‘There Will Be Blood’ Reviewed With Samsung PN63A760
February 21, 2009
My Samsung PN63A760 63-inch Plasma TV arrived on a Saturday morning just when a few rumblings started in the over-cast sky. It was one of those dank days, and the sky looked threatening. Canceling all plans for shopping at Brenda’s with the girls, I decided to watch a movie in my new plasma. It was a gift actually, from my dad. With Oscar fever in the air, I decided to watch ‘There Will Be Blood’ starring Daniel Day Lewis that was nominated for 8 Oscars. My friends were all praise for it, and I decided that my plasma tv’s 63-inch screen with a glamorous reddish tinge around the glossy black bezel will go well with all the hype for the Oscar nominated movie.
I grabbed my reinforcements(popcorn, chips and a can of beer) a snuggled in my couch. I must tell you, I was very impressed with the full HD and 1920 X 1080 pixels resolution. The film opens with an amazing Californian landscape in 1989. The first 10 minutes, shot in absolute silence had my eyes glued to the screen with Ultra Filter Bright Anti-Glare enhancements. After that, a scintillating background score (by Jonny GreenWood) floated into my ears and the 40 watt output from the speakers with SRS TruSurround XT feature, added on to the brilliant audio performance. A sturdy Daniel Plainview played by Daniel Day-Lewis was digging for silver in solitude. A Gothic date flashed across the screen and the word ‘drama’ flashed across my mind. I knew I was in for a heavy dose of drama.
In less than an hour into the film, I concluded that it is yet another stunning performance from Daniel Day-Lewis. He never disappoints. He essays the role of a dogmatic man inside a world of self-imposed darkness with panache. A sudden rain started outside and I increased the volume using the fingerprint-magnet remote control. It features a scroll wheel using which I could also navigate across the menu. Director Paul Thomas Anderson of the ‘Boogie Nights’ fame has done a decent job with the screen play. Daniel Day-Lewis fills the screen, outperforming every other actor. Still so, Dillion Freasier as Plainview’s adopted son H.W and Paul Dano as Paul Sunday did not fail to impress me. Talking about good impressions, the 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and the 18-bit colour display with Natural True Colour of my PN63A760 added more glamour to the picture and indeed, I was impressed with the TV’s motion adaptive technique, giving it a pristine image quality.
The sequence of scenes that lead to Daniel’s rise to glory are well-crafted by Paul. Though based on Upton Sinclair’s novel, ‘Oil!’, Paul has worked earnestly on this mammoth American epic. After two hours into the film, I adjusted the brightness as it was getting darker outside. For this, I made use of the Day/Night Calibration mode using which I calibrated the brightness and saved it for a continuous optimal view.
I enjoyed Daniel’s knavish and sly ways with which he acquires Abel’s oil-rich property and his rise thereafter. The dispute between Daniel and the local minister Eli, played by Paul Dano, who is Abel’s son has been so well played by the actors that I wondered if they were arch rivals in real life too! Tired of the heavy dose of Daniel’s chicanery, I took a break to make myself a cup of tea.(The movie runs nonchalantly for 3 hours!) It was now that I discovered that my Samsung PN63A760 had digital ATSC and QAM tuners. Why, it also had four HDMI connections! This egged me on to further explore the gadget. I found it had an Wiselink USB v2.0 port using which I can hook my digital camera, digital camcorder and portable media player. And I could also watch video movies streamed from the computer using the Ethernet connection and DNLA compatibility!
After the warm cup of tea, I entered the Daniel’s world again. With the sound of the rain and thunder outside, accompanied by bold strikes of lightning in the background, Daniel’s portrayal of his dark, malicious, ruthless character and his low sonorous voice sent chills down my spine. When Daniel disowns his deaf son, who according to him a useless vegetable, it was no surprise for me, such was the ruthlessness of the character. Robert Elswit has done extremely well with the camera . My plasma tv with its 175 x 175 viewing angle did justice to the bedazing landscapes. His stunning shots combined with Jonny GreenWood’s haunting tunes provide a visual treat and the Ultra Filter Bright Anti-Glare Technique added their bit to the clarity of the scenes.
There were some scenes that I felt ended abruptly and the final scene between Eli and Daniel in his bowling alley was the height of drama. A guileful Daniel toys with his bruised soul and finally beats him to death. Here again, Daniel is at his best, what an actor! His final utterance to his butler, “I’m finished.” had me smile. The dark American epic has been told masterfully, if lacking at a few places. But then, where ‘There will be blood,’ there will be drama, there will be action, there will be ruthlessness, there will also be ennui, if only a bit.
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