Film 

When I saw the trailer for Cop Out in the theater, I thought the film looked like one to avoid completely. It looked like a terrible film with an insipid plot with mail it in performances by the cast, especially Bruce Willis. Well, having now seen the entire film, my impressions from the trailer were spot on. This is one stupid film with a lame plot and an awful performance by Bruce Willis, who looks like he is sleepwalking during the entire film. Tracey Morgan gives his usual annoying performance as does the most annoying actor in Hollywood, Seann William Scott. I guess you can say that I am not a fan.

You can essentially describe Cop Out as a buddy cop film with Bruce Willis and Tracey Morgan playing twp Brooklyn cops. After an investigation into a drug buy goes bad and the informant is killed, Bruce Willis’ character is suspended for a month. It is terrible timing as his daughter is about to get married. His character wants to pay for the wedding, in part because his ex-wife’s new husband wants to pay for it. Without receiving any pay, Bruce decides to sell a rare and very valuable baseball card which will more than pay for the wedding. However, the card is taken from him during a robbery and the robber in turn turns over the card to the leader of the drug ring that was the subject of the investigation that lead to the suspension. It turns out that the drug kingpin happens to be an avid collector of sports memorabilia. Needless to say, the pair moves to retrieve the card from the drug kingpin and in the process, bring down the drug operation.

Given that the film was directed by Kevin Smith, one would normally have expected a better film. However, you can’t turn lead into gold and the script here is nothing but a hunk of lead. If you are a masochist, give the film a look. The rest of you should just skip this film entirely.

Video 

At first glance, Cop Out boasts a what appears to be a fine looking transfer. However, initial appearances can be deceiving. What first leaps out at you is the level of detail which is extraordinary. From facial details such as skin pores and blemishes to clothing fabric and background details, I can’t imagine wanting more detail in a picture. The color palette is quite natural, showing the gritty look of Brooklyn with excellent skin tone rendition. While I was impressed with the level of detail of this encode, the encode was plagued by excessive noise in some scenes as well as some motion artifacts which becomes distracting on larger screens. Since I didn’t see the film in the theater, I can’t say whether the noise was in the original. However, the rest of the issues I saw appear to be related to the encoding process. Had this been a great film, I would have been a lot more disappointed with the overall video quality of the release. Given it is such a bad film, I will have no problem getting over my disappointment.

Audio 

Even worse that the video presentation is the audio which is lackluster at is best. In short, the film’s audio is very flat, lacking any degree of depth. Transparency and imaging, for want of a better word, suck. This is probably one of the worst sounding lossless encodes I have heard in terms of transparency and imaging. I also found the bass to be too punchy, especially the music score, which features bloated and flabby bass. On the plus side, at least the numerous gun shots have plenty of heft. However, that is about the only positive note I can sound in regards to the audio presentation on this release. it is almost as bad as the film itself.

Special Features 

The best part of this release are the extras which is faint praise indeed. Cop Out With Your Glock Out Edition is a two disc combo pack, including a DVD copy as well as a digital copy of the film on a separate disc. The main extra is Warner’s Maximum Movie Mode which is renamed Maximum Comedy Mode on this release. The Maximum Comedy Mode features over 40 minutes of extended scenes and outtakes, picture in picture commentary featuring Kevin Smith and Seann William Scott. The best parts of the Maximum Comedy Mode are the walk-ons by Kevin Smith. The rest, you can have.

Final Thoughts 

If you are a masochist, give Cop Out a look. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and skip this one in its entirety.

Film 

Watching this film, I kept asking myself why would an actor like Liam Neeson want to get involved in this project. It must have been quite a payday. The plot of Clash of the Titans is about as thin as it gets and is just an excuse for some battle sequences and some pretty nifty CGI.

The film’s premise is that Zues and the rest of the Greek gods, are upset that their people are no longer worshiping them and are in fact, in open rebellion against them. This infuriates Zues who created man for the sole purpose of worshiping him and the rest of the gods, thereby somehow increasing their power. In comes Zues’ brother Hades, who is naturally quite upset over Zues’ relegation of him to the underworld.

Playing on Zues’ sensitivity and anger, Hades concocts a plan to force man into dropping their rebellion and return to their worship of the gods. Unbeknownst to Zues, Hades was really using this opportunity to strike back at his brother and wrest control of Olympus from him. Into this family squabble comes Perseus, who is part god and part man, being the son of Zues after he essentially raped the wife of the king of the rebels. Perseus, discovering his true identity, wants no part of divine nature and wants to live his life as a man and wants to strike back at Hades for Hades’ killing of his foster family. Before Hades can complete his plan to crush man, Perseus joins a ban of warriors who journey into forbidden worlds, including the underworld itself, looking for the key to foil Hade’s plot.

While the plot sounds like a good idea, this film spends far too long on battle sequences and fails to delve into the feelings and true nature of both Perseus and the gods themselves. I would have liked to see more of a focus of the gods and their true role of Greek mythology in shaping Greek society and less on CGI. In short, a more thoughtful film. Far too often, CGI is used just for its own sake and as a substitute for a plot. Such is the case in this film. Is Clash of the Titans a terrible film? No, but is one that you will only want to see once and certainly not a film you would want to add to your collection. Therefore, if you must see this film, I would recommend that you do so on the basis of a rental only.

Video 

With the exception of a handful of dimly lit interior shots, the video quality on this release is excellent. The film has a nice natural looking color palettte with excellent skin tone rendition. The film’s locales vary from lush green locations to brown and tan deserts, and volcanic landscapes and are rendered beautifully here. Blacks are deep and stable and together with the high level of detail, produce an image of very nice depth. While this release is not 3D, it is clear where the hokey 3D effects were placed throughout the film and it is also clear why the theatrical 3D release was so poorly received.

While there is a bit of DNR and Edge enhancement visible in the image, they are minimal and not really noticeable on a screen size under 60 inches. Even with the application of some DNR, overall detail is excellent, including facial detail and skin texture, backgrounds, clothing and the like. The only real issue I had with the release were a few interior shots which looked very soft and a bit washed out and flat and having a very processed look. With these minor exceptions, I found this to be a very pleasing transfer. I wish the same could be said for the film.

Audio 

If you are looking for a film with a bombastic soundtrack, Clash of the Titans is the film for you. it will certainly give your subwoofer a workout. The film features excellent overall fidelity and dynamics. The fight sequences with the giant scorpions are true reference material for bass junkies. Not only will your entire room shake, but you may also shake the rest of the house and may have you scrambling for the remote if it feels like your house is about to crash on top of you.

The dialogue track is also well recorded and well placed in the mix, never getting drowned out or obscured by the cacophony of the battle sequences. The only real issue I had with the audio was the sound design itself which I would have preferred to be a little more immersive throughout the film and a little more refined. Don’t get me wrong, the film’s action sequences are certainly very immersive. It is just that I would have preferred the quieter interior sequences to have that same immersive feeling as well. This is a rather small complaint and one which did not impact my viewing experience to any significant degree.

Special Features 

The Blu-ray edition of Clash of the Titans is certainly packed with many extras. The release is a combo pack so it includes a second disc containing a DVD copy of the film as well as a digital copy.

The extras contained on the Blu-ray disc feature deleted scenes and an alternate ending of the film. Also included is a featurette on Sam Worthington entitled “Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages”.

The best and longest of the extras is what Warners calls maximum Movie Mode which runs concurrent;y with the film where Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and director Louis Leterrier discuss various aspects of the making of the film. As it runs concurrently with the film, you really should watch the film first and then rewatch the film with the Maximum Movie Mode enabled. The only downside to this approach is that it will result in you having to watch the film twice.

The Maximum Movie Mode focuses on a number of areas including Sam Worthington is Perseus, Harnessing the Gods, Zeus: Father of Gods and Men, Enter the World of Hades, Calibos: Te Man Behind the Monster, Tenerife: A Continent on an island, Scorpioch, Actors and their Stunts, Wales: A Beautiful Scarred Landscape, Bringing Medusa to Life and Prepare for Kraken. All in all, the Maximum Movie Mode features more than 40 minutes of PIP commentary.

Final Thoughts 

If you like mindless action adventure film, Clash of the Titans just may be the film for you. For the rest of you, if you must, I would check out Clash of the Titans on the basis of a rental only. All I know is that once was more than enough for me.

One challenge I anticipated with High Anxiety is that certain subjects like murder and suspense do not work well in comedy (like in Have you Heard About the Morgans).  Truly, the only way to make a thriller work with humour is to go way, way, way over the top, much like in the Police Squad series of movies.

However, my pleasant surprise at the quality of To Be Or Not To Be left me with some anticipation that this movie may also surprise me with its wit and charm.

Film

To catch the Hitchcock references, I watched the film with the trivia track on.  And early in the move, it is stated that Mr. Brooks wanted this movie to appeal to all viewers, not just those who were fans of Mr. Hitchcock.  Although this is a noble sentiment, I found the material to be quite uneven; hilarious at times, boring at times, and likely way more interesting if you are a Hitchcock-phile.

The premise of the movie is that Nobel-prize winning psychiatrist Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke (played by Mel Brooks) has been recruited to run the “The Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous” in Los Angeles.  As we discover early in the film, the previous head psychiatrist passed away under very suspicious cicumstances, apparently related to “big changes” he wanted to make. 

Upon arrival at the Institute, we meet Dr. Montague (played extremely well by Harvey Korman), and the intimidating Nurse Diesel (played well by Cloris Leachman), with both appearing to be up to no good.  Dr. Thorndyke and Dr. Wentworth (Dick Van Patten) represent a threat to what they are doing at the hospital, leading us into the main action of the movie. 

Other characters who appear are Victoria Brisbane (Madeline Kahn) who feels her father is being held against his will at the institute, and Professor Lilloman, a past teacher of Dr. Thorndyke’s.  Ron Carey does a turn as Brophy. Dr. Thorndyke’s chauffer, sidekick, and comedy relief.

As mentioned above, the humor in this film was quite uneven.  Some scenes, like one in the limousine when Dr. Thorndyke arrives is hilarious.  I also laughed so hard my stomach hurt when Drs. Montague and Thorndyke were visiting with a patient that appeared to have been cured of his neck pains and dreams of werewolves. 

However, much of Mel Brooks’ own material fell flat, and I found his line reading to be almost mechanical; this is his worst performance I have seen as an actor.  And although Nurse Diesel was to be played as comic relief, Ms. Leachman does too good a job with her weirdness, making her less funny and more creepy than a comedy would support.  In the featurette included on the Blu-ray, Rudy DeLuca (co-writer and the killer “Braces” in the film) states that Mel’s Sinatra-esque performance of “High Anxiety” was the high point of the movie for many.  For me, this was a low-point, and served as a good divider between the funny set-ups in the first half of the film, and the less funny suspense-tinged latter half of the film.

Harvey Korman’s performance as Dr. Montague deserves plaudits.  In many scenes, he provides the comic relief for the film, and his chemistry with Cloris Leachman is phenomenal.  Korman’s gift for physical comedy makes some average scenes much funnier than they deserved to be.

As a spoof on Hitchcock, the movie was good, with attention to detail in framing shots, shoot locations, and background music.  Unfortunately, to simply spoof others is no way to make a quality movie (see any of the [insert genre here] Movie series), and I believe this adds to the somewhat disjointed feel of the film.  That the suspense did not feel real, and the movie was conflicted between being a comedy and a thriller in its latter half made this movie less entertaining than it could have been.

Video

There has been a real appeal to the visuals in this box set of movies, and High Anxiety meets this high standard.  Appropriately grainy, with a true 70’s look and feel, this movie was watchable, pleasing, and authentic.

Although the picture could be a little soft at times, it was still an excellent presentation, and much better than one normally sees in a 33 year-old movie.  Again, the wizards at Fox have done an excellent job cleaning up a print while retaining its authenticity. 

Audio

In these older films, we expect a lack of dynamic range, a strong front-loading, little LFE information, and muffled dialog.  No surprise, this description fits High Anxiety perfectly.

Surprisingly so, this move seemed even poorer than other movies from this box set.  I cannot recall hearing any use of the surround channels, nor do I remember any rumbles from the LFE channel.  Worst of all, even the score suffers in this presentation, with a shrillness and forwardness in the high midrange that made it very unpleasant.  Generally a poor presentation, and worse that of the similar era Silent Movie.

Special Features

Unlike Silent Movie and To Be or Not to Be, High Anxiety did receive a solo Blu-ray release.  Surprisingly, we find a small feature set on this disc, similar to those released as collection-only releases.  Included are a trivia pop-up track (good for highlighting the Hitchcock parallels), an isolated score track, a medium-length HD featurette on Brooks and Hitchcock, an interactive “anxiety test” to do while the movie is playing, plus trailers for this film and other Mel Brooks films.

Although the main HD featurette is entertaining, I found Mr. Brooks to be less charming in this one than in those included on other discs.  However, it does contain some great shots from classic Hitchcock movies, as well as good anecdotes for a number of actors regarding the production.  The rest is fairly pedestrian fare.

Final Thoughts

I cannot describe myself as a Hitchcock fan; although I enjoyed his movies, they are not something I go out of my way to watch.  This shouldn’t have been an issue for this film, as Mr. Brooks wanted High Anxiety to be enjoyed by non-Hitchcock fans as well.

Unfortunately, despite a very nice video presentation, High Anxiety was simply not consistently funny enough.  Combined with substandard audio and a small batch of special features, this movie deserves only a rent, as the funny scenes (which are really good) will likely not stand up under repeated watchings.  I imagine that a student of Hitchcock would enjoy this film much, much more than the layperson.

Mr. Brooks has never struck me as a subtle humorist, and I had some worry that a comedy-musical-drama about World War II and Nazism could be taken from funny to farcical under his guidance.  Perplexingly, I also had high expectations at the same time – with such rich subject matter, and a stellar cast, this movie had the potential to be really good.  And in short, this movie was really good, the type of comedy I grew up on, and the type that seems to have fallen out of favor with the viewing public.

Film

Set on the eve of World War II, Mel Brooks plays Frederick Bronski, an apparently “famous” Polish actor who takes pride in his portrayal of Hamlet in his Excerpts from Hamlet.  In art imitating life, his wife Anna Bronski is played by Mr. Brooks’ very talented wife, the late Anne Bancroft.  As owners and lead actors in a Polish theatre company, not all is rosy between the couple, as Mrs. Bronski is feeling her importance to their success is being minimized.  This is illustrated early in the film with one of the best visual jokes I’ve ever seen (when Frederick is shown a poster for their upcoming performance of The Merry Widower).  Mrs. Bronski has her own issues, including her encouragement of advances being made to her by a dashing Polish airman, Lt. Sobinski (played by Tim Matheson).

As we historically know, the Germans invaded Poland, leading Lt. Sobinski to find himself flying for the free Polish forces in England.  There, he and his comerades give names of friends and family who are in the Polish Resistance to Professor Siletski (played well by Jose Ferrer), a traitorous agent who secretly wishes to give the information to the Nazis.

Although Lt. Sobinski gives a cryptic message of love to be taken to Anna, he later deduces Professor Siletski’s plan, and is asked by officials to go to Poland to keep Dr. Siletski from delivering this list of names to the Gestapo.  However, since Anna’s name appears on the list of people to send messages to, the Bronskis are drawn into this drama, as is their entire theatre company.

The decision to have Alan Johnson direct the film may have been the most important decision Mr. Brooks made for the quality of this film.  Mel Brooks-directed films share a certain manic “over-the-topness” that would have been inappropriate for To Be or Not to Be.  This is a story that makes fun of Nazi Germany and the self-aggrandizement of actors, yet still has serious overtones such as the Gestapo, the invasion of Poland, and the Holocaust.  Although humorous, the material requires a sensitivity and finesse to make it funny, while never losing sight of what Nazism actually meant.

Despite its grim subject matter, this is easily one of the funniest and wittiest movies I’ve seen in a very long time.  The chemistry between the actors is palpable, and their interaction is superb.  Classic comedic timing is apparent on every joke, and laughs are for the viewer to figure out – they are not handed to the audience with auditory clues or over the top visuals (a la American Pie).  The surrounding cast are as superb as they get, with standout performances from George Gaynes, Charles Durning, and James Haake.  However, special mention goes to Anne Bancroft for playing Anna in a wry and comedic way, to Mel Brooks for toning down his schtick when the script calls for it, and to Christopher Lloyd, who steals every scene he is in as a hapless SS man.

In the end, this is a very funny movie that demonstrates how good comedy can be, especially when understated humor meets over-the-top humor.  It also makes great use of classical elements of comedy, including visual jokes, running gags, caricature, and classic timing to make the audience laugh.  I cannot recollect the last time I had seen a film where I have laughed out loud this much, many times at my surprise in finding a joke that wasn’t all that obvious.  Smart, funny, and a bit melancholy, this is what a comedy should be.

Video

Again, the producers of this box set have done an excellent job with the video restoration of this film.  Although the grain we would expect for an early 80’s movie is there, enough is cleaned up so that it doesn’t become distracting in 1080p.

However, there were some issues with the presentation, most notably the soft focus that seemed to be used on Anne Bancroft from the midpoint of the film-on.  These scenes simply have a quality not congruent with the rest of the exceptional visuals in this film.  There are also scenes where there are color bleed issues, such as when Frederik returns from his meeting with the Gestapo then finds Lt. Sobinski in his bed – his shirt looks like a light bulb in the dark room.

Set design must have been done well, as they all look great and pop with color (especially the luxuriously appointed theatre interior).  Costumes were also equally well done, and the fabrics and detail truly shine in HD.  Originally a choreographer, the exactness in Director Johnson’s eye plays out well through this film, creating a great visual landscape that translated very well to Blu-ray. 

Audio

As an early 80’s film, I expected the audio presentation to be a bit of a mixed bag.  And true to form for movies of this era, it was.

Firstly, the score by John Morris is superb, and itself contains very wry and ironic themes while accompanying the movie.  It is not often one hears “Deutschland Uber Alles” incorporated slightly off kilter into a soundtrack.  Through the DTS-HD MA presentation, this score shines.

Dialog is also very clear through the centre channel, though it seems to be a bit mixed-down or muffled.  Although volume levels are good, a certain crispness or sibilance was missing.  We do suffer from the early 80’s issue of lack of dynamic range and spatializing, with the LFE channel being sadly underused, much like the surrounds.

All-in-all, an average audio presentation for a film of this era – nothing great, but better than serviceable.

Special Features

Much like Silent Movie, To Be or Not to Be did not receive a solo Blu-ray release, and we therefore find a skinnier feature set on this disc.  Included are a trivia pop-up track (a good one by the way), an isolated score track, a short HD featurette on Bancroft and Brooks working together, a short vintage promo piece (in SD), three short interviews (also in SD), plus trailers for this film and other Mel Brooks films.

Generally, not an overly impressive special feature set, with the main HD featurette being charming yet below the standard of the one that accompanied Silent Movie.

Final Thoughts

Although the “extras” of this film were minimal and the audio presentation was pedestrian, the video presentation was quite good, with the film itself being wonderful.  Well-acted, possessing a sensitivity to the subject matter, and delivering comedy in an intelligent and witty way, this is a movie I know I will watch again.

Although not a “traditional” Mel Brooks movie, I have not seen a film that better highlights his ability as an actor.  Nor have I seen a film in recent memory show how closely related comedy and tragedy are.

And unfortunately, I am again giving a “Buy It” recommendation for a film that is only available as a part of this collection.

More importantly, how does this film measure up against the “epics” of today, and how well did this translate to Blu-ray?  Although some films receive a loving restoration (The African Queen), how well would Warner Brothers treat this legendary film?

Film

Based on a novel by Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago follows the life of our eponymous hero as he navigates life in Russia through both World War I and the Russian Revolution. 

Left destitute by the death of his mother, Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif in his best role) is taken in by well-to-do friends of the family (the Gromekos).  Trained to be a doctor, yet popular as a published poet, Yuri’s life is ideal, including a predestined marriage to the Gromeko’s daughter (Tonya, played by the lovely and vulnerable Geraldine Chaplin).  However, this idyllic world is torn apart, firstly through World War I (and Yuri’s conscription), followed by his return home to a radically changed Russia.

Yuri’s life is further complicated by him unexpectedly falling in love with a nurse whom he met while serving in the Army.  Lara (played by a beautiful, vulnerable, yet strong Julie Christie) reciprocates these feelings, but their romance remains unconsummated.  In the words of Lara, “Let us do nothing that you will need to lie to Tonya about”.   

The movie itself operates in three main acts; before War and the Revolution in Moscow, after War and the Revolution in Moscow (including escape), and life in the Urals, away from the Revolution.  And although a devoted family man, and still in love with Tonya, Yuri cannot resist the pull of Lara, especially when his family is hiding safely only miles from the town where she lives. 

In his soul a poet, but by trade a Doctor, Yuri Zhivago is one of a type of movie hero that seems to have disappeared from cinema.  He is not a “doer” or a man of action; like most of us in our lives, the world around him changes, and he must do what he can to adapt and survive.  And although he does not overtly fight back against those who would ruin the life he once enjoyed, when challenged, he shares candidly his true feelings about what has happened to Russia, without fear or remorse.  An incurable romantic, a spiritual fatalist, and a flawed man; this best describes Yuri Zhivago.  Yet in his noble bearing, he communicates a dignity that we would all be hard pressed to equal if placed in similar circumstances.

One of the most endearing traits of the movie is how the main characters’ lives intertwine throughout the movie.  Lara’s finace (Pasha) is in the film early as a Bolshevik idealist, in the middle as a ruthless Red leader Strelnikov (during which he has a powerful conversation with Yuri), and at the end (offscreen) as a main motivation for a number of the characters.

Lara herself first appears to Yuri in Moscow as the daughter of a patient he and his guardian visit.  Later on, she appears to him again as a much-needed nurse during a retreat from the World War I front lines.  And lastly, she reappears, living only miles from the old family house where Yuri hides with his guardian and family.

Yuri also has a half-brother, Yevgraf (played with charm, menace, and sincerity by Sir Alec Guiness) who appears in many places in the film.  When needed, he provides the necessary narration to move the story forward, yet he also appears at pivotal moments in Yuri’s life.  Although a member of the Cheka, Yevgraf hides a true and loving soul for his half-brother under his staid and state-centric persona.

Over top of this all, is our Faustian devil, the lawyer Victor Komarovsky (played incredibly well by Rod Steiger).  Through the movie, Komarovsky is a harbinger of nothing but illness to our protagonists, be it through forcing himself on a young Lara while in Moscow, reputedly driving Yuri’s Father into destitution, or threatening and bullying Lara and Yuri in the film’s closing stages.

Although this movie is set during two very pivotal moments in Russian 20^th Century history, the film does not denigrate into historical documentary territory.  Sir David Lean instead captures the essence of what it is to be human, how the heart can override the mind, and shows the both the best and worst sides of human nature.  And to do so would have been impossible without the flawless performances of Sharif, Christie, Chaplin, Guiness, and Steiger. 

It is also easy to understand why Mr. Pasternak’s writings and this film were banned in Russia for many, many years.  Sir David Lean takes a decidedly Western view of Communism; Yuri leaves a vibrant and beautiful Moscow, and return to a filthy, starved, disease-ridden city, full of the most rapacious and petty-minded Communists imaginable.  Humanity seems to have been sucked out of almost every ardent Bolshevik in the movie, never more elequently illustrated as through the character of Pasha/Strelnikov.   

The quality of the film is beyond reproach.  From the beautiful score by Walter Jarre (you’ll be humming “Lara’s Theme” for days), to the sets, costumes, and cinematography (by the legendary Freddie Young), this is truly what a classic epic film is.

For us in our reasonably comfortable North American world, one cannot help feel but a bit of chill when we see how quickly all of the comfort and luxury taken for granted by these characters is ripped away from them.  To me, this is what makes the film most compelling; how would I survive the same things survived by Yuri, his family, and Lara?  Hours after seeing the film, I am still asking myself the same question.

Video

In the words of Alex from A Clockwork Orange, “gorgeousness and gorgeousity”.

This movie is absolutely magnificent.  Sir David Lean knew how to use a camera, how to frame a shot, and how to get the best out of his actors.  Be it lighting placement, shot staging, or using every natural nuance of his actors to convey an emotion, each frame is shot with an exact preciseness.  Wide shots, tight shots, dark shots, light shots – all are done with love and care.  The film itself is also a throwback to the era of true epic pictures from Hollywood; even the sets are fantastic, and are better than virtually anything from that era.

Most importantly, Warner Brothers did an incredibly respectful job with the restoration of this film.  Grain is there (as it should be in a 45 year old film) but is never distracting.  Low light shots are resolved superbly.  Although some of the blacks can tend towards dark gray, there is never swimming grain, macroblocking, or crush.  The movie itself is somewhat sepia-toned, but color is used appropriately with the color red obviously highlighted.

All in all, this is an incredible presentation for a movie released in 1965.  The care used by Sir David Lean in filming the movie allowed the WB restoration team to produce a movie of pure beauty.  Although not perfect, this disc is now the standard by which I will judge the restoration of all classic movies. 

Audio

As is expected, audio simply cannot be restored the same way video can.  If filmed with a mono track with limited dynamics, there is only so much the engineers can do to spatialize sounds, and add top and bottom end to them.

This being stated, the team that worked on Doctor Zhivago deserve the merit star for a top quality effort.  The DTS-MA 5.1 is absolutely incredible for a movie this age, with decent use of the surround channels, and even some LFE information! 

At times the dialog can drop out, and the score can be a bit jarring through the centre channel, something which did having me adjusting the volume more than I prefer to.  This being said, the sound is superb for a 45-year old movie.  

Special Features

Packaged as a “45^th Anniversary Edition Digibook”, this film has every extra a true movie lover could ask for. 

The handsomely bound book contains forty-four glossy full-color heavyweight pages describing a bit about the movie, making a lovely primer for the neophyte (such as myself).  There are also profiles of a number of the main actors in the film, and some candid “behind the scenes” photos.  A great booklet in the opinion of someone who still loves the printed word.

Also included is an all-too-short CD sampler of the soundtrack, which is a real treat for someone who loves 2-channel classical music.  This alone would have been worth 2.5 discs on its own.

However, in the list of more traditional features, we have some that come on the movie’s Blu-ray, with the balance being contained on an accompanying DVD (all in SD unfortunately).

On the Blu-ray we have a commentary track.  And we are fortunate to still have the genteel Omar Sharif with us, as well as Sir David Lean’s widow, Sandra; he obviously told her many stories in the short time they were married.  Although we no longer have Rod Steiger with us (he passed on in 2002), we are fortunate that he did have some commentary recorded for the film (likely for the 2001 DVD release) – even though he is not a part of the initial conversation, he is seamlessly blended into this track.  Be advised that although this is a better commentary than most, it does still represent listening to other people talk over a movie for over three hours.  And as loyal readers know, I am not a big fan of commentaries, though this one held my attention better than most.

Also on the Blu-ray, we have a two-part documentary (480p – bah!) about Doctor Zhivago, most notably in the words of others in the industry.  A very good piece.

On the accompanying DVD, we have what looks to be a rehash of the special features that accompanied the 2001 “Special Edition” DVD release of the film.  If you do not own the DVD, and love “retro” features, this is your disc.  There are number of vintage featurettes, including interviews, a screen test, and various old “presser” type materials.  Plus, this disc includes the excellent 1995 documentary on Doctor Zhivago, narrated by the ever-eloquent Omar Sharif.

In terms of variety, volume, and quality, this is a wonderfully varied set of special features.  Even the lack of high-def supplements is acceptable considering the age of the film. 

Final Thoughts

Honestly, I did find the thought of reviewing this film a bit daunting.  Not only is it legendary, it comes with a hefty runtime, and a hefty set of extras in its 45^th anniversary edition.  Furthermore, I did find the start of the movie to be a bit slow and confusing, though this all resolved itself once the film progressed. 

However, I cannot remember the last time I was so engrossed in a film, especially developing a heightened empathy for our characters.  This is a tribute to Sir David Lean, who truly captured the emotion of his actors for the screen.  From an excellent story, to an excellent script, to tour-de-force acting performances, this is a top notch film. 

That a 45-year old film looks and sounds as good as this does on Blu-ray is a tribute to Warner Brothers; Doctor Zhivago fully deserves a place of honor in any serious movie collection.

Film

Martin Scorsese has had his ups and downs as a director, but has really come into a renaissance over the last eight years with Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, and Shutter Island.  Odd as it may sound, I believe Shutter Island is some of the finest work of his career. 

The premise of the film is that a patient has disappeared from their cell in Ashecliff Hospital for the Criminally Insane, located on Shutter Island in Boston Harbour.  Two U.S. Marshalls are sent to investigate the disappearance, where they encounter stonewalling, patient fear, and suspicious actions on the part of the facility’s administrators and guards.  It is difficult to describe the plot much more than this without ruining it for the viewer; suffice it for me to say that the movie constantly has you questioning what is real, and effectively grows the viewer’s paranoia throughout.

Although the story may not be as compelling as some of Scorsese’s legendary movies, the cinematography, scene framing, lighting, and shooting angles are all superb.  His ability to have his actors convey an emotion through an expression as simple as a drawn mouth or raised eyebrow rivals (and in some cases surpasses) Stanley Kubrick.

Furthermore, Scorsese uses every element of filmmaking to make this as superb a movie as possible.  The score creates an ominous feeling; although it can be a bit jarring at times (a la Godard), it is present, heavy, and controls the mood of the movie.  Lighting is used effectively, with warmth on indoor incandescent shots, washed out paleness outdoors, and cold sterility under fluorescents.  The weather even plays a hand in the film, with an ominous storm bearing down on Shutter Island during the stay of the actors.

Even better is that Scorsese gives everything in the film a slight off-kilter feel to it.  Is it safe for U.S. Marshal Teddy (Leonardo DiCaprio) to take aspirin from the head psychologist at the hospital Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley)?  Why do the guards start fingering their weapons when Teddy and his partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) arrive on the island?  What is with the insane patient who makes a whispering sign to Teddy when they arrive at the facility?  For the person who pays close attention to the little actions of all characters in the movie, Scorsese orchestrates them grandly, and they all make sense by the end of the film.  Nothing is not done for a purpose..

The work of the main actors in this film also cannot be understated.  Leonardo DiCaprio is superb as Marshall Teddy Daniels; he presents a complex and nuanced character with extreme sensitivity, and allows him to be peeled back, layer-by-layer.  Ben Kingsley manages to wrap compassion, sincerity, and sinister into a nattily-dressed, well-educated package.  Even the supporting cast is superb, stepping in when needed to move the plot along, but never detracting from the interaction of the leads.

As someone who likes to predict what will happen in a film, I was pleasantly surprised by the end of the movie.  Although Scorsese could have left the viewer with doubt and ambiguity, he chose instead to end the movie cleanly, something I am very pleased with.

Regardless, this movie is a true example of a film-maker in full control of their craft, and is one of the best films made in the past few years.  Highly recommended.    

Video

I cannot fault any part of the visual presentation of this film.  Although it is not at the level of my current video reference disc (Star Trek), it is superb.  In fact, the natural grain, softness, and texture of the movie made me feel like I was in the world’s best movie theatre watching a film.

It is really impossible for me to flaw any part of the movie.  Even very dark scenes were free of noise, grain, and crush, and the amount of grain and texture was always appropriate for the type of lighting.  An absolutely superb video presentation.

Audio

This is how lossless audio was to be.  Eerie noises leaking into the sound field from the background.  Punishing score coming from the entire front wall of speakers, followed by a clean and quick shift to the centre channel for dialog.  The room shaking as storm-driven waves crash themselves against the rocky cliffs of Shutter Island.  Excellent dynamic range.

However, this is not a perfect audio presentation.  At one important juncture in the movie, the actors speak in whispers, making them unintelligible.  There was some jarring audio transitions (deliberately done by Scorsese, I believe).  If you’re watching this when the kids are in bed, you may want to put your AVR’s “night” mode on.

Despite my small niggles, this was a very, very good audio presentation.

Special Features

It is disappointing that the level of special features on non-Special Edition Blu-ray discs seems to be on a downward slide.  Shutter Island is no exception to this trend, as it contains only two small featurettes (though both are in HD).

Behind the Shutters goes behind the scenes with the cast, crew, and author of Shutter Island while the slightly longer Into the Lighthouse focuses more on psychology and psychiatric care, and how it was incorporated into the film.  Together, these clock in at just under 40 minutes.

Although I am not a huge proponent of commentary tracks, this is one movie I would not have minded watching again, simply to hear DiCaprio, Kingsley, and Scorsese discuss their work.  However, maybe this is for the better; who would have wanted to hear an artist like Rembrandt discuss his brushstrokes as he paints a picture?  Sometimes it is just better to sit back and appreciate the art for what it is.   

Final Thoughts

There is a certain portion of the population that appreciates fine craftsmanship.  Be it through purchasing old antiques, or a fondness for watches or shoes, these people can tell when looking at something how well it is made, regardless of its price.  Movie viewers are much the same way.  We can recognize when we are seeing fine craftsmanship; it is reflected in every frame, every action, every sound regardless of a film’s genre, budget, or hype. 

In the case of Shutter Island, it is the product of a master craftsman who skills and refinement have only improved with age.  This is apparent from the first frame of the film to the last, and shines through in a near-perfect Blu-ray transfer.  Shutter Island would make a worthy addition to the permanent collection of any true movie fan.

As a father myself, I was concerned that this would be one of those movies that would scar me in some way, indelibly marking my memory with horrible scenes that I would never forget.  At least this apprehension was tempered with the thought of seeing a controversial movie, and having the luxury of deciding on its merits for myself.

Film

A good question is, “Who thinks the fictionalization of the murder/rape of a 14-year old girl is a source of entertainment?”  I had to ask myself this when reading the packaging of the movie before watching it.

Personally, I think there is way too much crime and death on TV and in movies these days.  One only has to look at the plethora of Law & Order or CSI shows, or others such as Bones or Cold Case to get their fill of human depravity.

This is not to say that there are not a lot of fictionalized movies that do deal in death that are not good.  But the best of these use death or violence at a micro level to offer a commentary on our larger society as a whole, or report an historic event in human history.  Examples are American History X (racism), Schindler’s List (Nazism, World War II, and anti-Semitism), Three Kings (The Gulf War, global economics and oil), and Apocalypse Now, Platoon, and Full Metal Jacket (Vietnam, and the morality of war).  Documentaries also serve this purpose well (Shake Hands with the Devil, Darwin’s Nightmare), showing the story behind the story with intent to inform, not to entertain.

Compared to the movies listed above, The Lovely Bones is lightweight fare indeed.

On the positive side, the casting is superb.  Saorise Ronan is exceptionally good as our victim Susie Salmon, with expressive blue eyes, and an ability to convey emotion through facial expression.  The way she plays Susie is genuine, with a true veneer of authenticity.  If the industry does not ruin or mis-package her, she has all the makings of a young Meryl Streep.

The remaining cast is also very good, with the lovely Rachel Weisz playing Susie’s mother, and the genuinely creepy Stanley Tucci playing Susie’s murderer.  Even Mark Wahlberg puts in a performance that feels sincere and genuine as Susie’s father.

However, this movie is weakened by many factors.  The premise is horrible to begin with, we learn that being dead is actually pretty cool, we learn that we can still get involved in life even when we’re dead, pre-heaven and heaven are okey-dokey, and justice comes to all, no matter how improbable it may be.

And despite the excellent cast, Susie is a much better character when alive, and the rest of the cast (with the exception of her sister) are less likeable once Susie is dead.

Although I have admired Peter Jackson’s work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, his fantastical approach to other worlds and CGI is just a poor fit in this movie.  If I was going to Heaven (or pre-heaven) for that matter, I’d like it to look a whole lot better than I saw here.  And some of the symbolism used (see “ships in bottle on beach”) suggests Mr. Jackson’s talents for over-the-top heavy-handedness work better in the realms of fantasy.

This is the rare movie that can be described in one word: distasteful.  A bad premise, poor direction, poor execution, and an inability to emotionally connect with the viewer consign this movie to its rating.    

Video

Despite the film’s general cruddiness, it had a distinctive and pleasant appearance to it.  Scenes that needed to be washed of color appear almost black and white.  Scenes with color literally pop from the screen.  Lighting was also used effectively, especially when alternate light sources were used – sunlight popped colors, candlelight added warmth and richness to what it hit.

There was an obvious decision made during or post production to solarize the colors in quite a few of the scenes.  Although this can be striking (as when done on tight shots of Susie’s face and expressive blue eyes), it is somewhat overdone, and detracts from the detail in the scenes.  Some of the CGI effects were also strange (to say the least), and detracted from the overall appearance of the movie.  Gripes like these are small, but keep the disc short of being considered reference material.

Grain was also nice through out the movie, present where it should be, but not excessive, especially in many of the numerous low-light shots in the film.     

Audio

The audio presentation of this movie was also well done.  Dynamic levels through the centre channel were very good, and the mixing of male and female voices (both adult and child) was excellent.

Surround channels were used judiciously, with appropriate information coming through them, in a properly mixed, non-distracting way.  Atmospheric sounds and music were appropriately enveloping.

In some of the more dramatic scenes there was a bit of an overload to the LFE and front channels, making this movie a good candidate for dynamic compression (or night mode) on your AVR if the kids are sleeping.

Special Features

As a movie reviewer, one of the worst jobs I have is to review the special features after watching a movie that leaves me with such a feeling of distaste.  However, the feature package provided on a second Blu-ray is excellent material for those who appreciate the art of film making.

The first special feature is a short introduction by Peter Jackson, where he discusses the shooting schedule.  This is then expounded upon through three features (all under the title of “Filming The Lovely Bones”) that show the shooting done in New Zealand, the shooting done in the US, and the special effects filming. In total, this provides almost three hours of behind-the-scenes of film making, all in HD.  This is a very high quality special feature.

What was missing was a commentary track (though I would have found it challenging to sit through the movie a second time), and deleted or alternate scenes (my favourite feature).  There was also really nothing for a non-film making buff, such as an interview with cast members, or an interview with the book’s author.

Depending on the viewer’s interest in film making, this special features set could be scored as either a 5 or a 0.

Final Thoughts

I believe it is fairly clear that this movie will not make it to my “Top 10 Blu-ray of the year” list.  In fact, this is a movie that has a high likelihood of never being watched again.

Sadly, I cannot come up with a single reason that I would recommend someone watch this Blu-ray.  Despite the excellent picture and audio, this is a poorly visualized film based on an extremely distasteful premise.  Support for this type of movie only means that we will be subjected to more equally distasteful fare in future years.

Film 

I will go out on a limb here and speculate that I will be the only on line reviewer to rate this films as anything other than a 5 star film. After all, given the boffo box office receipts, it has to be a great film, doesn’t it. Well….. not exactly. Don’t get me wrong, the film has stunning visuals and reference audio as noted below. However, the story is another matter. I have seen this story before and have seen it done better. The best way I can think to describe the film is that it is Dances With Wolves meets Aliens meets Greenpeace.

I am sure that all of you know the plot. The film takes place on Pandora, a moon of the planet Polyphemus (think of a blue Jupiter) in the Alpha Centauri, which is a 6 year journey from Earth. Humans have arrived at Pandora to mine a mysterious mineral named Unobtanium (couldn’t Mr. Cameron have come up with another name?) which seems to have antigravity properties and is worth a boatload of cash. The only problem is that Pandora is inhabited by the Na’Vi, a race of blue tall and thin humanoids, who will not leave their home, a giant tree (and I mean a giant tree) which happens to sit on a massive deposit of Unobtanium.

In order to try to convince the Na’Vi to move and to gather intelligence on their society and defenses, the humans or Sky People as the Na’Vi call them, the humans create human-Na’Vi clones known as Avatars are created which humans can inhabit via some sort of wireless mind link while placed in a pod on their base. The Avatars are created using a combination of human and Na’Vi DNA and as such are tailored to a particular person. However, one of the men for whom an Avatar was created as murdered on Earth and was replaced with his brother, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a marine who lost the use of his legs in battle. However, his DNA is so similar to that of his brother that he was “inhabit” his brother’s Avatar.

As Jake enters the Na’Vi community, he earns their respect and love all the while collecting intelligence on their defenses which is relayed to the military on base. When it is clear that the Na”Vi will not move, the military goes in to move them out, with extreme force, which causes Jake to have to make a choice between his new found “family” and the Sky People.

While the film has its moments, it has a very heavy political message and contains a story that has been the subject of quite few movies. Even some of the contraptions and creatures in the film look very familiar to those in other films including Aliens and even The Incredibles (take a gander at those helicopters). The film is very predictable and way too long at 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Did I enjoy the film? Sure, but not to the extent to give it more than 3 stars out of 5. All the incredible CGI aside, the script itself is just not all that great. Despite my issues with the plot, I still have to give this release a must buy recommendation as the video and audio quality is so spectacular, that it belongs in the collection of every film fan and home theater geek. Avatar is a must buy.

Video 

I must say that I am hesitant to give the video a 5 stars rating as it deserves an even higher rating. In fact, the video on Avatar is in a league of its own, being the best looking film I have yet to experience at home. On scale of 5, it is fully worthy of a 6 star rating. It is simply spectacular and is reference from star to finish. The bright colors, the deep blacks and spectacular level of detail and clarity is amazing and must be seen to be believed. The level of depth and three dimensionality here is the best I have ever seen. One can clearly see the added depth that was included for 3D as it is clearly visible in 2D. The video on Avatar is perfect in every way. Yes, I said perfect. Need I really say more?

Audio 

The audio on Avatar is every bit as good as the video and is also of reference quality from the start of the film to the very end. The sound is smooth, full, detailed, effortless and natural sounding and transports you from your home to Pandora. I can’t think of a film that I have seen at home that sounds this good. The sound design on Avatar is as good as it gets. I just keep coming back to the word effortless. No matter how loud you crank up with volume the film sounds great. Unlike many films, the higher the volume, the better this film sounds.

Dynamics are off the charts with deep and natural sounding bass that doesn’t have even a hint of bloat. The highs are smooth and open with reference levels of transparency, imaging and detail, from the softest sound to the loudest, all clearly audible and all well placed in the sound field. The surrounds are active throughout the film creating a sense of total immersion. It is the sense of immersion that really caught me by surprise as the surrounds, while actively and aggressively deployed, never call attention to themselves, sounding as true to real life that I have ever heard at home. The audio here is reference in all respects and is, dare I say it again, perfect!

Special Features

This was an easy category to score as there are now extras whatsoever. The folks at Fox have advised that there are no extras because they maxed out the bit rate for the audio and video and there was no space available for extras. They could have included extras on a second Blu-ray disc but chose instead to include a second disc that is contains a DVD edition of the film. This is probably a good move as it will no doubt greatly increase the sales for the Blu-ray version of the disc, as you can get both formats for the price of a DVD. Still, for such an anticipated release, one would have expected many extras and all in HD. I will hazard to bet that the extras will be included on the 3D later in the year. The lack of any extras is the only flaw that I can point to regarding this release.

Final Thoughts 

Avatar is in a league of its own when it comes to its video and audio presentations, both of which are the best I have yet to experience at home. Avatar on Blu-ray is a must buy for all film fans and home theater geeks like me. If you want to show off your system to friends and family, Avatar is the only film that you will need. It is that good.

Film 

For me, the choice of movie of the year should have been Up in the Air which left me speechless leaving the theater. You don’t find films that really have it all like Up in the Air does, a great cast, marvelous performances, a great script, witty, moving and insightful dialogue and top notch direction. The fact that it is current and topical and deals with one of the great issues of our time is just icing on the cake.

The film stars George Clooney as Ryan Bingham an employee of a company based out of Omaha, Nebraska, that is hired out to be the ones to give fired employees the bad news. Ryan flies all over the country and is on the road over 270 days a year, being the harbinger of bad news. Ryan loves the lonely, isolated life he leads, enjoying the road and his singular pursuit of his goal of 10 million frequent flyers miles.

On the road, he meets Alex played by Vera Farmiga, who appears to be something of a kindred spirt, who spends a large portion of her job traveling around the country just as Ryan does, staying in the same hotels he does, flying the same airlines, using the same rental car companies. They start off swapping notes on the things they like best and least about each of these companies and then move rather quickly to a sexual relationship.

Into this story comes Natalie, played by Anna Kendrick, a young Ivy League upstart who thinks the company can save all that travel money and fire the employees using a T1 line and video conferencing. Ryan is naturally appalled and takes Natalie on the road so that she can see that her ideas are not the right way to go. In doing so, Natalie comes to appreciate that she is wrong. While Natalie receives an education, so does Ryan, who comes to realize that his credo of the lonely life is not all that it is cracked up to be when he falls for Alex and wants to share his life with her, a proposition that she does not share.

The film is filled with some exquisite dialogue and wonderful Oscar nominated performances by George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. Just as wonderful are the interviews with real individuals who have lost their jobs in today’s down economy, who are left wondering how they will deal with their loss and provide for their families. One can’t help being deeply moved by these sequences. Up in the Air is a moving and beautiful piece of film making that really deserves your attention. I can’t recommend this film enough and it gets my highest of recommendations, and is a must See.

Video 

This film looked great in the theaters and looks just as good on this Blu-ray release. The film features a very natural looking color palette with very natural looking skin tones. Black level are deep and solid. Much of the film is shot with close-ups and they look spectacular with excellent levels of fine facial detail. The high level of detail is not just limited to the close-ups and is consistent throughout the entire film, from tile floors, walls and ceilings of the hotels and airports, to the fine clothing detail. This is one fine looking encode and a great looking film.

The only quibble I would have with the film is that in some select distant shots, there is a bit of a general softness where the level of detail is not quite up to the level of the rest of the film. Fortunately, these instances are few and the film as a whole has a sharpness, clarity and level of detail that was a joy to experience at home.

Audio 

Other than the sound design, the audio on Up in the Air is excellent as well, with wonderful overall fidelity. The dialogue track in particular, is well recorded and well placed in the mix, sounding very much like real voices in real space, rather than voices from speakers. The music track sound excellent as well, with very good separation, imaging and transparency and surprisingly deep bass.

The only real area where the audio comes up a bit short is in the sound design, and by that, I mean the use or lack of use of the surrounds. For the most part, this is a front heavy sounding film, with sparse use of the surrounds which are used basically to provide just a hint of room ambiance. With the exception of the party crashing scene in Miami, the surrounds were used very subtly. If I could change one thing about the film, it would be to employ a more aggressive use of the surrounds to provide a more immersive experience. Other than that, the audio on this release is very very good.

Special Features 

All in all, given the importance of the film, I was a bit underwhelmed by the extras. The release includes a commentary by writer/director Jason Reitman, director of photography Eric Steel berg and first assistant director, Jason Blumenfeld. Also included are a series of 13 deleted scenes with optional director commentary, all of which are presented in HD.

Also included is a brief featurette “Shadowplay: Before the Story” as well as the “Help Yourself” music video by Sad Brad. Also included is a brief storyboards sequence of what appear to be run through of certain scenes by staff and an American Airlines Prank, where a scene was shot showing much more turbulence than American Airlines was told would be featured in the film. The extras also include trailers for the film. All of the extras are presented in HD. The release does not contain a digital copy and is not BD-Live enabled.

Final Thoughts 

Up in the Air is a wonderful film that should appeal to anyone looking for a film with fine performances, a great script and a moving and yet witty story. Up in the Air is simply, a must see.

Film 

The Blind Side is a wonderfully written and directed film that can best be described as uplifting and a tad sentimental. Call me an old softie, but I really enjoyed The Blind Side. Perhaps is was due to fact that football is prominently featured in the film. I, on the other hand, would prefer to think that it is the script, the story and the performances that had more to do with it! T

The Blind Side tells the true life story of Michael Oher who was able to escape the ghetto in Memphis, attend a Christian private school with little in the way of a formal education, and with the help of the Tuohy family, graduate school and attend Ole Miss on a football scholarship, become an All-America left tackle and a first round draft choice of the Baltimore Ravens.

While there is a lot going on in the film, the film focuses on two main characters, Michael Oher (played by newcomer Quinton Aaron) and the real star of the film, Leah Anne Tuohy, wonderfully played by Sandra Bullock, which earned her the Oscar for Best Actress. While Michael is a very large and very quiet man, it is the character of Leigh Anne that really takes up the most screen space. She is quite a character, a gun toting, evangelical Christian woman who is about as sassy and confident as they come, a real pistol you might say.

It is clear from the extras that Sandra Bullock captured Leigh Anne’s persona perfectly. Whether her performance was worthy of the Oscar is up for debate, at least in my eyes. Regardless, her performance is wonderful and the highlight of the film, along with the performance of Jae Head as Leigh Anne’s young son S.J, who is a real chip off the Leigh Anne block.

The film quickly introduces us to Michael and his travails at school, from his lack of parents, to a lack of clothing and him essentially living on the streets. Leigh Anne sees him and invites him into their home and feeds and clothes him and provides him with what he has never had before, a home and a family. With her help and the help of the rest of the family and a full time tutor Miss Sue (Cathy Bates), he is able to pull his weight at school, and earn a full scholarship to Ole Miss. The rest as they say, is history.

The film is based on the book by Michael Lewis of Money ball fame. The director John Lee Hancock was able to distill the essence of the book into a wonderfully warm, moving and inspirational film that is well worth a look.

Video 

The best way I can describe the video here is solid if unspectacular. The film features a bright and warm color palette that is a bit too warm for my tastes, especially the skin tons which are a bit too golden and tan for my tastes. However, this is how the film looked in the theater and is reproduced perfectly in this encode. Blacks are deep, stable and inky.

Clarity and detail are good but far from reference. The close-ups in the film look great with a sharp and detailed picture. It is the distant shots and dimly lit shots which are a bit soft and lacking in detail, looking a bit fuzzy in comparison with the close-ups. On the plus side, I was not able to detect any obvious evidence of the application of edge enhancement or digital noise reduction. Technically, this appears to be an excellent encode that faithfully captures how the film looked in the theater which, when you come right down to it, is all that we can really ask.

Audio 

As was the case with the video, I would have to describe the audio or at least the sound design of The Blind Side as good but not spectacular. I have two main quibbles with the sound. The first is a bit of overall brightness which while minimal is still noticeable on revealing equipment. The second is the sound design which is a little too front heavy for my tastes. While the surrounds are active throughout the film, they are rather subtle for the most part, with two exceptions, the football game sequences and the car crash scene all of which had excellent dynamics, heft and punch sounding quite realistic.

The dialogue track is well recorded and well placed in the mix and is always intelligible. With a smoother richer sound and a more aggressive use of the surrounds, the sound on this release would have earned a higher score, but as they say, “It is what it is” and worthy of 4 stars out of 5.

Special Features 

I must say that I enjoyed the extras here more than normal, perhaps because of the interview of the real Leigh Anne Tuohy conducted by Sandra Bullock. While the interview segments are brief, they really provide you with an insight into just who Leigh Anne Tuohy is and exactly how well Sandra Bullock captured her in the film. The release contains two discs, the first being the Blu-ray version of the film and the second, a DVD combo disc, containing a DVD copy of the film along with a digital copy compatible with all portable media devices.

The extras include several featurettes including “Acting Coaches: Behind the Blind Side” which feature interviews with the several college football coaches featured in the film, including Phillip Fulmer formally of Tennessee. Lou Holtz then of South Carolina, Nick Saban, then of LSU, Tommy Tuberville of Auburn, Houston Nutt then of Arkansas and Ed Orgeron of Ole Miss.

Also included is a featurette “The Story of Big Quinton” which details how Quinton Aaron was selected for the role of Michael Oher. There are several short interviews broken down into different topics between Sandra Bullock and Leigh Anne Tuohy as well as screen writer and director John Lee Hancock and author Michel Lewis. I found each of these segments to be very informative and well worth your time.

We also get an interview with the real Michael Oher as well as a few deleted scenes. All of the extras are presented in high definition and look quite good.

Final Thoughts 

The Blind Side is a wonderfully warm and inspiring film that features an excellent Oscar winning performance by Sandra Bullock and is well worth a look. Highly recommended.