T-34 - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

T-34



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
When people think of tank warfare during World War II the brain is immediately transported to Rommel and the desert warfare where the various German vs. U.S. tanks duked it out for years. However, looking back through history and films like Enemy at the Gate and various other eastern bloc war films you have to remember that there were other battlefronts with tanks in them. One of the most notable was the conflict between German and it’s colder enemy, the Russians (so much colder that the Axis powers froze their tushy’s off and never were successful in invading the Ruskie homeland very much). T-34 is a Russian based film that, while a bit jingoist, takes an exciting look at some of the OTHER allies we had fighting with their iron behemoths during the 2nd world war.

We’re introduced to the film’s Russian hero, Nikolay Ivushkin (Alexander Petrov) who is struggling to escape a German POW camp where he and several other Russian prisoners are tasked with repairing a T-34 tank. A tank that Nikolay and his crew had successfully used to wage war against the Germans in a stunning opening battle sequence, wherein he is caught and stuffed into said German concentration camp. There the local commander wants to make use of the captured Russians and a dilapidated T-34 tank by having them be a living target for his own tankers. Having Nikolay and his fellow Russians repair the tank, he plans to use them for war games to hone his Tank soldier’s fighting skills in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

As the prisoners slowly try to build up the tank and get out of Dodge, they discover a few live shells hidden in the bowels of the tank and a plan of escape soon begins to form. As they get closer and closer to the goal of Nazi commander Klaus Jager (Vinzenz Kiefer), the crew secretly prepares for the final escape of the movie, which includes a full on battle between the escaping prisoners and the stream of Nazi tanks that are used to hunt them down and destroy the Russian prisoners of war.

T-34 is a LOOOONG war movie, and as you can guess by the description is a bit more in depth than just an action movie. There’s a lot of character development between the opening and closing tank battles (as well as a few battles in the center that drive the film forward), and some of these are a bit hit or miss. The film was one of several Russian films in the last few years to be pushed by the Russian Ministry of Culture, and has been proudly blasted all over Russian TV for the last few months. As such it kind of has many ties to the Chinese mainland war films of late, and have this jingoistic and overly patriotic tone to it (I’m not one to bash patriotism, as we in the USA have our own patriotic war films, but as an outsider these foreign films pushed by government agencies can have elements of propaganda in them. At least to my eyes).

The driving force of the movie is really testosterone fueled action, and while there ARE some dramatic moments to the film that deal more with character development, there is a LOT of action. The entire last chunk of the movie is an adrenaline fueled escape from the prisoner of war camp that has some incredibly well done tank battles that are well beyond anything seen in recent history. Tank battles usually were done in film time period that didn’t really allow some of the modern uses of technology to enhance the battles, and were a bit “clunky” if you know what I mean. T-34 shows off some fancy tank maneuvers that really create a tense and vicious war movie and despite some jingoistic elements in the movie, T-34 is a big and bold action movie that is different than most of Well Go USA’s lineup.




Rating:

Not Rated By the MPAA




Video:

All the information that I could glean about the shooting conditions of T-34 was that it was shot using Arri Alexa digital cameras and finished at a (probably) 2K master for the home video release. The CGI can be a bit soft and dodgy at times (which again leads me to the 2K master conclusion), but otherwise this is a very striking presentation that is more than admirable for a vast majority of the time. The color grading leans toward ash blue/grays with sometimes orange/yellow overtones (for many indoor shots). The whites of the snowy landscape are quite stunning and visual clarity is near perfect. Visual details are well defined and crisp, with sharp primaries standing out against the ash gray/blue tones of the film, and even the warmer yellow/orange interior shots showcasing plenty of intimate details. Black levels are strong and while the CGI is a bit noticeable at times (foreign films rarely have the budget that Hollywood productions have), the image is very VERY impressive.









Audio:

T-34 enjoys a powerful and robust action track that really “rumbles” when necessary in both English and Russian 5.1 DTS-HD MA (one of my other reviewer contacts pointed out that there is a Dolby Atmos symbol played during the credits, but Well go USA seems to not have included an Atmos mix for this home video release). Dialog is always well placed and precise, and the heavy thundering of tank tread shakes the walls with impressive bass throughout the action packed film. Surrounds are filled with the roar of tanks, the crash of impacting shells and even just the mild ambiance of the German prisoner of war camp that Nikolay escapes form. Both English and Russian tracks are near identical and even the English Dub is impressive enough for me to say “eh, it’s a tossup” when you choose which one to play for the film’s run time.







Extras:

• Original theatrical trailer

Final Score: ​

T-34 is a different sort of war movie than we’re usually used to. It takes place on the Russian side of the Nazi conflict, and while it pushes the realm of disbelief at times, is a fun action movie that has some really nifty tank battles. I’ve been a huge fan of tanks and tank warfare ever since I was a child, but most of my experience with the behemoths has been researching the desert conflicts with Rommel and the US Sherman tanks that seeing the nimble Russian T-34 tank battles was absolutely fascinating. The CGI in the film can be a bit dodgy at times, but this is a great looking and sounding film by Well Go USA, and worth checking out if you’re into tanks and tank war films at all. Recommended for a decent Watch.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Alexander Petrov, Irinia Starshenbaum, Vicktor Dobronavov, Yuriy Borisov, Anton Bogdanov, Artur Sopelnik
Directed by: Aleskey Sidorov
Written by: Aleskey Sidorov
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Russian DTS-HD MA 5.1, Russian, English DD 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 139 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: June 11th, 2019

Recommendation: Decent Watch