Barrie
Maxwell - Main Page
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High-Definition
Classics and Beyond has now become High-Definition
Matters. The intention of this new approach to my high
definition column is to provide a source of information on all
forthcoming high definition release dates, as well as some guidance
on both recent or current releases and those immediately
forthcoming. Classics will still get a special mention in this new
column, but the reality is that they have so far and for the
foreseeable future will continue to make up only a very small
percentage of all high definition releases. Each column will contain
the high definition release schedule for movies in both Blu-ray Disc
(BD) and HD-DVD (HD) discs. It will typically extend from about one
month prior to the date of the current column to as far in the
future as announced titles dictate. Specially highlighted in the
release schedule will be (in yellow) new announcements since the
last update, (in green) classic titles released theatrically prior
to 1970 [arbitrarily extended from the traditionally accepted
mid-1960s], and (in red) westerns of any era [one of my particular
interests].
Current Fare - The Best
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Zødiac:
2-Disc Director's Cut
The best of the latest arrivals to cross my desk is Paramount's
two-disc HD DVD edition of David Fincher's Zødiac,
a stylish and thoroughly engrossing account of the hunt for the
San Francisco serial killer of the film's title with plenty of
Fincher's characteristic attention to detail in evidence. This
is not Se7en revisited, as
one might suspect given Fincher's involvement, but more of a
police procedural combined with the investigative elements of an
All the President's Men.
Jake Guylenhall, Robert Downey and Mark Ruffalo star, with the
latter coming off best as the police detective in charge of the
case. The film has been justly touted as an awards candidate
although that has not translated into anything much of a
concrete nature, partly due to the movie's mid-year release
(which annually seems to pose a problem for those with short
memories).
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The excellence of the movie is matched by Paramount's HD package
(designated the director's cut) which offers us a superbly crisp and
detailed image and a raft of supplements highlighted by two audio
commentaries (one by Fincher and the other by several cast and crew
members) and several hours of documentary material on both the real
case and the making of the movie all presented in high definition.
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Man
on Fire
Man on Fire (available
from Fox on BD) is also a winner. The film is a superb revenge
tale in which ex-CIA agent Denzel Washington takes on the job of
being bodyguard to Dakota Fanning whose parents fear the
possibility of her being kidnapped. There are two distinctive
parts to the film, the first half building up the relationship
between the two principals and the second following Washington's
taking revenge for Fanning's kidnapping. The action sequences
are powerful and undiluted (though somewhat stylized by director
Tony Scott's camera movements and the film's art direction), but
the film equally takes time for careful character development.
The result is an immensely satisfying though at times disturbing
experience. Washington and Fanning are both excellent.
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Fox's
2.40:1 transfer is a pleasure to behold. It offers the detail and
colour fidelity we expect from a high definition transfer,
apparently faithfully portraying the director's colour and lighting
choices. The DTS-HD Master Lossless audio is also impressive,
handling subtle sounds and the heat of action equally well. Surround
activity and LFE are both aggressive. The disc's only disappointment
is the complete lack of any supplementary material, particularly
given what's available on the two standard DVD editions.
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Across
the Universe
Worthy of a strong nod is Sony's BD release of Across
the Universe, the latest film from director Julie
Taymor (Frida, 2002 plus
numerous operas and stage plays). The film is a very effective
fusion of young love and Beatles music, set in the United States
and to a lesser extent England and Vietnam of the 1960s. Using
lesser-known players (Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe
Anderson, Dana Fuchs) who do their own singing (for the most
part very successfully), the story begins slowly but builds to
an amazing series of set pieces (dare one say, psychedelic at
times) that reflect Taymor's background in theatrical staging
not to mention puppetry and mime. (The standout is a production
number set in an army induction centre.) This is a film that so
entrances by its end that you want to view it all again just to
try to catch all the details you missed on the first go-round.
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Sony's
BD presentation is top-notch, certainly among the best image-wise.
The 2.40:1 image is crisp, vibrantly colourful, and very finely
detailed with some very modest grain nicely retained. The Dolby
TrueHD audio also is incredibly clear, with music and dialogue both
faring well. I would have preferred a somewhat more enveloping
experience than delivered, however. The supplement package is
excellent, the highlights being an audio commentary with Taymor and
her partner/composer Elliot Goldenthal, and high definition
featurettes on the making-of the film and the casting (each almost a
half hour long).
Current Fare - The Rest
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Sunshine
Sunshine has been highly
touted in some quarters as a thinking-person's science fiction
tale. It's certainly a step up on the usual space opera or space
horror offerings that we so often get, but for any confirmed
science fiction reader, there's little new here. Directed by
Danny Boyle, the story follows the happenings aboard a
spacecraft sent to kick start the Sun which, 50 years from now,
is apparently dying. The movie starts promisingly enough
buttressed by some fine art direction and special effects, but a
shrill music score that too often belies the movie's efforts to
tell a serious futuristic tale becomes increasingly annoying.
When an abandoned spacecraft is intercepted, one suspects we
could be headed into Alien
or Event Horizon territory
and that proves correct to some degree.
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The
cast (Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity) provides a workmanlike
but ultimately completely unmemorable effort. Fox's BD presentation
is satisfactory. The image never really jumps off the screen like
the best high definition offerings, although it is quite
detailed-looking during most close-ups. The DTS Lossless audio is
powerful if somewhat front-heavy in its delivery - not very helpful
when dealing with the most objectionable aspects of the score. Most
of the supplements (deleted scenes, web production diaries) are
delivered in standard definition. Two audio commentaries, one by
Boyle and particularly the other by the movie's technical director,
are the best of the extras.
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Resident
Evil
Resident Evil is the first
of a trilogy of movies based on a video game. It along with the
other two (Resident Evil: Apocalypse,
Resident Evil: Extinction
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box
set available here) is now available on BD from Sony.
These are movies that are sometimes described as guilty
pleasures, mainly by male viewers, I suspect. I imagine that
arises principally from the skimpy outfit of the heroine
(effectively played by Milla Jovovich) and her impressive
ability to deal with the varied baddies she encounters (zombies,
deranged animals and mutated creatures most of which seem to
have their skin flayed from their bodies). Certainly the plot is
standard video game stuff (get to centre of mazelike structure,
conquer boss villain or computer-gone-wild, get out) married to
the too-often-used apocalyptic crazed-zombie sub plot. But it's
all executed with considerable style and with enough shock value
to be truly scary at times.
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This first of the trilogy is inventive enough to maintain one's
interest, but the others offer diminishing returns. Sony's high
definition presentation is quite good with vibrant colour and
superior image detail. A Dolby TrueHD track is offered, but its
merits are frequently buried in the noise that passes for a music
score. The disc's best supplement is a visual effects audio
commentary. Most of the supplementary featurettes, which are
informative on the whole, are delivered in standard definition.
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Me,
Myself & Irene
Me, Myself & Irene is
a disappointing outing from Jim Carrey who stars as a Rhode
Island state trooper with a split personality who has to escort
a supposed fugitive-from-justice (Renee Zellweger in a fairly
winning performance) to New York state. Directed by the Farrelly
brothers, the comedy is a generally unfunny misfire rife with
the Farrellys' usual preoccupation with bodily functions as a
basis for humour. The directors also try to mine racial and
minority stereotypes for fun and profit, a source of rapidly
diminishing returns as the movie progresses. No wonder Carrey's
career seems moribund after stuff like this. About the only
positive thing worth noting is the appearance of Robert Forster,
underused as Carrey's immediate superior.
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Undeterred,
Fox delivers a generally superior-looking image that offers a
noticeable improvement on the standard DVD release. An audio
commentary with the Farrellys and some deleted scenes are the key
supplements.
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Wall
Street
Wall Street has had two
standard DVD releases to date, the most recent a Special Edition
last year. Fox's new BD version replicates the content of that
SE; unfortunately it also presents pretty much the same look of
that version. That is to say, it looks like a good DVD
presentation and lacks almost entirely any of the enhanced
detail and certainly any of the "pop" that the best
high definition transfers offer. The film itself remains a
winner as a dramatic vehicle despite its somewhat
predictably-played-out tale of a young stock trader (Charlie
Sheen) seduced by the quick buck approach of the corporate
raider (Michael Douglas in a deserved Academy Award winning
portrayal).
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the BD, it's supported by a very good documentary and audio
commentary by director Oliver Stone. It's just too bad that Fox
didn't go back to the well to make this look all it should be. The
DTS Master Lossless audio is clear but otherwise unremarkable. If
you've got the recent standard DVD SE, there's no reason to upgrade
to the BD. |
