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Released by: Twilight Time Releasing
Released on: December 9th, 2014.
Director: Oliver Stone
Cast: Joan Chen, Tommy Lee Jones, Hiep Thi Le, Haing S. Ngor, Debbie Reynolds
Year: 1993
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The Movie:
Oliver Stone winds up his 'Vietnam Trilogy' with his third and final film about the conflict that ensued there with a film that is very different from both Platoon and Born On The Fourth Of July. This time out we see things from the Vietnamese side, when Le Ly (Hiep Thi Le) flees the destruction of her small farming village with her family, heading for the relative safety of Saigon.
When Le Ly gets older, she becomes pregnant despite the fact that she is not married and is seen as a disgrace to many members of her family. She moves in with her sister and makes a life out of renting herself out to American G.I.'s. It's through one of these encounters that she meets Major Steve Butler (Tommy Lee Jones). She soon falls in love with him and he declares his feelings to be mutual. Butler, encourages her to return to America with him once his tour of duty is complete.
The pair of young lovebirds soon returns to the U.S.A. and Le Ly quickly becomes disenfranchised with the American way of life. Despite the fact that she has a better standard of living in her new country, these material possessions are unable to make her happy and she begins to long for her homeland, war torn or not.
Heaven & Earth is, as the title infers, basically two different films about two different places. In the end it's up to the viewer to decide which one of the two countries is heaven and which one of the two countries is Earth. We see how the ravages of war affect the Vietnamese people for the first half of the film and we also see how their way of life is affected by the conflict. Stone contrasts this by then moving the film to American soil, where a different kind of sadness and waste is shown. Both of these stories are portrayed through Le Ly's eyes, which bridges the two very different sections of the film and then brings them together towards the finish. These two stories combine to make a moving and fascinating contrast that, although at times difficult to watch, makes Heaven & Earth a moving drama that is ultimately about the human spirit and the beatings it can withstand, and how war never truly ends, even after the last shot is fired.
Tommy Lee Jones and Hiep Thi Le do admirable work in the lead roles, portraying great emotional depth through their characters. This is aided by some very well written and believable dialogue. Though Stone's politics, as always, shine through in this film they're never as overpowering as in some of his other films and although Heaven And Earth is a noticeably quieter entry in his catalogue, it's also one of his best.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Heaven And Earth arrives on Blu-ray from Twilight Time in its original 2.35.1 widescreen aspect ratio in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. Detail is nicely improved over the previous DVD release from Warner Brothers as is color reproduction. There's considerably more depth and texture evident in pretty much every frame of this presentation and the movie looks strikingly good in HD. No problems with noise reduction, edge enhancement or haloing and the picture remains crisp, clean and clear throughout playback.
The English language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track is a good one. This track has good range and properly balanced levels through. No issues with any hiss or distortion to note and the dialogue and effects come through with nice depth and clarity, as does the score. Optional closed captioning is provided in English.
Audio Commentary with Director Oliver Stone and as seems to be the norm with his commentary tracks, it's a winner. Stone served in Vietnam himself and he shares a lot about his experiences there and relates them to much of what we see play out in the picture. He also goes into quite a bit of detail about the location shootings, the casting and subsequent performances from the talented actors he employed in the picture and a fair bit more.
Also seen here are a selection of Deleted Scenes available with or without commentary from Stone explaining some context for the material and why it was removed from the final cut of the movie. Rounding out the extras is an alternate opening with a score from composer Kitarí´, the film's original theatrical trailer, menus and chapter selection. The insert booklet containing liner notes from Julie Kirgo offer insight as to what makes this movie unique in Stone's filmography and provide some interesting background information and spot on critical analysis of the picture.
The Final Word:
Heaven And Earth is moving, powerful stuff. The performances are excellent across the board and while Stone's direction may occasionally get a little heavy handed, you can't fault his technique. It's a smart, thought provoking picture and it's been given a really nice high definition upgrade on this Blu-ray from Twilight Time.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
