I first saw Snowpiercer on Netflix purely by skimming through what was on one night, when I found out that it was finally coming out on Blu-ray I got very excited, for those that don’t know the film is from the visionary mind behind 2020 Oscar-winner Parasite, Bong Joon-Ho’s star-studded dystopian sci-fi thriller Snowpiercer is a movie that has now also been made into a TV series, but today I’m bringing you my review of the film’s much-anticipated Blu-ray release.
Set in 2031, the entire planet is frozen and the world’s only survivors live aboard the Snowpiercer: a train that’s been hurtling around the globe for the past seventeen years. Within the carriages, the remnants of the human race have formed their own divisive economic and class system.
This is all set to change when Curtis (Chris Evans) leads a group of lower-class citizens, who live in squalor at the back of the train, on a fight to the front of the Snowpiercer to share the food and wealth equally among the inhabitants. Each section of the train holds new surprises for the rebel group as they battle their way from carriage to carriage. A revolution has begun…
I remember when I first saw Snowpiercer and it had me intrigued from the start, the idea of the last remaining survivors on the train that travels the planet all with their own class and style of living from squalor to extravagance had me glued to the screen and now that the film is on Blu-ray it still has the same effect.
Snowpiercer is also the film that introduced me to Bong Joon-Ho and that’s one of the reasons that I got very excited when Parasite was released, but that’s a whole different story to tell you about.
Yes the film is all based on the train and that is one of the amazing things about Snowpiercer, it all works brilliantly as Chris Evans (Captain America) and Jamie Bell start from the “tail” and fight their way to the front through the various classes and challenges, Snowpiercer has some wonderful moments, look out for Tilda Swinton speech near the beginning of the movie, it’s both unnerving and comical at the same time as one of the survivors has his arms placed outside the train to be frozen as a punishment!
There are some great characters throughout the film, not just Evans, Swinton and Bell, but let’s not forget the brilliant John Hurt also look out for Kang-ho Song who many will recognise from The Host and of course Parasite to name but two brilliant movies.
Don’t worry Snowpiercer also has some amazing looking effects such as the world frozen as the train travels the tracks, which is all a bit unnerving considering the film is set in 2031! There are also some great action sequences to get your adrenaline pumping, look out for the rather bloodthirsty axe fight and those shock moments, all I’m saying is protein bars!!
Snowpiercer is beautifully directed by Bong Joon-Ho with cinematography and colour palettes used throughout the film that give it an amazing look from the slums of the tail with a subdued colour to the sheer power and glory of the front of the train. I have been told by a few friends that books that the film is based on “Le Transperceneige” are a superb read and I may even have to get the English version of those to check out myself.
This 2013 film has been long overdue for a Blu-ray release and thankfully we now finally have it here in the UK, Snowpiercer from acclaimed director Bong Joon-Ho (Parasite, Okja, The Host) is a brilliant dystopian thriller and anyone who loves their movies will want to grab a blu-ray that looks and sounds great the 5.1 mix works very well with the rear speakers being used at the right moments, listen out for those bullets ricocheting around them as well as the front speakers, the atmospheric music from Marco Beltrami (World War Z, A Quiet Place) is perfectly suited for the set pieces that it accompanies which brings Snowpiercer into one movie package that is a sheer joy to watch.
Blu-ray special features:
- Transperceniege: From the Blank Page to the Blank Screen
- Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton on Snowpiercer
- The Birth of Snowpiercer
- The End of the World, and the New Beginning (animated prologue)
- Characters
Snowpiercer is on Blu-ray™ and DVD now from Lionsgate UK
A dystopian-thriller that should not be missed
Movie title: Snowpiercer
Movie description: In a future where a failed climate-change experiment has killed all life except for the lucky few who boarded the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe, a new class system emerges.
Date published: May 25, 2020
Country: UK
Duration: 2h 6min
Director(s): Bong Joon-ho
Actor(s): Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton, John HUrt
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Summary
Snowpiercer deserves nothing less than full marks, this is a movie that everyone should have in their movie collection, it’s a masterpiece from Bong Joon-ho
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
