Blu-ray Movies

September 2012

A Titanic Home-Theater Experience on Blu-ray

Paramount 14680
Format: Blu-ray, DVD

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Director James Cameron's Titanic is available on home video in two four-disc packages. The 3D set is Blu-ray all the way, presenting the 3D movie on two discs, the 2D movie on one disc, and the copious extras on a fourth disc. The 2D set, which is the one I received for review, presents the 2D movie on one Blu-ray Disc, the extras on another Blu-ray, and the 2D movie on two DVDs.

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August 2012

Disney Double Feature Succeeds on Blu-ray

Disney Blu-ray 109274
Format: Blu-ray

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I don't know whether it has to do with spies within the video industry, phases of the moon, or just plain old coincidence, but there seem to be certain days that serve as bull's-eye release dates for every studio that produces Blu-ray Discs and DVDs. August 28 is an example, and it presents a dilemma for me, since I must pick one title a week to cover. So I'll briefly tell you that Universal's Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein is still a lot of fun and one of the best black-and-white transfers ever, and Battleship proved an unexpected fantasy-adventure of great worth. I should also mention that The Pirates! Band of Misfits, though it boasts an astonishingly crisp HD transfer, is the first Aardman film that hasn't floated my boat. Arrgh!

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August 2012

Suspenseful Fantasy Adventure Receives Excellent Blu-ray Treatment

Lionsgate
Format: Blu-ray

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The nation of Panem rose from what used to be North America, which war has all but destroyed. The new government, in a massive crowd-control effort, seeks to distract citizens with an annual Hunger Games ceremony in which a male and female teenager from each of the nation's 12 districts compete to the death. The last remaining contestant will be the victor. The others will be mourned.

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August 2012

Seuss Story Expanded for a Colorful Blu-ray Experience

Universal 61120933
Format: Blu-ray

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Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, it’s not going to get better. It’s not.
-- Dr. Seuss

The Lorax is one of Dr. Seuss's more somber stories, a cautionary tale that pits corporate greed against nature. It's green to the core, so much so that it has caused quite a bit of controversy since it was published in 1972. The story places the Once-ler against the Lorax (voiced in the movie by Danny DeVito). The latter is a small orange creature with a huge yellow moustache. He's the spirit of the forests who speaks for the trees, whereas the Once-ler is a guy who sees a profit in selling Truffula Tree foliage. The Once-ler ignores the Lorax's warning, only to remember it when the trees are all gone and there is only one seedling left.

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July 2012

A Tale of Vinyl and Requited Love Looking Sharp on Blu-ray

Touchstone 109815
Format: Blu-ray

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John Cusack has made many an awful movie tolerable by displaying a winning personality and contributing an impeccable performance. Hot Tub Time Machine comes to mind. But in 2000 he fronted this charming comedy and first-rate film as a most appealing leading man. Cusack plays Rob Gordon, the owner of a dingy, dirty, yet dynamic record shop. Rob is a likable guy, but he has trouble with women and relationships. Laura, girlfriend number six (Danish blonde Iben Hjejle), is in the process of breaking up with him to go live with Ian "Ray" Raymond (Tim Robbins with a pony tail!).

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July 2012

A Loveable, Offbeat Film with Heart and Perfect Widescreen Picture Composition

The Criterion Collection 166
Format: Blu-ray

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Down by Law has stood the test of time to become an offbeat masterpiece. Director Jim Jarmusch pulled it off by casting two musicians (John Lurie and Tom Waits) and an Italian comedian then unknown in America (Roberto Benigni), using black-and-white photography by Robby Müller, and location shooting in New Orleans with its surrounding swamps. Though it has a plot, Down by Law is more of a character and mood study than a narrative film.

Three eccentrics, Zack, Jack, and Roberto (Waits, Lurie, and Benigni), end up in a New Orleans jail. After a long period of getting to know each other, they decide to escape together and they take off across the Louisiana swamps, where one of them finds the American Dream. The three are oddballs in spades. Zack is an alcoholic ex-disc jockey who is conned into driving a stolen car across town and parking it in a new location, not knowing there's a dead man in the trunk. Jack is a pimp, but an unusual one who never hits his girls. Roberto is a lost Italian tourist who carries a notebook of American slang phrases in his pocket, and he's prone to using the wrong phrase at the wrong time.

The casting couldn't be better. Musicians Waits and Lurie were well known at the time, but not for their acting abilities. A musician himself, Jarmusch enjoys this type of potentially risky casting. This movie also marked the first American appearance of Roberto Benigni, whose shtick was still fresh and had yet to become a tiresome parody of itself. Taken as a trio, the stars are charismatic and appealing.

Cinematographer Müller films everything with flair and assurance. A lot of movies have used the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, but only a handful seem to have really needed widescreen. In shot after shot, Müller’s work fully justifies that choice. This movie might well serve as a model on scene composition.

Criterion already had a very good DVD of this movie in its catalog, but the Blu-ray improves on it with a virtually pristine black-and-white picture containing great detail and perfect contrast. The mono audio soundtrack is alive and clear with lots of presence, and the music and dialogue are perfectly balanced. About 25 minutes from the end I remembered that the movie isn't in stereo, much less surround, and I didn't miss those elements at all. The extras are carried over from the DVD release, which includes, most importantly, an in-depth interview with Müller. There's also a Jarmusch-directed music video for Tom Waits's cover of Cole Porter's "It's All Right with Me." If anyone gets this, let me know. It left me scratching my head.

Down by Law is off the beaten track, but just about anyone can enjoy it. Its fugitive-escape narrative is tempered at heart with a kind humor that's more gray than black. Everyone in the technical departments, both the original artists and the transfer team, proves that an indie film doesn't have to look and sound bad to be successful. Rent first, but I have a feeling you'll want to buy it soon after, as Down by Law holds up well to repeated viewing.

Be sure to watch for: Chapter 4 finds Zack on a trash-littered street corner with a poster on the right and the connecting street on the left. Look at the depth of field and the composition, which make the best possible use of the widescreen aspect ratio. The shadow composition and detail are also impressive.

. . . Rad Bennett
radb@soundstagenetwork.com

July 2012

This Blu-ray Restoration Is a Resounding Success

Apple 50999621 46098
Format: Blu-ray

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In the town where I was born
Lived a man who sailed to sea
And he told us of his life
In the land of submarines
So we sailed up to the sun
Till we found a sea of green
And we lived beneath the waves
In our yellow submarine

The famous Beatles song conjures visions of colors both intense and unexpected. We all know that submarines aren't supposed to be yellow, but the one in this animated classic is, in different shades too, and with red piping. The new 4K Blu-ray transfer, meticulously cleaned up by hand, frame by frame, abounds with vivid, eye-catching colors that pop in HD.

The plot is simple. The Blue Meanies have invaded Pepperland, home of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and brought a monochrome look to a once colorful world. Since they bear an uncanny resemblance to the members of the band (being really one and the same), the Beatles are brought to Pepperland aboard a yellow submarine in order to save the day. On the way to their destination, they pass through various seas and undertake different adventures. These mostly serve to set up performances of some of the Beatles' best songs.

Everything is colorful, even the villains. The Blue Meanies have dark blue bodies; stockings that are striped red, orange, and yellow; and blue faces with prominent red lips, yellow teeth, and lolling red tongues! We learn in the extras that these nasty folks were originally meant to be red, but a copyist accidentally colored them blue and the look stuck. Overall the movie paid tribute to the psychedelic craze of the '60s and broke new ground for animation. It now stands as a milestone in the history of animation, a rock-solid production that's just as entertaining today as when it was released.

The restoration is a revelation in many ways. The picture is free from any dirt or grit, except for two brief moments of shimmer during part of the "Sea of Holes" sequence. It is beyond reproach, state of the art, a real knockout. The sound, which is just as impressive, is presented in the original mono, PCM stereo, and a DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix. In the DTS-HD mix the voices are crystal clear, the instruments solid, and the imaging exceptionally imaginative. Sounds emanate not only from the rear but also from different places on the side of the soundfield, where there are no speakers in my 5.1 system! In fact the vocals, dialogue, and sound effects never seemed to be coming from any speaker at all, but from pinpointed locations spread around the 360-degree field.

The extras include an in-depth commentary with production supervisor John Coates, with an ending bit by designer Heinz Edelmann; a period featurette; the original trailer; storyboard sequences; original pencil drawings; and more. Also included are reproductions of transparent animation cells of each of the four Beatles, collectible stickers, and a beautifully designed booklet with a forward by Pixar's John Lasseter.

Yellow Submarine on Blu-ray is a disc that can be enjoyed over and over for its entertainment value, but for those with serious home-theater systems it is a must as a demonstration disc. Play "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" or "Eleanor Rigby" and watch everyone's eyes light up as they're seduced into rapt attention. It's destined to be one of the discs of the year when awards time rolls around.

Be sure to watch for: Chapter 5: Sunrise in London reveals more and more shadow detail as the sun rises. Loud toots from factory whistles and we're into "Eleanor Rigby" in the best mix I've ever heard, even better than that on the newly mastered CDs.

. . . Rad Bennett
radb@soundstagenetwork.com

July 2012

Junk or Junque?

Paramount 14664
Format: Blu-ray

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There's junk and then there's junque. Some of us might call the latter a guilty pleasure, and for me 1968's Barbarella surely falls into that category. Objectively I'd use a string of derogatory adjectives to cite the movie's mistakes, missteps, and misalignments. But on a personal level, I love Barbarella. It pairs with Flash Gordon (the feature-length color movie) as one of the best brainless yet appealing space operas ever made. Roger Vadim was the director, and he attempted to do for his third wife, Jane Fonda, what he had done for his first wife, Brigitte Bardot, by reducing her to a blonde sex object. Barbarella was based on a French comic strip of the same name, created by Jean-Claude Forest in 1962.

The opening striptease aboard Barbarella's ship, greatly aided by zero gravity, is a soft-porn classic, and Vadim goes to great lengths to unclothe Barbarella (to call Jane Fonda's outfits skimpy would be an understatement) for the rest of the film. But despite his efforts, Fonda's wide-eyed innocence makes us like her as kitten just as much as sex kitten. She lights up the screen, so it's very fortunate that she's onscreen almost the entire time.

The only actor to steal equal time from Fonda is David Hemmings as Dildano, an impotent revolutionary. The ten-minute scene for Barbarella and Dildano is the best part of the movie. Milo O'Shea is also very effective as the villain, Dr. Durand-Durand, his character influencing rock band Duran Duran, who dropped the hyphen and changed the spelling.

Like Flash Gordon, Barbarella is a feast for the eyes as far as color is concerned. The design reminded me of early Technicolor with its bold colors and clashing palettes, often shot against a shag-carpet background. Shags were popular in the 1960s and also very inexpensive. Barbarella's ship is wall-to-wall shag, which no doubt helped the producers keep costs down. The outrageous colors of Barbarella have been successfully brought to the Blu-ray Disc, which boasts a rich and detailed picture belying the original's age. The soundtrack is perfectly adequate for dialogue and the outright cheesy music score. Paramount, by the way, remains one of the few producers to choose Dolby TrueHD over DTS-HD MA. The sole extra, a trailer for the film, is scarcely worth mentioning.

Since new generations have probably never seen Barbarella, I'd advise a rental rather than a purchase until you decide whether the campy movie is junk or junque.

Be sure to watch for: One of Barbarella's first big adventures happens on an ice planet, where she meets a group of bad children who remote-control even worse dolls. As the dolls approach, the camera gets closer and we clearly see their metallic, razor-sharp teeth. This is a genuinely frightening scene, and the only one in the movie that really scares.

. . . Rad Bennett
radb@soundstagenetwork.com

June 2012

Money Powers a Downhill Thrill Ride

The Criterion Collection 616
Format: Blu-ray

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In choosing scripts, director Danny Boyle has pursued several different paths, but one theme he returns to is money and what it does to those who acquire it. This idea drives Shallow Grave (1994), Boyle's impressive first film, and recurs in Millions (2004) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008). The latter two aren't nearly as nasty as the first, which is a jolt of adrenaline administered with glee. It's a nasty, taut, thriller with a literate script, flawless ensemble acting, breathless pacing, and spooky camera angles. I remember surrendering totally when I first saw it, saying to myself (and others) -- that director is one to watch. Shallow Grave blew me away then, and Danny Boyle is still a director to watch.

Shallow Grave focuses on three 20-something roommates living in a spacious apartment in Glasgow. Juliet Miller (Kerry Fox) is a doctor, David Stephens (Christopher Eccleston) is an accountant, and Alex Law (Ewan McGregor in an impressive feature-film debut) is a somewhat sleazy journalist. At the beginning of the film, the three interview prospects to fill a spot as their fourth roommate. The nod goes to Hugo (Keith Allen) who dies right after moving in, leaving behind a mysterious suitcase full of money, no doubt procured through illegal activities.

The three spend very little time before deciding to do the next wrong thing -- they'll chop Hugo up, bury him, and keep the money. This decision starts the ball rolling downhill for the hapless trio, but to tell more would be to spoil the suspense and fun. Shallow Grave is a cruel black comedy with terribly acerbic jokes. The most memorable occurs as Juliet begins to think she can't go through with butchering Hugo and Alex quips, "But you're a doctor, you kill people every day." The three roomies are not terribly nice people, but they're interesting and their actions, interactions, and antics will hold you in rapt attention until the very last frame.

As expected, Criterion has done a bang-up transfer for Shallow Grave, providing a rich and colorful picture that has the sharpest detail and a soundtrack that is clarity itself. It's no wonder that many folks tried to buy the apartment, not realizing that it was actually a set. It looks that coherent and appealing.

Director Boyle narrates one commentary track, and producer Andrew MacDonald and writer John Hodge handle the other. Both tracks are amiable, enthusiastic, informative, and well worth hearing. Other extras include interviews with the principal actors, a 1993 documentary on making the film, a video diary from the 1992 Edinburgh Film Festival, a trailer, and a written essay by critic Philip Kemp.

If you haven't seen Shallow Grave, put this Criterion edition on your "must see" list. If you've already seen it, you might very well have it at home already. It's one of those movies you can lose yourself in for many hours.

Be sure to watch for: As Hugo is going through the interview process, he's asked if he has killed anyone and we see a flashback to an ATM robbery in which someone was bludgeoned to death. We see it, though, from inside the ATM machine, with all the words on its screen properly backwards. Nowadays we know that these machines contain security cameras that film every transaction, but back then it was a novel idea to show the scene from this perspective.

. . . Rad Bennett
radb@soundstagenetwork.com

June 2012

A Stylish Thriller from Hong Kong

Shout! Factory SF 13263
Format: Blu-ray

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Hong Kong director Pou-Soi Cheang came to Accident with the highly regarded Shamo and Dog Bite Dog under his belt. He is credited simply as Soi Cheang for this film, which is a stylish, suspenseful, and twisting thriller that's marred only by its ending. That said, this 2009 movie is well worth seeing for its impressive build up and its clever, intricate set pieces.

Ho Kwok-fai (Louis Koo), "The Brain," is a professional hit man running a crew of hit men who create assassinations that look like accidents. Their hits are carefully choreographed in the manner of the Final Destination movies. Event one causes event two, which causes event three, which causes event four, which causes the murder, and no one can tie the final action back to the first. But when one of the assassinations goes wrong, Brain is convinced it's because someone else choreographed the failure. He becomes so paranoid that he identifies, for no particularly good reason, Chan Fong-chow (Richie Ren, listed in the film credits as Richie Jen) as the mastermind trying to flip his lucrative cat-and-mouse business on its back.

All the events are shot in state-of-the-art video that delineates every detail, even in shadows. Color is slightly desaturated but still warm enough with excellent skin tones. The sound is very precise, and the viewer is aware that every drop of rain, every screeching tire, each body thud, and every piece of shattered glass has been carefully placed within the 360-degree soundfield. The music, often dropped in favor of sound effects, is also precise in reinforcing the visuals.

Accident is presented in the original Cantonese DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack, with crisp, easy-to-read subtitles. There is no English-dubbed track, but since much of the mood is created without dialogue, strangers to subtitling will never feel like they're "reading a movie." The one extra, a short production featurette, isn't so bad, but for American audiences the inclusion of something more about the excellent actors and Hong Kong cinema in general would have been worthwhile.

With its amazing camera angles and its tight, rat-a-tat editing, Accident is long on style with content to match, until the end, which suddenly turns romantic and is almost apologetic in its denouement. But surely this was planned, too, or was it just meant to look like another accident?

Be sure to watch for: One of the biggest set pieces happens at midpoint in the film during a driving rainstorm. Though the rain is coming down in sheets, with sound helping to make it feel quite tangible, details of the action are perfectly clear. It's a very impressive scene, and one that sticks in the memory.

. . . Rad Bennett
radb@soundstagenetwork.com