As an aside, isn’t the concept of relegation a wonderful thing? I would love to see that in the US. One would think that with this rich history there would be a great movie in there somewhere. I am pleased to report that there is and it is the subject of today’s review, The Damned United. The great thing about this film is the you don’t need to be a fan of English football or a sports fan at all to enjoy it.

Film 

Simply put, this is a great film, even if it has been somewhat overlooked by the general public, which is a shame. The Damned United has everything that you could want in a film. It is well written and directed, full of drama and incredible performances by the entire cast, which features some great English character actors such as Jim Broadbent and Timothy Spall and another memorable performance by Michael Sheen in the lead role of Brian Clough.

At this point in time, Michael Sheen has to be recognized as one of the world’s great actors. As is the case with one of my all time favorite actors, Gary Oldman, Michael Sheen has the rather unique ability to totally become the character that he is playing, to that point that you totally forget that it is an actor playing that role. This is a gift that is shared by a precious few.

The film centers on the early years in the career of Brian Clough, universally regarded as the greatest manager in the history of English Football. Brian Clough was a man before his time in terms of the way he thought the game should be played as well as his ability to use the media, especially television. He sure had the gift of gab, to the point that he even came to the attention of one of the most gifted communicative athletes of all time, Mohammed Ali.

The film jumps back and forth between time periods, mainly 1968-69 and 1974. showing him taking over the reigns of the dominant football club of the era, Division 1 champion Leeds United and back to 1968 when he along with his trusted assistant and sounding board, Peter Taylor, took a perennial small town second division club, Derby County, to the championship of the first division and the top spot in all of English football.

While Brain Clough was a very gifted man, he let his ego get the better of him, which is where his friend and advisor, Peter Taylor was his greatest asset. Brian Clough’s desire to be the best manager in England was driven not only by his ego, by his hatred of Don Rivie, the manager of Leeds United, who is played beautifully here by Colm Meaney (talk about look a likes!). After letting his ego get in the way of his management of Reading County, he and Peter Taylor were as the English say, sacked. They were then hired by a small town club, Briton. However, days later, Brian Clough was asked to assume the reigns of the hated Leeds United after Don Revie resigned to take over the management of England’s national a team.

This was a doomed marriage from the start as Peter Taylor refused to renegue on his commitment to Briton and refused to join Clough at Leeds. Clough’s management style was rejected by the Leeds players resulting in the worst start in many years, resulting in his dismissal as manager in only 44 days.

The Damned United is a compelling story of the power of the ego, for good as well as bad, and the value of true friendship. This is a great little film and one that shouldn’t be overlooked. The film should appeal to fans and non fans of football, i.e. soccer, and is very highly recommended.

Video 

The Damned United is a highly stylized looking film and looks great its its debut on Blu-ray. The film’s color palette various continuously throughout the film. At times, the film features a fairly natural looking palette. At time, the film has a washed out look and at other times, a purplish, bluish gray look. However, this is how the film is intended to look and the encode reproduces it perfectly. Blacks are deep throughout most of the film but at times, during the more washed out portions of the film are more milky than inky. However, that is just how the film is supposed to look. What is uniform throughout the entire film is a high level of detail, clarity and depth.

Background details are excellent, with each and every skin pore and blemish clearly visible as is each and every blade of grass and divot on the pitch. In addition to the color palette changing throughout the film the same can be said for the film grain, which is heavy at times and at times barely noticeable, depending on the type of film stock used. I couldn’t detect any obvious evidence of digital noise reduction or edge enhancement being applied during the encode. Visible video noise also is kept to a minimum in the darker lit scenes. In short, this is a great looking encode and is one which is totally faithful to the look of the actual film and was a thrill to experience for the first time on Blu-ray.

Audio 

In terms of overall fidelity, the audio presentation on the Blu-ray is very good, with a smooth and rich sound. The dialogue track is well recorded and well placed in the mix. The dialogue is always intelligible which is important given that The Damned United is a dialogue driven film. Where the audio fails a bit for me is in the sound design, which is very front heavy. The surrounds are used very infrequently, and come to life mostly during the football action and crowd shots, where a bit of an immersive effect is created.

I would have preferred a more aggressive use of the surrounds in the interior scenes, especially during locker room sequences, where the reflective surfaces naturally create an active acoustic environment, but which sound rather dry here. All in all, the audio on The Damned United is fine. I just would have preferred a more immersive experience. As far as this writer is concerned, the more immersive the better.

Special Features 

If you are a fan of English football, you will no doubt appreciate the extras on this release. They include a commentary with director Tom Hooper, Michael Sheen and producer Andy Harries. Also included is a featurette “Cloughisms” with some memorable Clough dialogue, a making of featurette “Perfect Pitch” featuring interviews with Tom Hooper, Michael Sheen and the writer of the book, upon which the film is based, David Peace.

Also included is a featurette “Creating Clough: Michael Sheen takes on ‘Old Big ‘Ead’, where Michael Sheen discusses how he went about creating his character and features archival footage of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor. The real gem of the extras, at least for me, is the featurette “The Changing Game: Football in the Seventies” where actual players from Leeds United and other clubs during the time period of the film, discuss what football in the 1970′s was like and how it differs from today, as well as their recollections of Brian Clough and Don Rivie.

What I found particularly interesting about this featurette is how English football had a very violent edge to it, just like ice hockey in the US and Canada during that same time period. It is interesting to note how similar two very different sports were to each other at the same time, despite the great expanse of the Atlantic Ocean and the lack of television coverage that we have today.

I also found interesting how the old players lament how they miss the good old days, where the players would ride the same bus with the fans to the game, drink in the same pubs after the game and have a more intimate connection with the fans than exists today. The same is true today in the US, where fans mention how before so much TV money was pumped into sports in the 1980′s, how the players used to live in the same community as the team, hold off season jobs in the community and interact with the fans on a more one to one basis, something that has been lost ever since. The Damned United is also BD-Live enabled.

Final Thoughts 

The Damned United is an overlooked gem of a film that deserves a more wider audience than it has received to date. It may be hard to find but is well worth a look and is highly recommended.

Film

Labyrinth is actually a remarkable movie featuring a young Jennifer Connelly as Sarah, a girl with a very large imagination who wishes for The Goblin King, played by David Bowie, to take her baby stepbrother away. The Goblin King obliges of course and the only way Sarah can get her brother back is to reach The Goblin King’s castle located in the center of a giant labyrinth. Along the way she befriends a series of interesting characters that help her on her quest.

David Bowie gives an impressive performance as The Goblin King. For the most part, he wisely plays it straight opposite Henson’s amazing creature creations, including Hoggle, the most lovable troll you could ever meet. Still, he is obviously having a ball when he finally gets to rock out in a few of the movies many musical numbers. I’ve always thought that Labyrinth has one of the most under-appreciated movie soundtracks around.

This was Jim Henson’s last feature length film and it makes an excellent swan song. It has the same style of humor that made The Muppets Show so popular set in a fantasy world so magical it could have only been made by one person. If you haven’t experienced this movie yet and you’re looking for a family-friendly movie that is both appealing to both young and old audiences, then Labyrinth is a good place to start.

Video

The film takes advantage of 1080p/AVC-MPEG 4 codec and displays the video in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The video is clean in comparison to older transfer I’ve seen, however with such crisp video, the signs of age are more noticeable. Whether it’s puppeteering strings or archaic CGI, everything is under scrutiny with Blu-ray.

Audio

Labyrinth‘s sound comes through using Dolby TrueHD 5.1. The audio is great throughout, the dialogue comes through clearly and music is enhanced to really take advantage of the new codec.

It also has French and Portuguese in TrueHD 5.1 and Spanish in regular 5.1. The subtitles also come in a variety of flavours, covering every language that there is an audio track for.

Special Features

• Making of Documentary: Inside The Labyrinth
• Commentary with Brian Froud
• Journey through the Labyrinth: “Kingdom of Characters”
• Journey through the Labyrinth: “The Quest for Goblin City”

Included in the special features are three behind-the-scenes featurettes, the main one being “Inside the Labyrinth”, which is approximately 50 minutes worth of information in documentary form. I was impressed with how in depth it was and felt like if they included the two “Journey through the labyrinth” sections into it, then they could sell it as a feature length documentary.

In terms of pleasing fans, all facets of the production are covered from pre-production (“The quest for Goblin City”) to puppeteering (“Kingdom of Characters”) and on top of the behind-the-scenes goodies, there’s a commentary with Brian Froud (Conceptual designer) that goes into detail about costume and character design and the overall atmosphere of the film.

All and all, they covered all the bases with the special features. I usually like to see a gag reel (depending on the movie), deleted scenes and possibly multiple commentaries to give a high rating, but I thought for a movie that probably has been bled dry of bonus material worthy footage, it’s not a bad collection.

Final Thoughts

Jim Henson creates a wonderful and believable fantasy world. If you loved Ron Howard’s Willow or Ridley Scott’s Legend, this movie is right up your alley. With a great cleaned-up transfer, a great mix to do the musical numbers justice and a good selection of special features, Labyrinth on Blu-ray is worth it for fans and new-comers alike. Hilarious and filled with some good life lessons, Labyrinth is a perfect family movie that could be recommended for kids of all ages. And remember, rocks friend.

Film

Following a housewife from the 80′s, Sex, Lies & Videotape covers taboo territory of sex and lust, while focusing on a crumbling marriage. Ann, Andie MacDowell, is a conservative woman and when compared to the people in her life, she appears all that more unadventurous. With her philandering husband and temptress sister, Ann can best be compared to Graham, an old friend of her husband who has come into town after a long period of disconnection.

Graham, played incredibly by James Spader, is a quiet and peculiar visitor who in his own right has some interesting sexual behaviour, but due to his almost self-conscious and pathetic ways comes off just as flat as Ann.

The movie is a staple of its time, coming straight from the indie film ether, and involving some very racy subject matter. However after 20 years and in comparison with what’s covered today, the film loses that forbidden notion that came along with it when it was first released.

The acting in the film is incredibly considering its independent roots, furthermore it should be noted that James Spader’s performance shines above the rest and for it alone, I give this movie a definite recommendation even with some of the let downs on the technical aspects of the Blu-ray.

Video

Sex, Lies & videotape‘s 1.85:1 presentation using the AVC codec isn’t anything special. There’s a lot of grain that seems to get more noticeable throughout the film and the overall washed out look and colour of the film doesn’t help either.

The detail and clarity of the film isn’t bad for a movie that’s 20 years old, but overall I wasn’t impressed.

Audio

In 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio the movie has a great score that captures the emotion of each scene well, however due to some mixing mistakes I found the audio to be lacking.

I’ve noticed some reviews talking about how phone calls in the movie were mixed poorly and the people on the telephone would sound like they’re in the room… I agree with this 100%. A few times I made the mistake of thinking people were in the scene when I couldn’t see the phone.

However besides the telephone mishap and some of the dialogue coming out a bid muddy, the sound isn’t too shabby.

Special Features

In detail the Special Features are:

• movieIQ: Real-time in-movie information about the cast, crew, music, and production via BD-Live
• Commentary with Writer/Director Steven Soderbergh and Neil LaBute
• 20-year reunion at the Sundance Film Festival
• Deleted scene with optional commentary
• Steven Soderbergh on Sex, Lies, and Videotape
• Previews for upcoming films
• Notes on remastering and restoration
• Stephen Soderberg on the trailers
• Original Trailer
• Miramax trailer

Surprisingly, there’s a decent amount of features, of course counting Previews for upcoming films is sort of cheating. There’s an insightful commentary by director Steven Soderbergh, one of today’s leading creative minds and a slew of featurettes ranging from the short- but-sweet retrospective Sundance reunion, which demonstrates the staple Sex Lies and Videotape has in Indie cinema, paving the way for fellow Indie filmmakers to get picked up by Miramax.

There are two trailers and a deleted scene; the trailers have an intro by Soderbergh while the deleted scene has an optional commentary. It’s nice to see the filmmaker involved with special features, whereas a lot of the time distributors will just throw together what they consider to be enough for a film and move one (hence all the lame special features on most Blu-rays). However, there are a few duds on the features menu for this release; such as movieIQ… Utilizing BD-live you can find out random facts and go on all kinds of tangents which end up being more distracting to the movie your watching opposed to insightful. There’s also a note on remastering and restoration for the Blu-ray format, which when compare some of the lesser looking scenes from the movie, you can’t help but say “Heed your own advice”. It almost feels like an apology note should’ve been included… or perhaps at the beginning of the note it could’ve said “Here’s what we should’ve done”.

Final Thoughts

After watching the film, I came to the conclusion that fans already enjoy the film… They know it, they love it. Those who have seen the film are going to want that extra Blu-ray goodness. However, even though there are a few special features to bide your time, it’s just not enough to warrant a double-dip. There’s also the ‘nothing-special’ video and audio quality to talk about…

However that being said, to people who haven’t seen the film, then what better way to watch the cult hit then on Blu-ray.

Film

The plot on Fired Up is as over the top as they come, but hey that just makes it all the more fun! Or not… Shawn and Nick are two young adults who have nothing on their mind but girls, so when they find out they’re going to a football camp in Texas where there are apparently no women. So the two opt to drop football camp and join cheer camp instead where there are said to be 300+ women. Not to my surprise the plot turns quite sappy and predictable as the two begin to enjoy cheering and even fall in love. I’ll let you guess how this one ends…

I become more and more surprised with some of the dribble they put out these days, honestly. Usually I can find at least something moderately likeable about comedies, a few odd ball laughs maybe, but I quite literally found Fired Up abysmal. It is becoming more and more obvious to me now that studious are putting in as little effort as possible to flood the market with frankly boring movies in order to turn a quick profit. I’m not trying to sound too unmelodious, but it just really disappoints me that this is what some films have come to. I say this being a huge fan of stupid movies, I love a good comedy I have just grown completely tired of the same old formula.

As a side note, I know as an audience we haven’t come to expect much from the casting in a film like this, but I must mention it was quite weak. The cast physically suits their roles as attractive and young, but the delivery just isn’t there in the lines which takes away what little appeal the script did have.

The thing that bothered me about this film most was its one dimension; its predictability and lack of fresh jokes. The script is just too limited by its lackluster premise that you know exactly what’s coming. I’m not going to completely condemn this film however, as I have no doubt it will entertain teenagers and but outside of that small target audience I really can’t recommend checking it out.

Video

Presented in 1080p 2.40:1 aspect ratio and encoded in MPEG-4 ratio Fired Up comes to Blu-ray with an impressive looking transfer. Detail presentation is very solid with little subtleties like hair and wrinkles clearly seen in every shot.  There wasn’t a single scene throughout the movie that looked compressed or soft which was very nice to see.  Color presentation is also top notch, although flesh tones can seem a bit enhanced in many shots.  However the vibrancy and color depth make up for this.

I was glad Sony gave this transfer the same care as it does for its higher budget movies.  Fans of the movie will be more than pleased to see the quality here.

Audio

Sony has included a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track and it is one that presents the given material very well.  The quality of the track is very high as we are given a presentation that sounds great while maintaining a correct balance between dialogue and music track.

The soundtrack is actually quite varied as we are given tracks ranging from Avril Lavigne to Whitesnake.  It is the frequent songs that really push the track over from being an average front heavy comedy.  Overall if you like the content of the film than this audio track will definitely surprise you.

Special Features

• Audio Commentary – Commentary by Director Will Gluck and actors Nicholas D’Agosto and Eric Olsen.

• Making of Feature – A lacklustre making of feature that focuses on the film’s production including an in depth look at the dance and cheerleading routines.

• Double Duty – A closer look at the how the two actors appeared as both football players and cheerleaders.

• Gag Reel – A short but funny gag reel that will provide laughs for fans of the movie.

• Digital Copy

Final Thoughts

I don’t think it comes as a surprise that this movie was rather disappointing. But I would have hoped that it held some integrity but instead we are left with just another dull and predictable comedy that will soon be forgotten. The audio and video transfers are both solid and will please the viewer. The features were somewhere in the middle, making Fired Up a purchase for fans only; otherwise I wouldn’t even warrant it with a rental.

Film

A River Runs Through It is a film based upon a novella by Norman Maclean, which tells his the tale of his family history growing up in Montana. His father was a minister and a lover of fly fishing on the Blackfoot River, a passion for which he handed down to his two boys, Norman and his brother Paul. Norman and Paul are about as different as two brothers could be. Norman is introspective, thoughtful and shy and his brother Paul, effervescent and rebellious, the type of person who immediately attracts attention when he enters the room.

Paul, also has a dark side, which he tries to keep hidden from his parents and his brother Norman, and an addictive personality. It is this additive personality that makes him a great fly fisher, but, when turned to more destructive pursuits, leads to his downfall and casts a pall over the rest of Norman’s life, who is reminded of his brother’s memory whenever he thinks of fly fishing and the ever moving waters of the Blackfoot River The film is directed beautifully by Robert Redford and stars Craig Sheffer as Norman and Brad Pitt as his brother Paul as well as Tom Skerritt as their Presbyterian minister father.

This is a moving and thought provoking tale of a family and two brothers in particular, who while growing apart, remain united by their love of fly fishing and the Blackfoot River. One of the messages of the film is that while we can often help many people deal with troubling issues in their lives, it is often the people who are the closest to us in our family, who we either can’t help or who reject our efforts to help, leaving us to deal with the trauma of our inability to help them, despite out best efforts. One of the unnamed stars of this film is the incredible Montana landscapes featured in the film which are simply magnificent and captured beautifully by Director of Photography, Philippe Rousselot. Mr. Rousselot won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on this film and it was an award that was well deserved. This is a wonderful film and well worth a look if you haven’t yet seen it or are totally unfamiliar with the film. Highly recommended.

Video

Quite simply, this is a beautiful looking film overall. The film features a very natural looking color palette with spot on skin tones. In terms of image quality, the best part of the film are those shot in daylight by the river and in the picturesque landscapes of Montana. These scenes are simply beautiful, with deep rich and stable blacks, beautiful greens, blues and browns, detail galore and excellent clarity. As a result, these sections of the film boast utter three dimensionality and detail that is really a sight to behold. The same can be said for most of the close-up shots, where every skin pore and blemish is visible, with exceptional levels of clarity and color fidelity.

If the picture is so good, than while only a score of 4 out of 5? That is because as good as these scenes look, the rest of the film is a bit on the soft side lacking a good bit in the way of detail. The scenes set at night are particularly problematic in regards to overall softness of the image and the lack of image detail. There are also some scenes in the film which lack much detail at all, and in particular, facial detail, looking almost like victims of that dreaded digital noise reduction. Fortunately, those scenes are few and far between and don’t detract too much from the overall viewing experience. The River Runs Through It, while having a few flaws, is, overall, a solid transfer that will no doubt please fans of the film.

Audio

Overall, I was very impressed with the sound quality on this release, at least in regards to the Dolby True HD lossless track. While this is not a bombastic sound track, nor would one expect it to be given the nature of the film, I was very impressed with the fidelity of the sound and in particular the dialogue track, which is beautifully rendered here. I found the sound of the film to be smooth and rich with excellent reproduction of all the aural cues. The sound of people walking up stairs and the closing of doors, in particular the jail cell doors was rendered with startling authenticity. Another example of the top flight fidelity of the sound was the scene with the fireworks on the 4th of July in the early part of the film which again, sounded very realistic, with appropriate weight, heft and pop.

I also thought that the surrounds were used well to create a subtle sense of ambiance and immersion throughout the film, although never really calling attention to themselves. Just listen to the sound of the running water flowing over rocks, the chirping birds and the rush of the wind. I also found the overall transparency and imaging to be excellent as well creating a realistic sense of depth throughout the sound field. The excellent overall fidelity of the sound as well as the transparency and imaging is also especially noticeable on the musical score by Mark Isham which is rendered beautifully here and is a feast for the ears. It you are like me and really appreciate excellent overall audio fidelity rendered with great finesse and subtly, you will no doubt appreciate the quality of the lossless track included with this release. I know I sure did.

Special Features

There are several extras included with this release which are all worth your time. All of the extras are presented in high definition. My favorites are the 4 nature landscapes recently filmed in high def video, entitled Rocky Mountains, Big Sky Country, Forest Bend and Blackfoot River. The scenes are rather simple, with very effective, with an HD camera places at each setting in a static position, filming the incredible scenery with stunning video quality. You are given the option to watch each with or without the film’s musical score. Either way is great but I preferred having the musical score mixed with the sound of the flowing river, wind and birds captured during the filming of each scene. If you love nature landscapes, you will no doubt love this footage.

Also included is an all new featurette on the making of the film entitled Deep Currents: Making A River Runs Through It, featuring interviews with Robert Redford, members of the cast and crew as well as Norman Maclean’s daughter and son-in-law as well as photographs of Norman Maclean and the family members featured in the film.

We also get a featurette entitled The Blackfoot Challenge: Rescuing a River, detailing the conservation efforts after the making of the film to restore the Blackfoot River to its former splendor. It seems that the Blackfoot River was too polluted and in bad shape to actually be used in the film. The river sequences in the film were filmed at other rivers in Montana, including the Yellowstone. This fact embarrassed members of the local community who have since helped restore the river to its former state. While much work has been done, more is needed. However, the river is much cleaner that it had been in the 1980′s with the trout stock replenished as well.

Also included is a third featurette entitled Casting a Line: The Beginner’s Guide to Fly Fishing, which is just what the title indicates it to be. The final extra is a set of deleted scenes. The release is BD-Live enabled but does not contain a digital copy of the film. I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention this release’s packaging. Gone it the blue plastic case, replaced with a hard covered book package, with 32 pages of text, photographs, talent files and three pages of the Oscar nominated screenplay for the film. I really wish that this type of packaging was the norm rather than the exception.

Final Thoughts

A River Runs Through It is a fine film that is presented for the first time in high definition on this Blu-ray release. While not perfect, I am sure that fans of the film will be more than pleased with the look and sound of the film on Blu-ray. I know that I sure was. Highly recommended.

Film

The Deep is based upon Peter Benchley’s novel of the same name. While the film is not quite as good as that other film based on his other well known and more famous novel of his, Jaws, The Deep is a good film in its own right, with a nice sense of suspense and some really stunning visuals.

The film stars Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte as Gail Burke and David Sanders, a couple from New York who travel to Bermuda for a vacation and some scuba diving. While diving, they come across a shipwreck where they discover what they think may be a valuable coin as well as a mysterious glass vile. Curious about the coin, they visit the library in Hamilton, Bermuda, where they attempt to track down the origin of the coin to see if they had discovered a lost treasure. While at the library, they learn of the existence of a famous treasure hunter in Bermuda, Romer Treece (Robert Shaw), who they are able to track down and show the coin to and who is interested in learning more about where they found it.

After meeting with Treece, they are approached that night at dinner by a man who identifies himself as Cloche (Lou Gossett, Jr.) a dealer in rare glass and asks about the glass vile they found, looking to purchase it from them. It turns out that the rare glass dealer is not what he claimed but a drug dealer looking for a load of Morphine that went down with a U.S. Military vessel years. Not surprisingly, Treece, Gail and David race to recover the treasure side before Cloche moves to recover the drugs.

While I wouldn’t exactly call this a tense action thriller as it a bit slow paced compared to more modern films, I enjoyed the film as it does pull you into the action on an intellectual level if not on an emotional one. Recommended as a rental only for non fans of the film.

Video

On the whole, I was quite pleased with the look of The Deep on Blu-ray and can’t imagine the film looking any better than it does on this release. The film was made back in the 1970′s and has that 1970′s look, with heavy film grain and a general overall softness. If you are looking for a razor sharp looking image, this is not the film for you. However, if you are looking for an excellent encode which perfectly captures the look of the actual film, you will not doubt appreciate the effort that went into this encode. As noted previously, this film has a general softness to the image. However, black levels are deep and tight and the color palette very natural looking with excellent color rendition, capturing the blue/green color of the ocean perfectly. Surprisingly, I found the underwater footage to be a bit clearer, sharper and more detailed that the rest of the film, probably due to the use of different film stock.

This is probably the best looking undersea footage in a film of this vintage that I have seen in quite awhile. Due to the softness of the image, the film lacks the depth and three dimensionality of the very best looking encodes but is not flat by any means. Film grain was also well preserved and I was not able to detect any evidence at all of digital noise reduction. if you are fan of this film, I have no doubt that you will be thrilled with this Blu-ray release.

Audio

Given the age of the film, I was not expecting great audio. However, while the film falls a good bit short of what I would expect in a new action thriller, the audio was a good bit better than I had anticipated. The overall sound was rather smooth and open with just a hint of brightness. Dynamics are good although hardly sensational. Explosions in particular lack the heft of more modern films. I was quite surprised at how active the surrounds where throughout the film, even though the volume of the surrounds varied throughout the film. When employed well, they generated a nice sense of immersion, especially during the underwater sequences inside the shipwreck, where the sense of water and the sounds of twisting and bending metal sounded fairly convincing.

The dialogue track was also well recorded and well placed in the mix, although lacking the sense of immediacy of more modern films. The musical score was also well recorded and sounded very nice, with an overall smoothness and openness which was quite appealing. Overall, the sound here lacked the transparency and imaging of more modern films. However, given the age of the film and the original sound design, the audio here is more than acceptable and will no doubt please fans of the film.

Special Features

The extras here are rather threadbare. Included are several scenes included in the 3 hour edition of the film which were not included in the original theatrical release which is the version of the film included with this release. Frankly, after watching the scenes, it is easy to see why they were not included with the original release of the film. While the additional scenes are included here in high definition, the picture quality is not as impressive as the theatrical release presented here. The other extra is the CBS special hosted by Robert Shaw when the film debuted, providing a behind the scenes look at the film. The other extras are previews of other Blu-ray releases. The release is BD-Live enabled allowing you to access additional extras via the internet.

Final Thoughts

While lacking the clarity and detail of the best looking more modern films, The Deep has without question never looked or sounded better in the home environment that it does on this Blu-ray release. If you are a fan of this film, I can recommend this release without hesitation. For the rest of you, the film is definitely worth the look as a rental.

Film

As noted above, Ghostbusters is a classic film that holds up just as well 25 years after its release as it did on its release to theaters in 1984. Has it really been that long? I am sure most of you that will read this review are well aware of the plot.

The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis as three parapsychologists who are called to rid New York City of ghosts and demons that are plaguing the city. Dr. Peter Venkman (Murray), Dr. Raymond Stanz (Aykroyd) and Dr. Spengler (Ramis) lose their research grant at Columbia University and are forced to set out on their own and go into hock starting their own ghost removal company, replete with corny TV commercials which hit the NY airwaves. Their timing is fortuitous as New York is about to be besieged by ghosts and demons of all kinds which keeps them very busy.

They are contacted by Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) who has a strange encounter with a demon that appeared to be inhabiting her refrigerator, warning of the coming of Gozer. When Dr. Venkman meets Ms. Barrett at her apartment, he discovers that her body has been possessed by the Gatekeeper who is awaiting the arrival of the Keymaster (Rick Moranis), so they can bond and release The Destroyer who will destroy human civilization as we know it. Meanwhile, the Ghostbusters’ activities come to the attention of the local EPA chief, a Mr. Peck, who obtains a court order and shuts down the Ghostbusters’ electric grid and their ghost storage containment facility which releases all the ghosts and demons that had captured into the city all at once, with very humorous results.

With the City in panic and the Ghostbusters in jail, they are summoned by the Mayor to end the panic and prevent the entry of The Destroyer into this world, setting forth the climatic end of the film at the top of Ms. Barrett’s apartment building battling the Destroyer who appears bent on destroying the City in the guise of a giant Staypuff Marshmellow Man.

It has been a good while since I have seen the film and I found it to be just as funny, engaging and original as I did when I saw it for the first time back in 1984. The film features a very tight script which never falls off the rails and fine comedic performances by the entire cast, with special kudos to Bill Murray as Dr. Venkman, who really carries the film. This is a wonderful film for the entire family to enjoy. If you haven’t seen the film in a long time, by all means do so now and add this film to your Blu-ray collection. Very highly recommended.

Video

I will state out the outset that Ghostbusters has never looked better at home than it does on this release. The video quality here blows away each and every other home video release of the film by a very large margin. I note that there has been some complaints on the web about what some consider to an overly hot and blown out contrast on this release. Given that it appears from all reports that the film’s cinematographer, Laszio Kovacs, approved the final version of the film on this release, I have very little doubt that the film looks just the way it should and as it did upon its initial release back in 1984. Frankly, I have no recollection at all as to how the film looked back then and think no one does. Unless you were involved in the production of the film, how can you claim that the film’s contrast is too hot based on one or more viewing of the film in a theater 25 years ago? What I can say for certain is that I was quite pleased with the look of the film on this release.

Ghostbusters is a rather grainy film and all of the grain seems to be perfectly preserved on this release. I detected no evidence of the use of digital noise reduction to “clean up” the look of the film for today’s digital environment. This release looks just like film, just as it should. I found the color palette to be quite natural looking and pleasing, especially skin tines, which looked very nice. Blacks were deep and solid as well, giving the film a good sense of depth. However, the film, although it appears to be in excellent physical condition, has the look that many films did in the 1980′s.

The film has a level of softness that was characteristic of many of the films of that era. While they level of softness varies a bit during the film, it remains present throughout. As a result, the film lacks the clarity, three dimensionality, detail and depth of today’s better looking films. That isn’t the fault of the encode, it is just the way the film was shot. As noted previously, visible grain in present throughout the film, with exterior daylight shots having less visible grain that darker interior scenes. However, unlike prior home video editions of the film, the high def encode of the film presents the grain naturally so that it looks like grain rather than as video noise as on prior editions of the film. I was not able to detect much in the way of video noise on this release. As far as I can tell, Ghostbusters looks just as the film was intended to look on this Blu-ray release and is by far, the best this film has ever and may ever look in the home.

Audio

As was the case with the video, the audio on this release is the best yet of all the prior home video releases of the film. However, the original sound design of the film as well as the fidelity of the original sound elements are not up to par with more modern films. I am sure that the Dolby True HD encode here sounds about as good as the film can in light of the limitations of the original recording. I have several issues with the sound of the film.
The first has to do with the overall sound quality, which lacks the heft and dynamics of more modern films, sounding a bit soft and hollow and lacking the transparency and imaging that one has come to expect in films of more recent vintage. Another issue is the recording of and presentation of the dialogue track. Again, the fidelity of the dialogue just does not match what we have come to expect today, sounding more muffled and reserved than one would expect.

The volume of the dialogue track is also a bit low at times in relation to the rest of the sound and as a result, can be difficult to hear, especially during the action sequences. In addition, other than a few sequences, such as the opening library scene, the surrounds are not used as aggressively in the first half of the film as they are in the latter half and as a result, the first part of the film is a bit front heavy. However, in the second half of the film, the surrounds kick in quite nicely with both music and sound effects, creating a nice sense of immersion. Bass response during the film is good but far from reference. Despite these limitations, the audio track here was enjoyable and added to and did not detract all that much from one’s enjoyment of the film.

Special Features

As one would expect for such an important film, The Blu-ray release is chock full of many interesting and engaging extras. The extras include a filmmakers’ commentary with Ivan Rettman, Harold Ramis and Joe Medjuck. Also included is an older featurette 1984-The Making of Ghostbusters, featuring interviews with the cast and crew.

Also included is a second featurette featuring interviews with the cast and crew, as well as the featurette SFX Team which includes before and after multi-angle explorations of the special effects in the film. Also included are 10 deleted scenes as well as storyboard comparisons. Most if not all of these extras were included with the last DVD release of the film a handful of years ago. However, there are several new extras included with this release including the best, Slimer Mode, which features a picture-in-picture graphical viewing experience with an examination of the firehouse headquarters, an in-depth exploration of the creatures in Ghostbusters’ mythology, behind the scenes discussions of making the movie with Ivan Reitman, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver and others including new cast, crew and special effects artists. These picture-in-picture interviews and pop-ups run along with the film.

In addition, during the running of this feature, the black bars of the film are replaced with more colorful artistic bars, much like the new side bars which were an option on the recent Blu–Ray release of Pinnochio. Also new is the featurette Ecto-1: Resurrecting the Classic Car and an Ecto-1 photo gallery. Also featured for you video game enthusiasts out there is a feature on the making of the new Ghostbusters video game. The release is BD-Live enabled and features cinechat. However, no digital copy of the film is included.

Final Thoughts

If you are a fan, like me of Ghostbusters, this is a must have release. While not without its faults, Ghostbusters has never looked or sounded better at home than it does on this release. Very highly recommended.

Film

Terri Flores (Jennifer Lopez) is the director of a documentary about a long lost Indian tribe in the Amazon, who along with her crew including cameraman Danny Rich (Ice Cube) and Professor Steven Cale (Eric Stoltz) make their way through the treacherous Amazon jungle. Before locating the tribe the crew runs into a stranded hunter; Paul Sarone (Jon Voight). Sarone claims to know where the tribe is located and promises to help the crew. Suspicious of ulterior motives the crew seems to keep a close eye on Sarone, but is eventually forced to help him hunt down the world’s largest Green Anaconda snake. Several of the crew members are killed in the search for the snake and personalities clash while the group fights to survive.

The plot of Anaconda starts off surprisingly interesting, but fails to have any longevity and the phoniness doesn’t hesitate to consume the film. Initially I was captivated by the scenic Amazon River and the potential horrors of stalking a gigantic snake, an animal which terrifies me even in its most minute sizes. Before long the dialogue becomes stale, characters predictable, and storyline cheesy. Apparently after stalking and killing a record breaking anaconda, we learn that there is in fact an even bigger and more deadly snake! At this point I was hardly impressed with the way the story was going, and it became incredibly predictable from there on, all the way to its disappointing end.

The movie had a few moments which made me laugh, and there were some adventurous aspects which were beautifully shot. But I can’t in good faith recommend this film based upon a pretty back drop and a couple of zany moments. If you’re looking for a creepy and humorous creature film I would recommend checking out a classic like Tremors or the more recent Slither. Both of which combine the laughs with the horror/thrills much more impressively.

The cast of Anaconda was real hit and miss, with a surprisingly decent performance by Ice Cube and some supporting members which include; Owen Wilson and Danny Trejo. But I was extremely disappointed (not to my surprise) with Jennifer Lopez, and more so by Jon Voight who played a cardboard character I’ve seen a hundred times before. Then there is Eric Stoltz, who I can’t exactly say played a bad role, it was just that the character was so cliché and uninteresting.

Video

Presented in 1080p 2.40:1 aspect ratio and encoded in MPEG-4 Anaconda debuts on Blu-ray with some good although inconsistent results.  Right from the start of the movie you can notice the picture looks a bit soft in many shots.  However this is much more apparent in a few shots that are taken far back. In shots where the camera is much closer to the object or person, detail can be easily seen.  The up close shots of the snake for example showcase an impressive amount of detail in its scales and threatening eyes.

Color presentation is much more consistent showcasing a cool but varied palette.  Flesh tones are realistic in hue and the lush foliage looks great.

The print itself is in great condition with no visible color banding or edge enhancement.  Grain is presented lightly throughout the movie, but never does it block detail or become distracting.

Overall I was pleased with how Anaconda was presented on Blu-ray. The detail may look soft at times, but the color presentation makes up for it.

Audio

Anaconda has been presented with an active and great sounding 5.1 TrueHD track.  From the opening scene the track fully utilizes all channels.  Bass is a

The films soundtrack does a good job of setting up high tension scenes and also doesn’t overpower the dialogue track.  The Dialogue track itself is consistently clear and is balanced perfectly the other tracks.  There are a few instances where the dialogue can sound a bit too quiet although the amount of times this happens isn’t enough to dock it a lot points.

Overall the consistent and active audio track sounds great, and will please fans of the material.

Special Features

• Trailer
• BD-Live

Final Thoughts

I’m sure it doesn’t come as a surprise that Anaconda was phony and rather uneventful. Aside from a few thrilling moments the weak special effects failed to create any memorable scenes. For fans of the film you will be very disappointed to see the complete lack of special features on the Blu-ray disc, but is ultimately made up for with rather decent audio and video transfers. Only buy this if you are a fan of the film, and if you haven’t yet seen it I wouldn’t bother unless you’re akin to creature films.

The film is a satirical look at the threat of and folly all out nuclear war and the concept of nuclear deterrence that was the backbone of the the foreign policies of the US and USSR from the 1950′s through the fall of the USSR which formally ended as a country in 1991. The film has undergone a total restoration for its debut on Blu-ray as well as a new 5.1 lossless audio mix. I was quite anxious to revisit the film on Blu-ray as it had been quite awhile since I last had a chance to view the entire film. Was it worth the wait?

Film

As I noted above, Dr. Strangelove is my all time favorite Kubrick film. I am old enough to have lived through the “hottest” period of the Cold War with the USSR during the late 1950′s through the mid 1960′s, resulting from the Communist revolution in Cuba and the resulting Cuban Missile crisis and the building of the Berlin Wall and resulting airlift. I can still recall the periodic drills we had at school to prepare for a Soviet attack, huddling under our desks with our hands over our heads, as if that would have offered us any protection during a nuclear attack. It was against this background that Stanley Kubrick created Dr. Stangelove.

Originally conceived a serious film examining the threat of nuclear war, Stanley Kubrick eventually decided that the best way to present the subject matter was as a dark comedy, using satire, to point out the folly of the entire concept of mutual assured destruction The film stars Peter Sellers who plays three separate roles in the film. British Captain Mandrake Lionel Mandrake, U.S. President Muffley and presidential adviser and former Nazi nuclear physicist Dr. Strangelove.

The film also stars George C. Scott as Joint Chief General Buck Turgidson and Sterling Hayden as General Jack D. Ripper (is that a great name or what?) It is General Ripper, suffering from deep psychosis due to feelings of sexual inadequacy, launches an unauthorized nuclear attack on the USSR. He sends orders to aircraft carrying nuclear weapons to attack the USSR and resets the abort code so that it will be nearly impossible for anyone else to recall the planes.

When his actions come to the attention of the Joint Chiefs, an emergency meeting is held with the President at the Pentagon War Room where the President summons the Soviet Ambassador so that they can call a drunken Soviet Premier to warn him of the impending attack and ask his help in shooting down the planes if they can’t be recalled. It is during this meeting where the Soviets advise the President of their development of a Doomsday weapon which will cover the world with radiation that will wipe out all human and animal life on the planet, in the event of a nuclear attack on Soviet soil.

The Doomsday Weapon is on automatic pilot and will detonate automatically if the attack occurs or if an attempt is even made to deactivate it. The satire and sexual innuendo here is so thick that you can cut it with a knife, from the ramblings of General Hayden and his preoccupation with “bodily fluids” and his ability to deny women his “essence”, President Muffley (get it?) pleading with the drunken Soviet Premiere to deactivate the Doomsday Weapon and that they didn’t mean to attack to General Turgidson (again, isn’t the name obvious?) and his anti Soviet ramblings and his arguments that if we are going to attack, we might as well go all out. and Dr. Strangelove reverting to his Nazi predispositions, calling the President Mein Furhrer and fighting back raising his right arm in salute.

While released in 1964, Dr. Strangelove remains just as relevant today as it did then, given the continued existence of nuclear weapons and the continuing desire of other countries as well as terror groups to obtain them. It is interesting to pick out characteristics in the film’s main characters that continue to be identifiable in more modern day political leaders. Dr. Strangelove is a great film. If you are unfamiliar with the film, check out the 45th Anniversary addition of the film, you will be glad you did. It is a must have for any film collection. Highly recommended.

Video

It is clear from my viewing of the film that the folks at Sony did a fine restoration of the film. I have never seen it look better. Unlike other major restorations which seemed to have employed digital noise reduction to remove film grain and smooth over the image, making it look more digital, I could not detect any use of digital noise reduction on this release. Film grain is evident throughout and fairly heavy at times. Other than occasional scratches and tears in the stock footage used as backdrops for the exterior of the B-52 bomber featured in the film, the restoration is free from any dirt, scratches or defects of any kind. The film is presented in glorious black and white with excellent levels of contrast, detail and shadow detail.

The black and white presentation of the film is flawless and presented with a very nice sense of image depth and three dimensionality. Detail while being very good is not quite up to the level of the best black and white film I have seen on Blu-ray, namely Casablanca, but darn close. While I am sure that there are some of you who will be put off by a black and white film, don’t count me among you. This is an excellent restoration of a classic and important film and is one that should thrill fans of the film and cinema in general.

Audio

The audio on this release is presented in the original mono as well as a new 5.1 lossless mix. I did all of my listening using the 5.1 lossless mix. Considering the age of the film and the original mono mix, the 5.1 track sounds about a good as one could have possibly expected. It is up to the quality of a more modern film? No but is more than satisfactory. What really surprised me the most about the audio mix is the over dynamics which was quite good. Bass response is fairly deep and tight with no bloating at all.

The surround speakers were used very well to create a nice sense of ambiance and immersion in the scenes inside the bomber as well as the War Room, above and beyond what I would have expected for a film of this vintage. Clearly, a lot of thought and care went in creating the new sound mix from the original sound elements. However, I do have some issues with the overall sound of the film. The sound itself is a bit on the thin side, lacking the smoothness and openness of a more modern film. This is especially true of the dialogue track which has a bit of hollowness that you just don’t see in newer films.

The sound also lacks much in the way of transparency and imaging, lacking the front to back and side to side depth of newer films, sounding flat in comparison. However, given the age of the film and the original mono mix, I can’t imaging the film sounding any better than it does on this release.

Special Features

As one would expect for an anniversary edition for such an important film, there are several interesting extras included here. While the release is BD-Live enabled, there is no digital copy included. The extras include The Cold War: Picture-in-Picture and Pop-Up Trivia Track, which explores the military and political world as it existed when the film was made.

Included are interviews with several well known experts including Thomas Schelling who wrote the book “Red Alert” which prompted Kubrick’s interest in making the film, Richard A. Clarke, the counterterrorism expert in the administrations of both President Bush as well as President Clinton, George Ellsberg, a former employee of the think tank RAND Corporation as well as the Department of Defense during the Kennedy Administration, George Quester, a professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland and an expert on nuclear proliferation and David Alan Rosenberg, a professor at Temple University and historian on nuclear strategy.

Also included is the featurette No Fighting in the War Room Or: Dr. Strangelove and the Nuclear Threat which feature interviews with Roger Ebert, Bob Woodward, Spike Lee, James Earl Jones and Robert McNamara about the film and the times in which is was made. Also included is the featurette Inside: Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, which details the genesis of the film as well as Stanley Kubrick’s career. The featurette Best Sellers Or: Peter Sellers and Dr. Strangelove Remembered features interviews with Michael Palin and Sir David Frost and details Peter Sellers’ career.

We also get a full interview with Former Secretary of defense Robert McNamara during the Kennedy administration as well as side by side interviews with Peter Sellers and George C. Scott on the set of the picture. I was intrigued by the side by side interviews as they were scripted with a black screen on one side of the frame where TV personalities could be added asking the questions which the scripted answers were written for, making it seem that the TV personalities were actually conducting telephone interviews with each. There is a lot to take in here and they are all well worth your time.

In addition to the extras, I would like to also comment on the disc’s packaging. The disc does not come with the typical blue plastic box but comes with packaging more like a hard cover book. It includes 32 pages including an essay, Strangelove’s Durability: In Kubrick’s Words by Richard Tanne as well as biographies of Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden and Stanley Kubrick as well as an essay by Travis Baker entitled Pie In the Sky Or: How the Lunacy You Saw Wasn’t All the Lunacy There Was. This is some of the best packaging I have even seen with a Blu-ray release and thought is warranted a special mention. Well done Sony!

Final Thoughts

Dr. Strangelove is a classic film that has undergone a first class restoration for its release on Blu-ray. It is must have for the collection of any serious film fan. Highly recommended.

Film

While originally released to theaters in 1997, Air Force One is as relevant today as it ever has been given the events of 911 and the War on Terrorism.

The film stars Harrison Ford as the President of the United States who travels to Moscow to deliver a speech on terrorism after a combined Special Operations force of Americana and Russians, swoops into Kazakhstan to arrest the countrys’ leader, General Radek, who is accused of war crimes, genocide and terror. During his speech, the President laments that for too long, the world has failed to confront terror head on and surprises his staff by announcing a new and uncompromising US policy not only against terrorists but rogue regimes as well, regardless of their positions vis-a-vis the interests of the United States as well as a reaffirmation of the traditional US position to never negotiate with terrorists. However, little does he know that a group of Russian neo-nationals has infiltrated US security and are invited onto Air Force One under the cover of a TV news crew seeking to interview the President on his return trip to the US.

Shortly after take-off, the terror group led by Ivan Korshunov (Gary Oldman) takes control of the aircraft with the help of rogue Secret Service agent Gibbs who provides the terrorists with access to the weapons cache on Air Force One. While the group is able to take most of the crew and passengers hostage, including the President’s wife and daughter, they are unable to capture the President, who attempts to take back control of the plane in communications with Washington and the military. While he is able to secure the release of most of the hostages unbeknownst to the terrorists, they finally are able to take the President hostage and force him to negotiate with him in an effort to save the lives of his wife and daughter, setting up a final and very dramatic effort to rescue the President, his family and remaining staffers from the aircraft before it crashes.

Air Force One is a riveting and very violent action packed thriller film that I enjoyed as much as I did in the theater in 1997 as well as on DVD. Harrison Ford is excellent as the President and Gary Oldman is brilliant as Ivan Korshunov, totally becoming that character. Gary Oldman is simply an amazing actor who always becomes his character. When you watch him act, you forget you are watching an actor he is that believable. I really enjoyed this film and think you will as well. If you love action packed thrillers, you will love Air Force One. Highly Recommended.

Video

While I loved the film and as you will note below and was thrilled with the audio reproduction, I was not overwhelmed with the video presentation. The film has a fairly natural although a bit of a warm color palette. Blacks are now as deep as I would have liked which robs the film of a bit of image depth.

The print itself appeared to be in very good shape as I didn’t notice any dirt or scratches in the print the Blu-ray was mastered from. From the very opening of the film with the Columbia logo, it is apparent that no digital noise reduction was applied as film grain is readily apparent throughout the film. My biggest complaint with the look of the film is the soft focus employed to shoot the film. As a result, the image is rather soft, lacking the clarity and depth of the better looking encodes. This softness is not the result of the dreaded DNR as, as noted above, there is plenty of film grain apparent in the image as well as fine facial textures.

If you are drawn to highly detailed and clear film images, you will be disappointed with the look of this film. However, I can say without hesitation that this is the best that Air Force One has ever looked at home and maybe the best it can look as a result of the cinematography techniques employed to shoot the film.

Audio

While I was not all that pleased with the video here, the audio is spectacular. The film features and aggressive use of the surrounds to create a totally immersive sound field. The immersiveness of the sound field is apparent from the opening sequences of the film during the President’s speech in Moscow as you can hear all the hall reverberations and acoustical cues that you expect to hear in such a large hall. The dynamics are also off the charts, with deep and thunderous bass and full and room rattling explosions.

The overall quality of the sound is top notch as well, being smooth and open with excellent transparency and imaging. The placement of the sound effects, such as the sound of Air Force One and fighter jets flying overhead and from side to side in your room, is amazing and also presented with startling realism. Gun shots sound about as real as they can get. The depth of the sound from front to back as well as from side to side is stunning as well, placing you right in the middle of the action with the actors.

Dialogue is also beautifully recorded and well placed in the mix and is always intelliigible, even during the most cacophonous of action sequences. This is simply a great sounding action thrillers and will no doubt thrill fans of the film. it sure thrilled me. This is a film that cries out to be experienced at reference sound levels.

Special Features

Frankly, the extras included with this release are a disappointment as the only extra is the director’s commentary. This is about as threadbare as you can get. No deleted scenes, trailers or making of featurette. Nothing, nada, just the director’s commentary. The release is BD-Live enabled but does not come with a digital copy. I am amazed that a film of this quality comes equipped with just a director;s commentary.

Final Thoughts

If you love action thrillers like me, you will really enjoy this film. While I was less than thrilled with the video, I was amazed at the quality of the audio reproduction on this release. Great stuff.