Raya (Maria Belkin) and Victor (Vladimir Friedman) built a shared career as the Soviet Union’s most beloved film dubbers, translating the work of Federico Fellini and Stanley Kubrick into Russian over the decades. Upon the collapse of the USSR in 1990, the Jewish couple must immigrate to Israel and reinvent themselves to find employment. As they strive to acclimate to their adopted home, opportunities for first-rate vocal performances are few and far between. GOLDEN VOICES is a charming comedy about disrupting old dynamics, starting anew, and rediscovering yourself in the most unexpected places.
For thoughts on Golden Voices, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic here.
Video Quality
Golden Voices comes to DVD with a 480p transfer that is quite solid for the format. This DVD offers up an impressive amount of detail from the production design to clothing. Compression artifacts are present without being overwhelming. Black levels are quite strong with only a minimal amount of blocking. Colors are nice and fairly vibrant, especially in the bright daytime scenes that serve as the primary setting for the film. The cinematography of the film skews a bit on the darker side, but there are some moments where bright colors are allowed to pop off the screen. Skin tones look natural, and there are some decent facial details present, especially in the myriad of close ups. This presentation is just about as good as a DVD can look. While a Blu-Ray release would have been nice, this movie is worth checking out on any format.
Audio Quality
The DVD comes with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio track in the original Russian which sounds pretty great. The film is mostly dialogue driven, but the intriguing music in the film gives the track some life. Dialogue is mixed well and comes through crystal clear without ever being stepped on by the score or any sound effects. The music provides an effective mood throughout the movie that fills the surround speakers. Directionality is rendered accurately so that sounds originate from all the natural spots. Environmental sounds such as background chatter or various city sounds add a dynamic touch to the proceedings. Although there is not constant activity in the track, it presents the movie exactly as it was intended and that is really all you can ask. The disc also includes optional English SDH subtitles.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Writer/director Evgeny Ruman and writer/DP Ziv Berkovich deliver an informative commentary track in which they discuss the personal nature of the story, their relationship with some of the key figures in the film from a young age, the thought that went into the costume and production design, finding the right performers for the lead roles, challengers of the production and more.
- Deleted Scenes: Twelve minutes of unused material are provided here including a hilarious scene of a malfunctioning suitcase, scenes inside and outside of the movie theater and more.
- Poster Gallery: A gallery of 14 posters is provided here.
- Theatrical Trailer: The two-and-a-half minute trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Golden Voices is a funny and heartfelt tale of finding your place in the world once life throws you a curveball. The performance from the two leads are incredibly nuanced and natural in a way that makes you completely buy into their shared history. The story is one that transcends language barriers and speaks to something universal. Music Box Films has released a DVD featuring a pretty great A/V presentation for the format along with a couple entertaining special features. If you are looking for a smart and funny film away from the American point of view, give this one a try. Recommended
Golden Voices is currently available to purchase on DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the DVD.
Disclaimer: Music Box 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.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
