The Dead Lands - Blu-ray

Movie: Aotearoa, pre-colonial Maori land: warrior Wirepa (Te Kohe Tuhaka) claims young Hongi (James Rolleston) has desecrated the bones of the ancestors and demands retribution from Hongi's father. But Hongi's father suspects Wirepa is lying and will only cause discord between their tribes and refuses to kill his son. As a result, Wirepa and his men wipe out all of the tribe's warriors. Only Hongi can survive. He wants to prevent Wirepa and his men from taking his father's head to their tribe to be celebrated for wiping out their enemies. But how is he, a young man without much combat experience, to take on a whole pack of strong warriors? When Wirepa and his men take a dangerous shortcut through the so-called Land of Death, Hongi's quest for retribution sees him team up with an ancient warrior (Lawrence Makoare), from whom he is introduced to the art of combat. And as tensions rise within Wiepa's men on their perilous journey through the Dead Lands, Hongi moves ever closer to his goal...

With The Dead Lands, director Toa Fraser presents in itself a very conventional revenge story. The story about a young warrior who goes from unassuming boy to man out of retribution is truly nothing new. Nevertheless, this New Zealand production is a very special film. In order to immerse himself as authentically as possible into the time of the pre-colonial Maori country, Fraser shot the film completely in the language of the New Zealand natives. In addition, he had his actors trained in traditional martial arts and also placed a high degree of realism on the equipment, the costumes and, of course, the weapons. This in combination with the sometimes breathtaking landscape shots gives the film a very special aura, which one can hardly escape despite some dramaturgical lengths.

If you decide for the German dubbing, something of it is lost, but overall the film works just by its engaging visual language really well. The fight sequences are simply spectacular, seem extremely real and pleasantly unadorned in their harshness. It's true that Fraser can't avoid all clichés, especially in the longer dialogue scenes. And also in terms of pathos it is a bit thick in some places. But all these weaknesses are easily made up for by the obvious passion that everyone involved has invested in this project.

If you want to see spectacular fight sequences in a breathtaking natural setting and like films like Mel Gibson's Apocalypto, you shouldn't miss this home movie premiere. And if subtitles don't put you off, you should definitely opt for the Maori soundtrack, as it's only here that the full extent of the film's authenticity can be felt. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The technical implementation of the film leaves a more than convincing impression. The image sharpness is on a very high level. Even in darker scenes, quality losses are barely noticeable. In addition, the completely trouble-free visual realization convinces with a good image depth and an atmospheric color scheme. The sound is in no way inferior. The numerous surround effects, especially in the fight scenes, are excellently implemented and provide a good spatiality even in quieter scenes. The atmospheric soundscape of New Zealand nature and the good tuning of voices and film music allow only one conclusion here: very good!

Extras: In addition to interviews with actors, director and producers (approx. 31 min.), the Blu-ray also has a behind-the-scenes look (approx. 5:59 min.), as well as short featurettes on the martial arts exercises (approx. 2:25 min.) and weight training (approx. 4:06 min.). Good!

Conclusion:The Dead Lands is certainly no revelation dramaturgically. But visually and atmospherically, this tale of a vendetta is truly impressive. Director Toa Fraser has placed great emphasis on authenticity, not only in the language, but also in the fight scenes and set design. This combined with the great landscape shots makes for a truly special movie experience out of a conventional story. The Blu-ray presents the sometimes very drastic adventure in very good picture and sound quality. Among the extras, the brief look at the martial arts and strength training is particularly worthwhile. If you liked movies like Mel Gibson's Apocalypto, you should definitely give this one a look as well. Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp