South Africa, 1963. Communist Gus Roth (Jeroen Krabbé, No Mercy) is forced to flee Johannesburg to escape arrest, leaving his activist wife Diana (Barbara Hershey, Last of the Dogmen) to continue their crusade against apartheid. But when Diana is wrenched from her three daughters and jailed under the notorious 90-day Detention Act, she and her family face the ultimate sacrifice in the fight for freedom. The feature-film directorial debut of Chris Menges, the Oscar-winning cinematographer of The Killing Fields and The Mission, A World Apart is both a tender coming-of-age story and an emotionally powerful indictment of political oppression. Co-starring David Suchet (TV’s Poirot), Paul Freeman (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Tim Roth (Bodies, Rest & Motion) and Jodhi May (The Last of the Mohicans), and featuring a stirring score by Hans Zimmer (The Lion King).

For thoughts on A World Apart, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/EZXKpYBBKKY?t=3407]

Video Quality

A World Apart comes to Blu-Ray with a 1080p transfer in its original 1.85:1 that is pretty strong from Kino Classics considering that there is no indication that this transfer is derived from a new master. There is room for improvement to be sure, but what we are working with thankfully shows minimal signs of damage and digital tinkering. The mild speckling of nicks and scratches is unobtrusive and unlikely to lessen anyone’s experience. The transfer looks decently clear and detailed for the majority of the runtime with only a couple of moments exhibiting density fluctuations in the grain field.

Image quality is stable with some lovely detail in the environment and texture of clothing. Colors are finely saturated with a notable vibrancy to them that captures the warm South African palette. Black levels are acceptable in their depth, even if a few moments struggle with depth and delineation. Compression artifacts and other digital anomalies are not a common occurrence at any point. The presentation is one that holds up fairly well given the age of the master.

Audio Quality

Kino Classics brings us this new Blu-Ray with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix that easily gets the job done. Dialogue holds up very nicely, coming through clearly without being overshadowed by the music or worldly noises. The environmental effects are not implemented in a showy manner, but they are delineated nicely within the channels. The sounds of certain bustling moments and other sounds such as vehicles speeding around bring some heft to the mix. The Hans Zimmer score establishes the mood of this journey, and you do not hear any weakness when it comes to fidelity. Kino Classics has delivered a mighty fine audio experience here. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Screenwriter Shawn Slovo provides an informative commentary track moderated by Historian/Filmmaker Daniel Kremer in which they discuss the very personal nature of the story, the background of the production, the shooting locations, her involvement on set, the talent on screen, the direction of Chris Menges and much more that is a great listen.

Interview with Actor Jeroen Krabbé: A six-minute virtual interview with the actor in which he discusses his character, how he came to be a part of this production, why he wanted to be involved with this film and more.

Trailers: The two-and-a-half minute trailer is provided for A World Apart. There are also trailers provided for Cry Freedom, Last Of The Dogmen, Take This Job and Shove It, The Public Eye and No Mercy.

Final Thoughts

A World Apart is an impactful, old-fashioned political drama which capably captures the injustices of the world as experienced through a child’s eyes. Barbara Hershey is as dynamic as she has ever been in this lead role, but her young counterpart should be given a good amount of credit for not succumbing to the typical annoying kid actor role. The film is not exactly short, but it uses nearly every moment effectively to build a stronger emotional case for what you are experiencing. lt is a really great example of filmmaking for adults. Kino Classics has brought this film to Blu-Ray with a good A/V presentation and a couple of new special features. If you love political thrillers, give this one a spin sometime.

A World Apart is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.