Set during the waning days of World War II, Burial tells the fictional story of a small band of Russian soldiers tasked with delivering the crated remains of Hitler back to Stalin in Russia.

En route, the unit is attacked by German “Werewolf” partisans and picked off one-by-one. An intrepid female intelligence officer leads her surviving comrades in a last stand to ensure their cargo doesn’t fall into the hands of those who would hide the truth forever.

For thoughts on Burial, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/MI3XM5V3nD0?t=2272]

Video Quality

Burial debuts on Blu-Ray with a 1080p presentation in its original aspect ratio that looks as good as any modern movie should. The movie often takes place at night or in shadow, which is helped along by deep black levels that hold together without issue. Objects retain their detail in these instances and maintain their depth with banding only showing up in a few rare instances. The transfer delivers a striking amount of detail and clarity within the environment. The movie itself has a vibrant natural palette that renders very nicely on screen, especially when in the expanses of nature. There are certain deep hues such as the orange of fire which make a big impression. No damage or digital noise was detected that would detract from this transfer. IFC Films and RLJE have given this one a well executed transfer.

Audio Quality

The film comes to Blu-Ray with an effective DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that executes the sound design perfectly. Dialogue and sound effects are balanced pretty well with the score where nothing loses clarity. The movie excels when it comes to environmental sounds that add to the sense of disorientation in certain hallucinogenic moments with a very immersive atmosphere. Surround channels create a very dynamic sense of spatial awareness with sounds emanating from all of their distinct points. The low end really comes alive near the end of the film when the bullets start flying as it adds some terrific texture to the atmosphere. This audio track is a winner all around. There are English SDH subtitles provided.

Special Features

Interviews: A series of interviews are conducted both virtually and in-person in which the cast and creative team discuss what drew them to the project, the experience of working on set, what they hope the audience gets from the film and more. There are similar answers to some of the questions, but it is nice to get some insights from a multitude of people.

- Charlotte Vega – “Brana” (5:09)

- Tom Felton – “Lukasz” (7:03)

- Barry Ward – “Tor” (4:41)

- Niall Murphy – “Dimitry” (6:11)

- Harriet Walter – “Anna” (5:32)

- Ben Parker – Writer/Director (6:24)

Final Thoughts

Burial is a mostly entertaining alt-history endeavor which does not fly as high as something like Inglourious Basterds, but offers a fun diversion. This larger-than-life tale in the waning days of World War II has some decently pulpy moments with characters that you are invested in. The performers all accomplish what they need to with a script that keeps the story moving along without too much depth. IFC Films and RLJE Entertainment have released a Blu-Ray featuring a lovely A/V presentation and a nice array of special features. You might not remember it long after you have watched it, but you won’t regret it in the moment. Recommended

Burial is currently available to purchase on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital.

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

Disclaimer: RLJE Films 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.