Film

The finale to this trilogy does not add many new elements. Rather, this is a thorough wrap-up of all the character threads and plot lines previously laid out in the series. The story telling style comes full circle as Blomkvist returns to being the central hero he was in the first film, with Salander mostly forced to the peripheries of the main adventure, thanks to her hospitalization then incarceration during the majority of the film, but retains plenty of opportunities for action in due time.

This flipping of central roles in the action means also means a return to the slower pace of the first film. Of course, this film is not devoid of chases or action, it simply means it is more methodical in the handling of its characters. This film is for those who are invested in these rich characters and our interests lie in what happens to them, not in the intense moments they can offer.

Also like the first film is heavier significance is placed on the press, more specifically on Blomkvist’s “Millennium” magazine which published the articles that gained himself the legal trouble that brought Salander into his world. Blomkvist wishes to tell the truth about Salander, but this time it is not legal issues he might face as a consequence, but his life and the lives of his magazine coworkers could be at stake. The burden of the truth might mean sacrifices would have to be made for the greater good…for evil to be truly punished in the end. Blomkvist does not wish others to be harmed so like a true hero, places himself on the front lines to receive the brunt of the retaliations.

The performances by the actors have been solid throughout the series but once again, Noomi Rapace steals every scene she is in with her riveting embodiment of Salander. There are touches of Linda Hamilton’s incarceration scenes in Terminator 2, mixed into her persona, along with her deceptively fragile looking mien that hides a very intense person who is willing to push herself well beyond her limits to survive.

Video

Widescreen 1.78:1. Like the Girl who Played with Fire, the picture is not as crisp as one might hope for in a Blu Ray. The shades look decent enough, and there is an orange hue that masks many flaws during brighter exterior scenes, but there are still many moments where a haze is visible.

Audio

5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is in English along with two 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks (one English the other Swedish). All of the tracks have a great delivery in all speakers. The English dubbing is not distracting while the original Swedish dialogue is perfectly mixed with the score and sound f/x.

Special Features

Trailer: Self-explanatory.

Interview with Actress Noomi Rapace: A twenty minute interview on the set while Rapace gets prepared in makeup. It is a long interview but not laborious if one wishes to delve a little bit deeper into Rapace’s method for training and preparing to perform as Salander. Very nice for fans.

Interview with Michael Nyqvist: The man who played Blomkvist touches on how he beat out several other leading men for this role. Not quite as interesting or humble as Rapace’s interview, but at least it is not some fluffy red carpet assembly of sound bites.

DVD copy of the Film

Final Thoughts

With this third film you see the trilogy as one whole. There are journeys within each film but the most important pieces are the character’s arcs that stretch the length of all three films. They seamlessly fit together and make for a thrilling adventure through each hour that passes. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is a fine film on its own, but more importantly this has been a wonderful series for fans of mysteries and thrillers.

Film

Mikael Blomkvist is facing jail time for slander and manages to be hired for one last job. With the aid of a terribly troubled computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander, Blomkvist attempts to solve the disappearance of a woman from over decades before. While investigating, Salander’s troubles with her current legal guardian escalate to very dangerous levels along with the dangers of discovering a serial killer secret linked to the cold case they are working.

This film is a rare case where a film adaptation lives up to much of the hype surrounding the immensely successful and popular series of books by the late Stieg Larsson. As a stand-alone film, this is a powerful story. As an adaptation, it has taken cherished characters (especially that of Salander) and given them another life in this new medium while sacrificing little in the transfer.

Running at over 2 and a half hours long, one could certainly argue that almost too many efforts where made to be faithful to the source material, in that there are too many details wedged in that may add some context to the character’s motivations, it does not make for a thrilling pace. Considering this along with the capabilities of our two lead actors, there is a very clear tipping of the scale in favour of Noomi Rapace as Salander for both her performance and her character’s story is all the more engrossing, making Blomkvist’s subplots and/or contributions to the main plot feel like they are bogging down the film’s pace.

If the long length does not turn people away, perhaps the horrific brutality within Salander’s story will. I am not criticizing its inclusion, for I admire how it did not shy away from the most crucial points in her character’s arc, but simply warning those that may not wish to subject themselves that has a stronger impact than anything presented by the Gore-porn genre such as Hostel and its ilk, yet has nowhere the same degree of visual explicitness.

Video

Widescreen 2.35:1. The black shades in this film are perfectly crisp, which is often essential for the mien, costuming and settings of this film. As a contrast, exterior shots in nature are vibrantly bright and beautiful. Though things run more frequently on the dark side, there is a wide breadth of fine visual examples in this film. A great job has been done by the production team and those making the blu-ray and DVD.

Audio

5.1 Dolby Digital and 2.0 Stereo are available in both English and Swedish. Not surprising, the Swedish track is mixed very well, and ranks as superior to the English dubbing. Honestly though, the English track is not as distracting as I thought it might be. The performances are good and they did not slouch in the mixing. The sound effects are quite immersible both tracks when they need to be and all in all great care went into balancing score, effects and dialogue.

Subtitles available in English

Special Features

(on Blu Ray only)

Interview with actress Noomi Rapace: This is a very fine interview. Rapace explains her joy of the books pre-auditioning, her challenges portraying such a well known character as well as the traumatizing events she faces.

Interview with Producer Soren Staermose: This interview mostly focuses on Staermose’s obligation to honour the books while searching out all of, what he felt were, the appropriate pieces needed to assemble this film.

UK Theatrical Trailer

Sneak Peak of The Girl Who Played with Fire: Self-explanatory.

The Girl Who Played with Fire trailer

Photo Gallery: Presented as a slide show with music.

The Vanger Family Tree: Literally, a still picture of their family tree. A visual testament to how intricate and detailed Larsson’s mystery plot was. It is like catching a glimpse at a key element Blomvist and Salander needed to solve in order to learn the truth behind he disappearance.

Did you know? A series of written out facts surrounding the composition and success of Larsson’s books, all posthumously.

DVD copy of the film. Presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital English and Swedish.

Final Thoughts

Both the filmmakers and those created this Blu Ray/DVD combo packaged were dedicated. There is ample service to the fans here, that will be equally enjoyed by those getting their first impressions by this film. A story that is not for the faint of heart, but rewarding for those aching for a solid thriller.

Concert  

If you are a fan of Sheryl Crow, you will love this release. The band that she has performing with her on this tour is superb and really drives the music and worth the price of admission. However, as much as she tries, Sheryl Crow’s voice is just not strong enough to get out in front of the music and drive it forward. Nor is her stage presence all that strong. I found her to be just too laid back, despite the excellent work of the band, which is the real star of this performance.

The concert was filmed in November 2010 at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles. While I have never been there, it sure looks like a real gem of a theater and a real art deco treasure dating back to 1930. Next time I am in LA, I will have to check it out. The Blu-ray release features 18 total tracks in order of appearance: Our Love is Fading, A Change Would Do You Good, 100 MIles From Memphis, Can’t Cry Anymore, Strong Enough, Summer Day, My Favorite Mistake, Redemption Day, Long Road Home, Every Day Is A Winding Road, Sideways, Roses And Moonlight, If It Makes You Happy, Soak Up The Sun, Peaceful Feeling, All I Wanna Do/Got To Give It Up, I Want You Back and I Shall Believe. The set is heavy on an R & B flavor that I had not associated with her music before and which I found to be really infectious, especially given how well the material was performed by this nine piece band.

If you are a fan, you will really enjoy this release. I know that I did,even with my misgivings noted above as well as below.

Video  

The video on this release is superb and some of the best I have yet seen on a Blu-ray concert release. The image is at all times razor sharp and loaded with fine details, from skin textures, the tassels on Sheryl Crow’s shirt, to the smudges on the face of the guitars, it is all visible on this release. I have seen other releases that are just as sharp at times as this release is, but with camera shots that can get a bit soft at times, especially crowd shots and distant shots. Not here. The image throughout the entire release is razor sharp. Colors are very natural looking as well and nicely saturated. All in all, this is a great looking release and one that should be a thrill for her fans.

Audio  

With one misgiving, I found the audio on this release to be superb. The audio was well mixed with deep bass and pin point imaging. Instrument placement across the front soundstage was superb. Imaging and transparency were both excellent with the result being a sound field of excellent depth, both from front to back and side to side. Overall fidelity was very good as well. The surrounds were used often and aggressively to create a nice immersive sound field, placing you in the Pantages Theater during the concert, although I did feel that a bit too much of the music was bleeding its way into the surrounds for my taste.

The main issue I had with the release and the reason I had to knock the overall score down a peg, was the mixing of Sheryl Crow’s vocal, which was too buried in the mix for my taste, so much so that it was almost lost in the mix at times. I know that this is not the result of the recording as the vocal in the two channel LCPM track included with the release had a much more pronounced vocal smack dab in the center of the mix and more out in front of the music. But for a better job mixing the center channel, the audio on this release, at least the 5.1 mix, would have garnered a higher score. While I greatly preferred the DTS HD Master Audio track, I also switched to the 2 channel mix, which I found to be a bit too bright and lacking the soundstaging, dynamics and bass response of the lossless multichannel mix, which is the real winner here and how this concert recording should be experienced in my opinion.

Special Features 

The only extra included with this release is a behind the scenes look at the filming of the concert and features rehearsal versions of two songs, Eye To Eye and Stop which were not included in the concert tracks. The behind the scenes featurette is presented in high definition.

Final Thoughts  

While not a huge fan of Sheryl Crow, I nonetheless enjoyed this concert release due in large measure to her wonderful supporting cast and feel that fans will be more than pleased with this release. Recommended for fans only.

Film

Disc 1:

Sexual Healing: The sudden attention paid to “Sexual Addiction” in celebrities, thanks to the Tiger Woods controversy is played with as a joke of a joke. The mock-surprise and confusion of the characters is very amusing as they try to solve the non-mystery of why a man who is rich, healthy and young want to sleep with many beautiful women.

The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs: The boys are disappointed by former banned book Catcher in the Rye’s lack of raunchiness and so they decide to write the grossest story imaginable in an attempt to get banned, and inadvertently write a masterpiece.

Medical Fried Chicken: One of the most over-the-top episodes this season (and that says a lot) as KFC is banned in Colorado while medicinal marijuana stores start to appear. Since marijuana can only be legally distributed to people suffering from a serious illness, a group of men in town purposefully give themselves testicular cancer. Not only does this allow them to buy marijuana but their swollen testicles inflate to the size of chairs and can be used as ‘hippity-hop’ style transportation. Offensive and hilarious, a combo South Park has truly mastered.

You Have 0 Friends: The long overdue jab at Facebook. “Friends” are treated as a commodity until Facebook goes rogue and Stan must do battle in a Tron-like setting. This one has some wonderful inside jokes for those frustrated with the Facebook phenomenon.

200 & 201: A celebration of South Park making the 200 episode mark by having nothing but two episode-long string of self-referential jokes that build to a class-action lawsuit made by all the celebrities they have ever made fun of. These episodes had to be edited and/or pulled because of the reemergence of the Muhammad controversy (said controversy refers to whether they can air an image of the Muslim prophet).

For those more concerned about the South Park references, this two-part special finally answers the long-standing question of who Eric Cartman’s father really is (which was the question of their first season cliffhanger).

Crippled Summer: Part parody of the reality show Intervention, this time with Towelie as the subject, part parody of Warner Bros cartoon charters, here depicted as handicapped children attending summer camp. Not the strongest episode of the season but plenty of absurd laughs are to be had.

Disc 2

Poor and Stupid: Cartman fears he is not poor nor stupid enough to ever become a NASCAR driver. This episode is one long jab at NASCAR fan culture…another subject that was long overdue for a good South Park ribbing. Cartman and Butters southern banter while competing on the track had me laughing out loud.

It’s a Jersey Thing: Like the Season Seven episode “South Park is Gay!” that went after the rise of Gay-themed television shows, here they go after New Jersey themed programs like Jersey Shore and Jerseylicious. Jersey people’s popularity is a plague covering all of the US and South Park takes a militant stand against it. All the while, Kyle discovers that he was conceived in new Jersey making him another of the “Three Js” that Cartman is most prejudiced against:“Jew, Jersey, Ginger.” South Park is in fine satirical form with this episode, demonstrating their disdain through pitch-perfect parodies of their subjects.

Insheeption: This episode was based on a College Humour sketch about Inception than the film itself (a fact the creators apologize for in their audio commentary). The realm of dreams is entered to search out why Stan and Mr. Mackey are compulsive hoarders (making this a backhanded parody of Hoarding reality programs as well). No matter how many of the jokes were borrowed, this is a very amusing episode.

Coon Trilogy: Cartman’s alter ego returns. Lovecraft’s Cthulu appears as the Coon’s side-kick while the secret behind Mysterion’s identity as well as an explanation for Kenny’s constant resurrections are explained. A massive three-part saga that nearly reaches the scale of their previous Imaginationland adventure. The Coon was not the strongest concept in the previous season, but it makes for an acceptable story arc here.

Crème Fraiche: The season finale is a take on cooking shows and that strange shake-weight exercise gizmo. Like many of the recent episode’s Randy Marsh is the leader in all the hijinx (he is almost usurping the four boys as a lead character at this point). This episode might be responsible of creating the slang term “Old Fashioned” for a sexual act I won’t describe here…I’m sure it will be noticeable on the internet in no time.

Video

The original Fullscreen has been modified to appear natural in a 16:9 Widescreen TV presentation. The HD presentation is absolutely flawless. The animation may still root itself in looking cheaper than most (although their animation team is now capable of creating complex 3D characters to go along with the construction paper look of the originals) but each line and colour is as precise as it can possibly be.

Audio

Dolby TrueHD English 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, and English Stereo are the three options available. No matter what you choose, the sound is lush and very well mixed. The grossest of sound effects are blended right into the sophisticated scores of their more epic moments.

Subtitles available in English.

Special Features

Mini-Commentaries (both discs): As with every season previous, show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone take four minutes from the beginning of each episode to speak about it. In many ways, I wish they had the time and patience to cover the entire episode as there are many smaller references and jokes within each episode that I’m sure they can dwell on. More often then not they make reference to the fact that they’re speaking and seem to be eating up time more than anything. That said, they still have interesting tidbits to share, mostly about their inspiration and motivation behind each episode’s story. These guys have a natural sense of composition, a tremendous self-awareness, and are shameless with both their praise and criticisms of others.

Disc 1

Deletes: A few scenes cut for time constraints it would seem. None are all that hilarious on their own but all could fit seamlessly back into their respective episodes. As well, each seems to be at different stages of completion for some are merely storyboards with dialogue over-top and others have the finished HD polish on them.

Disc 2:

The Coon: The debut of the superhero alter-egos of South Park’s kids, originally appearing on the Season 13 release. As an added bonus, the mini-commentary is also included in its re-release here.

Final Thoughts

When it seemed like this show was getting a bit too far into being nothing but parodies (or butchering) of pop culture references, Season 14 showed some actual character development, adding some more depth and history to these cartoon people we’ve come to know for well-over a decade now. This is certainly not their greatest season, but it is impossible to ever state that the show has lost its touch. South Park shows no real signs of losing steam as long as it can keep churning out an episode (from idea to post-production) in a weeks time, while never losing its edge or its wonderful attraction to satire.

Film

Jimmy Fallon took a break from smirking his way through SNL sketches to play an overeager cop who has zero skills behind the wheel of a car. Several expensive props destroyed later, he literally runs into a cab operated by an aspiring Nascar racer, played by a nauseatingly sassy Queen Latifah. The two become hap-hazard partners in a scheme to stop a band of (sigh) Brazilian models who have decided to rob banks.

The films kicks off with an immediate overdose of trying-to-be-cool scenarios, such as Queen Latifah performing completely improbable stunts on a messenger bike through the streets of New York. This is followed by her car transforming like the Gadget Mobile so she can place lives in danger on the road and shatter any and all traffic safety laws, all for the sake of lookin’ cool. Throughout the film, this “cool” attitude remains and makes for a complete disconnection with not only the audience, but with the city of New York. This film acts like it has an intimate understanding and love of NYC but does nothing to serve that feeling by having caricature heroes chasing cartoonishly absurd villains.

Yes, Gisele and the other models as the bank robbers, how could I get through this review without addressing their talents? Gisele’s acting skills are confined to her making the odd kissy face. Beyond that, she has to rip off her clothes and/or molest another woman in order to grab your attention and remind you that she is more than just a gun-toting mannequin in this film.

Taxi is simply a gigantic waste of stunt people and a sizable budget. All the gags fall flat (I mean, they even rip off a laughing gas gag from Lethal Weapon 4…the fourth Lethal Weapon sequel for crying out loud! And even then LW4 stole it from several others, up to and including the Simpsons), and the cast is devoid of charm.

Video

Widescreen 2.35:1. There are a lot of cars in this film, and they all looked freshly washed under the HD treatment. As good as the HD is for this release, it causes some problems as some dated CG and green screen graphics become more apparent when placed amongst ultra-clean footage of real people and places. A hazard of clarity.

AVC runs at an acceptable 22 MBPS.

Audio

This disc is absolutely loaded with audio options. Dolby Digital 5.1 in English, French (both Quebec and Parisian), Spanish (Stereo only, Castellano is 5.1)), German, Italian, Czech and Turkish. Subtitles are also offered for the same languages just mentioned, plus additional texts for Korea, Netherlands and possibly others, I was losing track of them all after a while. Also included are dubbed director commentary tracks in Spanish, French and German. Never mind the huge budget depressing me, now I’m imaging how many countries are being distributed this schlock.

My subjective criticisms of the film’s quality aside, this is a well treated soundtrack. The music is booming when it wants to be obvious and the dialogue is clear enough so that not a single failed joke is missed (sorry, obviously I cannot just let it go).

Special Features

Director Commentary: Tim Story uses the word “fun” to describe his reasoning (or his excuse) for everything, be it the irrational stunts, the casting of models whose acting talents resemble Oak, the overblown set pieces and all the other junk that he tries to justify. On top of this, he his bland speaking voice has no presence. I cannot fathom him having any sort of authority on a major movie set. I am baffled.

The Meter’s Runnin’ Making Of Featurette: This mostly consists of Jimmy Fallon mugging for the camera. Another waste of time.

Lights, Camera, Blue Screen: A remedial explanation of how Blue Screen effects work that would be better left as a feature on a Star Wars DVD, or at least hosted by someone with more than one facial expression.

Tour Guide: Jimmy Fallon: Fallon’s mugging of the camera obviously worked as he leads a boring tour through the studio set. If you watch it in fast forward, it hurts less.

Comedy Central’s Reel Comedy: Taxi: Two of the stars of Reno 911 do a profile/sketch about the film in what is the ONLY funny thing on this disc. These two know how to improvise and manage to spark a little something from Latifah too. But even this gets old fast when you realize what film they are talking about.

Beautiful Criminals: A musical montage compiling nothing but footage of the models. As boring as it is, it could easily replace the film in my books…and I don’t mean that in a misogynist, hound dog sort of way…I just think it has a better plot.

Deleted Scenes: I could not sit through this even though it lasts less than 5 minutes (I think). Each is worse than anything left in the film…and that is a VERY harsh insult.

Final Thoughts

There must be some sort of irony in how the main character is trying so desperately to win back his credibility on the police force while Jimmy Fallon explodes any remaining credibility he had while portraying him. Bleh. Steer clear of this one (see that embarassing pun I just made? THAT was wittering than anything this film provided).

Film 

Inspired by his loving father, played by Ray Liotta who might have been cast purely to help the audience parallel this film with character arcs in Goodfellas, George dedicates his life to never being poor. Such inspiration leads him to California and into the lap of a drug-dealing opportunity. Not wanting to take any chances, as far as his finances are concerned, he wants to shoot for something bigger than just collecting dollars from the free spirits roaming the beach. He first starts up by smuggling dope to the East by way of his flight attendant girlfriend, and eventually escalates it to flying product from Mexico to the US himself. This drug trafficking evolves from marijuana to cocaine, and the dollars he rakes in convert from thousands to millions at the same time.

George truly is meant to be an anti-hero. We cannot fully sympathize with him when he faces the legal ramifications of his actions, and yet we develop a liking for him. Perhaps Johnny Depp’s charismatic performance was doing us a disservice in this sense, but the film does do a lot to paint George in a certain light. In some ways, he wanted to “do right” for his daughter, but that can also just be seen as an Act Three revelation for him, in terms of cinematic character composition. By the time he is day-dreaming about his daughter, and the final frame dedicated to a real-life shot of George in jail, we are almost forgetting the hedonistic (if not selfish) heights he took his life. He was a drug-dealer who was responsible for corrupting many lives, either through direct contact or by way of the products he smuggled into the US from Colombia, which in turn supported the blood-thirsty Pablo Escobar. If nothing else, this film demonstrates how charm can gloss over many a things but we must be disciplined to remember that a crime is a crime, no matter whose smile is in front of it (but try and tell that to the thousands of kids who have Scarface posters hanging on their walls).

Demme’s composition of this film seems to be a love letter to his favourite films and filmmakers of the late 70s and 80s. Some references are clearer than others, such as borrowing a quote from Jaws, while others are artfully hidden in the staging of some shots (many an ode to Coppola in that vein), or how the camera doesn’t so much film its subject, but pursues them the way that Scorsese’s might (think of the longer shots, without cuts, in Goodfellas, for a prime example of what I mean).

The musical score is a bid obvious and overbearing at times, especially when silence would have sufficed for a scene. A perfect example is how the tension of when George confronts his former partner at his Colombian mansion was plenty to hook us into the moment, but the score rises to an almost distracting level. Demme had such a stellar cast in both the leading and supporting roles that he really should have trusted them to carry a scene when the score seems to be trying to unnecessarily pick up the slack.

Overall, this film remains fascinating throughout. Sometimes things arise so casually that you find yourself forgetting just how immense the character’s actions are, never mind their repercussions. A heavy hitting combo of an engrossing story, well told by a director with a clear vision and a cast loaded with amazing talents.

Video

Widescreen 2.35:1. Not the crispest picture I’ve seen on Blu Ray, but the fuzziness can only be scene if standing very close to a large screen. So this film may not be used as an HD demo any day soon, but its pros certainly outweigh its cons. Said pros include a very vibrant look to the more colourful portions, most notably during the party scenes and anything depicting sunny locations in the 60s or 70s.

1080p HD is doing a rather good job, whether its as crisp as a Pixar release or not.

Audio 

The options include 5.1 Dolby Digital and 5.1 Dolby True HD in English, as well as 5.1 Dolby Digital in French. Each track option is very well mixed. The score is ever-present without overpowering the dialogue. Depp’s narration comes through clear, as he never succumbs to the natural droning in his voice.

Subtitles available in English and French.

(DVD copy also offers Dolby 2.0 in French)

Special Features 

Focus Points: An interactive option where clips featuring interviews and facts about the real history behind the film can be summoned when an icon appears on the screen during the film. Essentially, most of these clips are taken from other featurettes available on the disc and are compiled as a sample platter of relevant facts injected into our viewing experience so that we, the audience, can get a greater sense of the time it takes place and the social ramifications in the characters’ actions.

Behind the Story

• Commentary by Director Ted Demme and George Jung: These two do not interact with each other as their comments were recorded separately, but still share time as Demme offers insights and opinions on the making of the film and those that helped him make it, and Jung offers us his own tidbits about the actual time he spent while its being recreated on the screen and/or his more in depth feelings about the characters being portrayed. Each make for an engrossing listen and a real treat for those that appreciate this film’s story.

• George Jung Interview: Demme speaks with Jung, who remains incarcerated, on a wide array of reflections and opinions about the film and the parts of his personal history it resurrects. Despite age and a naturally subdued demeanor created by the impact of a prison life, Jung’s natural charm still leaks through in his responses.

• Lost in Paradise: Cocaine’s impact on Colombia: A fascinating documentary in and of itself. Pablo Escobar, the drug lord, is a crucial part of Blow, and here his effects on Colombia and the escalation of the crippling violence within it, are detailed through graphic footage of real people being attacked and kill, as well as interviews with former guerrilla rebels, citizens, journalists and many others who have witnessed first hand the horrors their country face.

• Addiction: Body & Soul: A look into the effects cocaine has on a person, as well some possible psychological and scientific explanations as to why a person may become addicted to a substance, which is ultimately tied to the story of George Jung over the course of many interviews with those recovering from addiction or studying it.

• Fast Track: An optional track that displays relevant facts and information as the film plays. A welcome addition to the abundance we already can have while watching the film (bringing the count of optional tracks to 3, all playable at once).

Music Video

Push and Pull by Nico Costa : A decent little tune. Purely an extra as it has no direct line of connection to the film’s narrative. Still appreciated.

Online

An advertisement for the film company’s official site, offering more information on the film, but presumably not as interesting information as what already appears on the disc itself.

Extras

• Production Diary: A large handful of handy-cam recordings from the 63 day long production. A cute, candid view of the production. A camera behind the camera diary that is a lot less tedious than other behind-the-scenes featurettes I’ve seen in my time. The final day antics are particularly amusing. Demme is a positive force on the set, which is great for a director, and it reflects in the cast and crew surrounding him. Something very joyful that instantly becomes tragic when you discover how this was Demme’s final film, since we lost him to a (possibly) cocaine induced heart attack.

• Trailers: 2 trailers, one full theatrical, the other a teaser…that’s all you need to understand.

Additional Scenes:

• Deleted Scenes: 10 in total. Demme mentioned in his interview with Jung that the rough cut of the film was 45 minutes longer than the final cut, so I knew I was in for a large haul when it came to deleted material. Some very interesting material all around that were obviously shaved for the sake of time and flow. The quality in presentation is equal to the main feature, showing just how much they meant to the director, and how easily they could re-enter in some cut down the road, perhaps.

• Director Commentary Track: Since the feature film had 3 optional tracks (granted, only one was commentary) it is only fair that the deleted scenes get their own track. Demme offers some very nice insights into what these scenes meant to him and the film. Included in this batch is a jail house scene that Demme notes as his favourite while also reiterating some words of wisdom he received “You’ll know you’re a good filmmaker when you are able to cut your favourite scene,” meaning you can see what is best for the film as a whole, and not just each scene by themselves.

• Character Outtakes: A series of interviews with the actors, completely in character, as they speak about their relationship with George Jung. A nice exercise in demonstrating how professional actors absorb their characters.

DVD copy of the film: A nice copy of the film. Blu-ray does an obviously better job bringing out the great colour palette this film has, but the DVD is no slouch. Always a welcome contribution to any Blu Ray release.

Final Thoughts 

With both DVD and Blu-ray in the package, along with all the special features one could dream of for this feature, this currently reigns as the definitive edition of Blow to have in your collection. The film alone makes for a great ride, and these extras on this edition make it essential for any major film collector.

Before I begin (no pun intended), I need a quick moment to reflect upon a disclaimer I need to make. If it were not for on-screen onslaught of The Dark Knight, I don’t think I would have given Batman Begins the much needed respect and appreciation it deserves. I think I need to be brutally honest here for a moment. Batman Begins is an origin story so if you have not seen it, do not go in with the expectations that it is going to be one of the greatest high-adrenaline action movies you have ever seen because you will be greatly disappointed. Instead, you need to appreciate the movie for what it really is. What is that, you might ask? It is a slick vehicle to introduce to the world who the Batman really is.

Batman is not just a man in a masked costume going around fighting loud and ludicrous villains. Batman is a human being just like any of us and suffers from some of the same fears and desperations that plague the lives of all ordinary people. When you strip the Batman character down to bare bones you realize that he is simply a man driven by a fear that severely haunts him and his only way of escaping that binding fear, to fight crime and injustice, is by sharing it with his enemies. How does one do that? You do that by becoming a symbol…by becoming more than just a man. This is the psychological journey we are treated to and undertake in Batman Begins.

Don’t think of this as simply another comic book movie, but instead treat it like you would any good psychological thriller. There is always an underlying reason for a man’s actions, which ultimately defines who he is. In hindsight, we finally get to walk on the red carpet by seeing what exactly makes Bruce Wayne tick. We get to witness what drives him into becoming the only hope that Gotham City has. Gotham City needs to be saved from the underworld clutches of the world’s most dangerous villains and criminals. This ladies and gentleman, is the story of Batman Begins.

Film  

The film opens with eight-year old Bruce Wayne having accidentally just fallen into a cave while playing with his best friend, Rachel Dawes. Helpless and injured young Bruce Wayne has a frightful yet fateful encounter with bats. He grows more fearful of bats every passing day as his nightmares haunt him and extinguish his sleep. Then came the dark night (again no pun intended) that changed young Bruce’s life forever. While attending an opera with his parents, Bruce becomes frightened at the actors portraying bats. Cognitive of Bruce’s frightened state, his parents agree to take him home. Outside the opera house, Bruce’s parents are robbed and shot down in cold blood by a thug named Joe Chill. Having witnessed this seditious and tragic act of violence, Bruce blames himself for his parents’ untimely demise.

Many years go by as a more mature Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) returns home to Wayne Manor from Princeton University, with intent to kill Joe Chill who is being arraigned for a possible early release. His childhood friend, Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), who is now an attorney herself, accompanies him to the trial. Before Bruce can act on his plan of revenge, an unidentified woman kills Joe Chill for the crime lord Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson). Angered and feeling cheated that he did not get to complete his act of selfish vengeance, Bruce Wayne decides to confront Carmine Falcone. This is where one of my favorite lines of the movie comes to fruition. Carmine Falcone lectures Bruce that he does not understand the nature of crime and that he should be thankful that he killed his parent’s murderer. The most memeorable line comes when Carmine starts pointing out all the lawyers, cops and politicians in the restaurant they are in and how he could fire his gun upon Bruce Wayne without hesitation or anyone questioning the act of him doing so. He tells Bruce that this is power you just cannot buy. I may have mixed some words around but I think you get the point. This is serious stuff here people!

Bruce, at this point, is just disgusted at the injustice and current state of Gotham City ruled by corrupt politicians, police officers and criminal organizations. He decides to travel the world to understand the criminal mind. He learns what its like to live without money and to steal just to feed and clothe himself over a seven-year length of time. Ultimately, he ends up imprisoned and meets Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson). Ducard invites Bruce to train and eventually join the extremist vigilante group, the League of Shadows led by Ra’s al Ghul, dedicated to ridding the world of criminal activity and declining civilizations. During his rigorous martial arts and mental training sessions with Ducard and the members of the League of Shadows, Bruce learns to embrace his fear of bats by utilizing it to fight crime and putting fear into the wrongdoers he intends to stop. The final test comes when Bruce is ordered to execute a criminal and he must decide between what he feels is the right and what is the wrong kind of justice. Upon being ordered to carry out the execution of this prisoner, Bruce finally realizes that the League’s conflicting extremist views do not align with what he feels justice truly should be. As a result, he ends up burning down the temple and defeating Ra’s al Ghul…so he thinks. I told you this film was deep, didn’t I?

Back in Gotham City, things are worse than ever. Gotham City is now pretty much under the corruption and control of Falcone. Bruce Wayne declares war against the corruption that infiltrates Gotham City. Bruce returns back to the loving care and guidance of his family’s trusted butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine), who has taking care and presiding over all of Bruce’s affairs while he has been gone. Bruce manages to re-establish his connections to his father’s company, Wayne Enterprises, which is about to go public. It is there that he is introduced to a former board member, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), who now heads the research and development department. Secretly, Bruce uses Lucius’ knowledge and gadgets to acquire not only suit armor and weaponry, but also the Tumbler, a prototype armored car, which will replace what legacy Batman fans always refer to as the Batmobile. Back at Wayne Manor, with the help of Alfred, Bruce constructs the Batcave and ultimately his alter ego…the Batman. When asked why bats, Bruce responds because he is afraid of them and wants his opponents to share in that fear. The rest ladies and gentlemen…is what they call history. I hope I have given you enough to whet your appetite for what will eventually become a baptism by fire for the Batman as he ventures out to rid Gotham City of corruption and spread his own kind of justice. Of course you can expect a few major villains to go bump in the night and try to foil the Dark Knight’s crusade to save Gotham City. Who will ultimately prevail? I guess you will need to watch and find out because the path through Batman Begins only leads to bigger and better things…The Dark Knight.

Batman Begins ultimately became a critical and commercial success. The film eventually grossed more than $370 million worldwide. While not really being a big fan of Chris Nolan’s prior films, I was somewhat judgmental when I heard he was helming the reboot of the Batman franchise. I personally felt it was way too soon after the failure of the last Batman movie in 1997. I now hang my head in embarrassment and admit how truly wrong I was. Chris Nolan not only resurrected the Batman franchise but has also paved a trend for many more superhero movies to follow. If you keep up with entertainment and movie news like I do, then you will know what I am talking about. Just about every news article I read about future superhero movies talk about how the producers and writers are taking cues from Christopher Nolan’s darker version of Batman. Let’s face it…there has to be a serious issue or deep underlying reason why a person wants to become a superhero and Christopher Nolan explores and dissects this theory by making the audience not only care for the Batman but also for his alter identity, Bruce Wayne. Now if that is not deeply psychologically rooted, then I don’t know what is. This is not a film for the kiddies. They just won’t understand the psychosis of everything involved. Like I said before, the journey that Christopher Nolan has created only gets better as you going along.

Video  

Warner Bros. brings us a video transfer with a 1080P VC-1 video encode and a 2.40:1 widescreen aspect ratio. Unfortunately, here is where I start to digress and take the journey down the road of complaints. While the Blu-ray video transfer is leaps and bounds above the DVD release, it is nowhere close to the reference quality video many current Blu-ray discs portray. There are no problems with the resolution but throughout the entire feature, the colors seem somewhat muted and the image never has that three-dimensional pop that many of today’s Blu-rays exhibit. Some of the shots do look good but the majority of the film is very soft and almost feels as if it has a filter overlaid on top of the image because it almost never seems sharp. The flesh tones all seemed a bit pale to me as well. The good news is that grain is at an absolute minimum for a movie that is mostly dark and filmed in the shadows. While this Blu-ray release may not be of reference quality video, this is definitely the finest High-Definition presentation of Batman Begins that is available and is truly a delicacy for die-hard fans.

Audio  

Like the video, it appears that Warner Bros. has also ported over the audio from the HD DVD release. The audio track of choice here is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround mix. I have read and heard many conflicting reviews regarding the audio track of the Batman Begins Blu-ray disc. Some people say it is status quo and some same it is reference quality throughout. I fall somewhere in between those two points of view. While I feel the audio definitely has its moments, I would not be inclined to showcase this as a reference audio track. The dialogue is always clear and intelligible throughout the feature. The famous Hans Zimmer also treats us to another fine musical score. The low-end bass is superb during all the action scenes but I just can’t shake the feeling that the rest of the movie just sounds flat during non-action sequences to me. The Dolby TrueHD surround track sounds exactly like the audio track on the HD DVD release of Batman Begins. While the audio track here is nothing to sneer at, I just feel certain dynamics could have been fleshed out a bit more and improved upon.

Special Features  

If there was ever a reason for me to own the Blu-ray release of Batman Begins when I already own it on HD DVD, it was for the six heavenly minutes of The Dark Knight IMAX prologue footage. This is the “Holy Grail” of the Blu-ray release and makes the price of admission and owning the Batman Begins Blu-ray well worth it, even if you own it on two other different formats like myself. The Blu-ray release of Batman Begins was purposely released a week before the theatrical release of The Dark Knight and for many fans it was their first glimpse of the Oscar-worthy performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker. This is the first time in a long time in which I am excited about the extras. As a side note, just about every extra from the past HD DVD and DVD releases are included here. The only disappointing thing is that every special feature is in Standard Definition with the exception of the IMAX prologue and theatrical trailer.

The following are the full technical specs as published on the back of the Blu-ray cover art:

In-Movie Experience – (HD) This is the Picture-in-Picture track that delayed the Blu-ray release until the Profile 1.1 was finalized. This is basically a visual commentary with director Christopher Nolan and is joined by the main cast and production crewmembers through a variety of behind-the-scenes footage.

The Dark Knight IMAX Prologue – (HD) This is the entire first 6-minutes of the opening sequence. It is presented in pristine 1080P with a 1.80:1 aspect ratio. This sequence is reference quality and worth every penny.

Tankman Begins – (SD) This is a funny short skit created for the 2005 MTV Movie Awards.

Batman – The Journey Begins – (SD) This is a short 14-minute documentary on the casting process.

Shaping Mind and Body – (SD) This is a 13-minute documentary that shows the training that Christian Bale undertook for the role.

Gotham City Rises – (SD) This is a 13-minute look at the production team tasked with building the various Gotham City locations.

Cape and Cowl – (SD) This is an 8-minute look at the creation of the new Batsuit.

Batman – The Tumbler – (SD) Here is a 14-minute documentary about the creation and concepts of the new Batmobile.

Path to Discovery – (SD) This is a 14-minute look at the challenges the production crew faced in cold climate of Iceland.

Saving Gotham City – (SD) This is a 13-minute tribute to the filming of the action scenes and how they tried to use as little CGI as possible.

Genesis of the Bat – (SD) We get a 15-minute explanation from director Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer on how the film was conceived.

Still Gallery (SD) – The still gallery contains a collection of various advertising concepts for the film’s marketing around the world.

Theatrical Trailer – (HD) Don’t let this title fool you. This is only the teaser trailer and not the full theatrical trailer.

Reflections on Writing Batman Begins – (SD) David S. Goyer speaks to his experience in writing the screenplay and how he got inspired.  This 2-minute feature is not overly valuable, but worth a quick watch.

Digital Batman – (SD) This 1-minute feature shows how digital images of batman were more believable then the live batman.  Side-by-side comparisons are used.  Rather a dull extra, but somewhat interesting none-the-less.

Batman Begins Stunts – (SD) This 2.5-minute poor quality extra features shots of how a number of stunts were pulled off during the filming of the movie.  No need to waste your time here.

Final Thoughts  

I guess one of the reasons I initially dismissed Batman Begins upon my first viewing in the theatre, was mainly for a lack of action that I was expecting rather than the psychological story I got. I can only figure that I must have got so numb from the previous Batman franchise that I was not expecting to have to do so much thinking. I was so use to the flashy and flamboyant villains that I did not know what to make of Batman Begins. I don’t want to be misunderstood. In no way did I think that Batman Begins was a bad movie. I just thought it was really different than what I was expecting to see and was amazed at how many fan boys came out of nowhere as a result of the darker Batman story. Then the month of July 2008 came around and my life changed forever. My initial viewing of The Dark Knight made Batman Begins mean so much more to me. I finally saw what I was missing all along in Batman Begins. The audience gets to dive head-first into the psychosis thinking of what is going through Bruce Wayne’s mind as we experience first hand his motivation, training and drive that culminated him into our favorite crime fighter…the Batman. What makes Batman unique is that under the mask and costume, Bruce Wayne is just an ordinary man with no superhuman powers except the ability to free his mind of any fear and devote himself to a higher mission in life…saving the lives of others. Batman is more than a man. He is a symbol. He is a symbol that criminals should fear. He uses this fear to clean up the streets of Gotham City. How brilliant is that?

If you are a Batman fan, then this is a no-brainer. I highly recommend the purchase of Batman Begins Steelbook on Blu-ray. But get it before it is gone… this is a Limited Edition release!

The concert was being performed at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia and being broadcast live on the radio. He performed most of the songs on the album and a few others he had yet to record, including The Ballad of BIlly the Kid and the beautiful and moving Rosalinda (Memo to Billy or his handlers, please release this concert on CD, if just for Rosalinda, one of the most beautiful pieces of music he has ever written. Why he never released is is beyond me. If you are unfamiliar with it, look it up on You Tube). I loved the concert and in particular, the song Captain Jack, which became a radio hit in Philadelphia.

The Cold Spring Harbor album was a disaster as it was mastered improperly and Billy left the business and was playing at the Piano Bar at the Empire Room in Los Angeles, not knowing that Captain Jack had become a hit in Philadelphia. The song eventually came to the attention of Columbia Records, who signed him to a recording contract and the rest, as they say, is history. While his live shows were always great and had excellent sound, I always found his recordings, whether in studio or in concert to have mediocre audio and video. The Live at Yankee Stadium DVD for example looks and sounds awful. With HD and lossless audio codecs, I was hoping that this would change so I was eagerly awaiting the release of the Live at Shea Stadium Blu-ray, hoping it would be a huge improvement over Billy Joel’s prior video releases. Unfortunately, other than the video, it falls short, way short.

Concert 

At the time of the concerts which form the basis of this release, namely July 16th and 17th, 2008, Billy Joel had reached the big six oh as in 60 years old. Not surprisingly, he has lost a step on two, especially vocally, since he was in his prime in the 1970′s and 1980′s. He no longer really has the vocal range to do some of his material, which is why Say Goodbye to Hollywood and the hits from his doo wop homage recording, An Innocent Man were not performed at these shows. Nevertheless, while falling a bit short of his best, this is on the whole a fine show with a song list that is fairly representative of his entire career, with a few tunes included that casual fans might not be all that familiar with.

The concert includes a total of 25 songs in order of appearance: Prelude/Angry Young Man, My Life, Summer, Highland Falls, Everybody Loves You Now, Zanzibar, New York State of Mind (with Tony Bennett), Allentown, The Ballad of BIlly The Kid, She’s Always a Woman, Goodnight Saigon, Miami 2017, Shameless (With Garth Brooks), This is The Time (With John Mayer on guitar), Keeping the Faith, Captain Jack, Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel), The River of Dreams/A Hard’s Day Night, We Didn’t Start The Fire, Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, Only The Good Die Young, I Saw Her Standing There, Take Me Out To The Ballgame, Piano Man and Let It Be.

The highlights of the concert have to be the two songs performed by Paul McCartney, I saw Her Standing There and Let It Be, both of which are sensational. As a fan, I am most fond of Billy’s albums from Turnstiles to The Nylon Curtain, which I view as his best, so it would have been great to have included I’ve Loved These Days from Turnstiles (although 4 of the 8 songs from that album are included, Just The Way You Are from The Stranger and a few others I could mention. I could have done without the Sinatraesque vocals on New York State of Mind and felt that his vocals on She’s Always A Woman and Only The Good Die Young to fall a good bit short of his best (perhaps he was worn out a bit).

Being from Philadelphia, I have heard him perform Captain Jack much better than he does here. He used to perform it with a bit of jazz piano mixed in which is now totally gone. On the plus side, the addition of the string section sounded great on a few of the tunes such as Lullabye, The Ballad of Billy The Kid. The addition of the horn section was notable too and as a result, Zanzibar from 52nd Street sounded sensational. I am sure that most fans will find this set and the performances to be great. However, I find that his current band, pales in comparison to band that he toured with in his prime. Missing are the deep and energetic bass lines of the late Doug Stegmeyer. Billy’s current drummer just doesn’t stack up well with Liberty DeVito, who was as much a part of Billy’s sound as Billy was. I don’t know why Billy and Liberty parted ways, but if Billy ever tours again, which is questionable given his double hip replacement and other health issues, bring back Liberty. Your sound is just not the same without him. Recommended for fans only.

Video  

While the video on this release is good, I was expecting better. The video features bright and bold colors and deep blacks. Where I feel that it falls short is in the level of clarity and detail, as the image is a tad on the soft side, lacking the fine detail of great looking recent concert discs such as The Jeff Beck Rock N Roll Party I have reviewed here, or the new Harry Connick, Jr. Live on Broadway disc which looks sensational. I don’t know why the video features this softness. Perhaps it is because of the cold moist mist that was being blown rather heavily onto the stage both nights to provide some degree of comfort to the band on two very hot evenings.

I found some of the framing of the image to be a bit odd and not really taking full advantage of the wider screen format that HD offers. I also found a bit of noise in some of the darker portions of the image. While the image overall is good, it just falls a bit short of the quality that I had been expected and certainly falls short of some of the newer concert releases I have seen on Blu-ray.

Audio  

While I was a little disappointed with the video, I was really shocked with how poor the multichannel audio is here. Not to sugar coat it, it really sucks. This is the first concert disc that I have heard on Blu-ray were I actually prefer the PCM uncompressed (24/96) stereo mix to the multichannel mix, which in this case is offered as uncompressed PCM 5.1 at 24/96 and Dolby Digital 5.1. And by a wide margin. The PCM stereo track sounds like a decent CD and has much better bass, dynamics and center fill than the multichannel tracks have. However, it is not without its faults, including a congested overall sound and a poorly mixed, for the most part, lead guitar track.

Both multichannel tracks sound dreadful, with no dynamics and almost no bass at all. It is amazing to hear the difference in the low end when switching back and forth between the two. The bass lines and the kick of the bass drum just vanishes. I also found Billy’s vocals on the mutlichannel tracks to sound thin and hollow compared to the stereo track, with his lower register simply not there. The audio on tis release really needs to be redone, it is that bad. Experiment if you want but, you will be better off sticking with the stereo, even though it lacks the enveloping sound of the 5.1 mix.

Special Features  

The extras consist of three bonus songs, all with special guests. In order of appearance they are Walk This Way with Steven Tyler, My Generation with Roger Daltry and Pink Houses with John Mellancamp. All of the songs were performed with Billy’s Band. BIlly disappeared during Walk This Way, sang backup vocals on My Generation and played the piano on Pink Houses. Both Steven Tyler and John Mellancamp were in fine vocal form but Roger Daltry for some reason, stuttered his way through My Generation, which was the least pleasing of the three extra songs, at least for me.

Final Thoughts  

To say that I was disappointed by the audio on this release would be an understatement as this release gets my nomination for the worst multichannel concert recording on Blu-ray to date. Recommended for fans only.

While there are quite a few with truly superb sound, most are far from ideal, as they fail to utterly transport you to the venue, to enable you to experience the concert, as if you were there live. Well, the release that is the subject of this review succeeds in doing just that, taking you right into the concert venue to experience the show in all of its you are there splendor, in this case, the intimate Iridium Jazz Club In New York.

Concert 

Simply put, this concert and all aspects of this release are simply superb. On June 9, 2010, a concert was held to pay tribute to Les Paul, one of the founding fathers of not only Rock ‘N” Roll, but of the electric guitar itself, as well as multi-track recording, the use of echo and reverb and quite a few other firsts. The concert was held at New York’s Iridium Jazz Club, a cozy 200 seat venue in the basement beneath a diner where Les Paul held court once a week for years.

The concert was put together by Jeff Beck, whom many rank as the world’s greatest guitarist who was a close friend of the late Les Paul who passed away in 2009 at the age of 95. The show features a great band, a great horn section, guest appearances by Gary U.S. Bonds, Trombone Shorty and Brian Setzer. As good as Jeff Beck and the rest of the band and quests were, the highlight of the show for me was the singing of Imelda May, who I had never heard of before viewing this disc. She is simply superb with a great voice and even better vocal styling. Man, can she sing and is capable of singing every style of music you can imagine, from Blues to Rock to Rockabilly, R & B and Jazz, all of which she covers here.

All in all, there are a total of 27 songs presented on this release. The track list is as follows: Baby Let’s Play House, Double Talkin’ Baby, Cruisin, Train Kept A Rollin’, Poor Boy, Cry Me A River, My Baby Left Me, How High The Moon, Sitting On Top Of The World, Bye, Bye Blues, The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise, Vaya Con Dios, Mockin’ Bird Hill, I’m A Fool To Care, Tiger Rag, Peter Gunn, Rocking Is Our Business, Apache, Sleep Walk, New Orleans, Walking In The Sand, Please Mr. Jailer, Casting My Spell On You, Twenty Flight Rock, The Girl Can’t Help It, Rock Around The Clock and Shake, Rattle & Roll. This is quite a set list and was put together by Jeff Beck to honor his long time friend and the music he helped inspire. The set list is one great tune after another and all performed superbly, and each designed the bring the house down.

If you can keep you feet from tapping away during this concert, to quote from an old Louis Jordan song, “Jack you dead”. Each and every musician was on the top of their game this night and clearly loved what they were doing. The fact that the audience was filled with many rock and roll legends tells you that this was going to be one special night and that it was. The disc is entitled a Rock ‘N’ Roll Party. A Party is sure was. A great one. Extremely highly recommended.

Video 

The concert was shot using high definition video and it looks superb. Given the size of the venue, it is amazing that they could cram all the cameras used on this shoot into the room. The picture is bright with plenty of bright colors and deep blacks. The overall image is sharp and detailed with an excellent level of detail and good overall depth The only quibble I would have is a bit of noise. That and the fact that I have seen a couple of slightly more detailed concert videos leads me to give it a score a notch below a perfect 5 out of 5. Otherwise, the video presentation is superb.

Audio 

While I had some very minor issues with the video and I mean really minor, the audio presentation here is perfect. The best way I can think of to describe the audio is that it is as if they patched the mixing broad right into your home theater system. The concert was held in a very small venue of no more than 200 seats and the musicians were crammed into a very tight stage.

The audio matches the video in this regard perfectly. Even though the musicians are crammed together, each and very instrument is clearly delineated in the sound stage. It sounds just as though Jeff Beck plugged his guitar into an amp and brought in into your room. His guitar solos have a stunning degree of realism. All of the slap echo and reverb on his instrument and Imelda May’s voice are as clear as a bell.

The bass is rock solid as are the drums. When the horn section roars into action and I do mean roars, you are nearly knocked off your seat. This is a stellar audio presentation and some of the best I have yet heard on Blu-ray. If you are looking to experience a live concert in your home, this is the release for you. All this and stellar music and performances to boot. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Special Features 

For a concert release, there are more extras included here than I would have thought. The extras include an interview with Jeff Beck where he discusses his relationship with Les Paul as well as some aspects of his own career. This interview was shot in HD and looks great as well.

Also included is a featurette which is a behind the scenes look at the concert venue, with interviews with the gathering crowd outside, a look at the equipment being set up as well as interviews with some of the celebrity attendees of the concert thereafter, such as Paul Schaeffer, Meatloaf and Steve Van Zandt. One of the featurettes is an interview with Jeff Beck at his home where he shows off his guitar collection with brief glimpses of how some of the guitars sound and how he acquired them.

We also get two performances with Les Paul and Jeff Beck together in the 1980′s with Billy Squier along with another brief performance with Les Paul alone where he plays How HIgh The Moon while demonstrating the black box that invented and attached to his guitar that enabled him to record tracks on his guitar that he could run while playing the guitar live, creating quite in impressive layering effect. All in all, I found the extras to be rather informative and well worth a look.

Final Thoughts 

With all the junk that passes for pop music these days, it is great to have a release that features truly great musicians, great songs and performances along with stellar video and audio presentations. if you are a music fan, Jeff Beck Rock ‘N’ Roll Party Honoring Les Paul is a must buy and is extremely highly recommended.

I was somewhat curious about reviewing my first “true” black and white film (Young Frankenstein was the first I had reviewed), and was equally curious to see how much charisma the relatively young Elvis of 1957 possessed.

Film

This movie was an absolute surprise.  Instead of the fun-filled lightweight eye candy that Viva Las Vegas was, Jailhouse Rock was actually somewhat seedy and serious.  Elvis plays a blue-collar worker (Vince Everett) who is sent to jail to serve a sentence for manslaughter, all result of defending a woman in a bar fight.  In jail, his cellmate is a former professional musician Hunk Houghton (played by Mickey Shaugnessy), who teaches him some guitar, and gets him onto a television show broadcast from the prison.  Bags of fan mail ensure, and after his release, Vince seeks to establish a career as a performer.

A chance encounter with a record company employee, Peggy (played by the late yet lovely Judy Tyler) helps launch Vince’s career.  She helps him get his first record deal, and he treats her like dirt, glowers at her parents, insults her parents’ guests, then sex appeals her into submission.  Success is almost instantaneous, giving Elvis license to slap around music executives, sass lawyers, use the word sexy (this was 1957), be reasonably lecherous, and belittle Hunk.

One of the most enjoyable parts of this film is that Elvis’ character is a class-A jerk.  Rude to the warden, rude to ladies, rude to prospective employers, grunting, scowling, and silent, it was almost as if Elvis was channeling a James Dean “lite” for this film.  Cool, yet rebellious, this movie was quite a bit different from the fluffy movies to come.

The story certainly does feel 1950’s, with a linear and uncomplicated narrative, and characters who are wonderfully somewhere between caricature and fully fleshed out.  Musical numbers are an appropriate part of the film and not intrusive.  The behind the scenes view of the 1950’s recording industry felt authentic.

Video

Would it be possible to believe a black and white movie could look better than many modern color films?  The print of this film was absolutely gorgeous.  Beautiful shading, sharp edges, minimal and appropriate grain, wonderful blacks – what else does one want?

The cinematography was equally nice, with excellent use of depth of field, and wonderful framing in almost every shot.  My only question is, “How can Jailhouse Rock look so good when Elvis on Tour (filmed 15 years later) looks like a VHS tape?”

Audio

An absolutely superb job was done with the TrueHD remix of the original mono track.  Voices and vocals are spread nicely across the entire front soundstage, and some information surprisingly shows up in the surrounds.  LFE data is expectedly nominal.

So how does this film get such a high score? It’s all in the music, baby.  The quality of the musical numbers is fantastic, and well above the quality one normally hears in 50’s vintage recordings.  The sound in this film puts a number of my Elvis CDs and LPs (that’s a record for you kids out there) to shame.  Sharp and clearly defined instruments combined with the natural timbre and resonance of Elvis’ voice to make the music number magical.

Special Features

This disc comes with very few special features.  Considering all are in 480p, I’m assuming these are a carry-over from the DVD release of the film.

Included are the theatrical trailer (boy, trailers sure sucked back then), and a 15-minute featurette “The Scene that Stole Jailhouse Rock”; mainly interesting due to hearing how Lieber & Stoller hated what Elvis did with their songs.  Finally, there is a boring commentary from the author of “Elvis in Hollywood”, delivered in a humorless monotone.

Final Thoughts

After enjoying Viva Las Vegas and hating Elvis on Tour, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Jailhouse Rock.  Was I ever pleasantly surprised by the quality of the audio and video, the surliness of Elvis, and the coherence and weight of the plot.  Not only do I give this disc a “Buy It” recommendation, I can recommend the 3-Disc Elvis Blu-Ray Collection on the strength of this disc and Viva Las Vegas.  Both films offer an interesting snapshot into a time that more and more seems foreign to our own with each passing day.