DVD SNAPSHOT

What I'm Watching: Editor's Choice (Blu-ray)

Ghostbusters, Gran Torino, Burn Notice, Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, True Romance, Miracle, The Greatest Game Ever Played

This is kind of the MEGA-edition of What I’m Watching: Editor’s Choice [Blu-ray]. As I was on vacation for a week, I managed to watch a lot of movies, but haven’t had time to write up a lot of the reviews. SO here are my thoughts on a number of catalogue Blu-ray releases, along with one new release and a new TV-on-DVD set.

First up is the long-awaited and long overdue Blu-ray release of Ghostbusters. I’m kind of going to skip right over any commentary on the film itself because, well, it’s Ghostbusters. I mean, seriously, what am I gonna say about this film other than how brilliant it is and how much I love it? It just seems a bit pointless.

That being said, the technical portions of the disc are pretty impressive. The technology’s gotten to the point where even most older movies look better on Blu-ray than many new movies look on DVD. The transfer here isn’t the shiniest, smoothest transfer on the block, but it truly captures the real look and feel of the film, which is huge for me. Image clarity is largely sharp, with just some occasional softer images. There is a noticeable amount of film grain, however, which could be a problem for some people (not me), although it lends to the cinematic feel of the presentation. Colors are vibrant but not oversaturated or artificial, and black levels are okay, but not reference level. Some of the special effects look a little worse for wear because of the higher quality of the transfer, but they weren’t aging so well to begin with, so it’s not a big detraction. Meanwhile, the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack is pretty solid, if not particularly amazing. There are definitely some enhanced sound effects and musical cues in the surround mix, but clearly the age of the film works a bit against things here.

Almost all of the numerous extra features from the previous Ghostbusters Special Edition DVD have been carried over, and a few new Blu-ray exclusives are added as well. One neat feature is that the Blu-Wizard allows viewers to watch some of the older features along with the movie, via branching. Other new features include Slimer Mode (your standard picture-in-picture extra), a 15-minute featurette on the restoration of the Ecto-1 car, an Ecto-1 photo gallery, a making-of the current video game, and a preview of the video game. Standard extras carried over include 10 deleted scenes, five featurettes (running about 30 minutes total), some storyboard comparisons, and a commentary track.

It’s Ghostbusters. It’s Blu-ray. What more do you need to know?

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Movie: A+
Video: B+
Audio: B
Extra Features: A-

Switching gears completely, next we have Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood’s critically acclaimed drama that was a huge box office hit earlier this year. It’s an interesting film; it’s either the greatest bad movie I’ve ever seen or the worst great movie I’ve ever seen, I’m not sure which. There are parts of the film which are a little bit silly, such as Clint Eastwood’s growling. For much of the movie, all of his dialogue consists of growls, literally. “Grrr…” It’s a little bit laughable at times, and there’s one scene where the camera zooms in on him as he utters a huge growl, and I swear I thought he was going to change into the Hulk right then and there. But on the other hand, the story is an effective one, and by the end of the film, I was caught up in the relationship between Clint’s grizzled old war veteran and the two Hmong teenagers he metaphorically adopts. The film succeeds ultimately, but there are definitely moments along the way where you cringe at some weak dialogue or the occasionally weak performances by some of the supporting cast members.

Picture quality on the disc is quite impressive. Although the color palette is muted, it’s intentional on the part of Eastwood in his director hat. Imagery is crisp and clear, blacks are solid, and contrasts are strong. Gran Torino is a very quiet film, and the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack is a quiet soundtrack to reflect that. Dialogue is close to perfection; you can hear every utterance, growl, and whisper out of Eastwood’s mouth. The surrounds occasionally add a little ambience, but this isn’t a film about flash or splash, and this soundtrack reflects that.

The standard DVD comes with just two extra features, Manning The Wheel: The Meaning Of Manhood As Reflected In American Car Culture and Gran Torino: More Than A Car - Visit Detroit And The Woodward Dream Cruise. Both of these focus more on car culture than the film itself, and since the car itself is actually only a minor aspect of the film, these are a little bit disappointing. The Blu-ray adds one exclusive feature: The Eastwood Way (20 minutes) explores Clint’s moviemaking style. It’s easily the best of the extras.

Movie: B
Video: A
Audio: B
Extra Features: C+

Next up is the extremely popular summer TV series Burn Notice: Season Two. The ‘extremely popular’ part of Burn Notice confuses me a little bit; I don’t think it’s a bad show, but people are really, REALLY into it and I can’t quite figure out why. And I also can’t figure out why I don’t like it more than I do. I mean, I like Jeffrey Donavon (the lead actor), It’s a spy show (of sorts), and it has Bruce Campbell in it. What’s not to like? I haven’t figured that out yet, but for some reason, it doesn’t quite gel for me. I find the show to be just kind of okay; it’s certainly not terrible, and there are some lighthearted moments that I enjoy, but Michael’s mother annoys me, Gabrielle Anwar’s character is a bit strange, and I just never find myself getting wrapped up in Michael’s adventures. I had hoped that watching season two on Blu-ray after being disappointed in season one would give me a new perspective on the show; sadly, it didn’t.

Sadly, this Blu-ray is a big disappointment as well. The transfer is plagued with issues and the soundtrack is underwhelming. I’m not sure why the show is filled with distractingly noticeable amounts of grain, but it seems out of place on a TV-on-DVD release. With noticeable edge enhancement and hyper-saturated colors that give everything a washed-out, smeary look, the picture quality is kind of a mess. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround soundtrack isn’t filled with as many flaws per se, it just doesn’t do much. For an action TV show, the soundtrack is relegated to the front channels almost exclusively. While dialogue sounds terrific, sound effects are weak by comparison. The bass struggles rather than bolstering the action, so the end result is a let down as well.

Extra features on the set include three audio commentaries, a gag reel, a making-of featurette, a parody short feature that’s quite humorous, and deleted scenes from six of the episodes. The extra features are the only thing about this release that aren’t a disappointment.

Show: C
Video: C
Audio: B-
Extra Features: B+

Next up we have two great catalogue releases from Warner Brothers: True Romance and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. These are both terrific films in completely different ways. Yes, I realize Robin Hood gets a lot of flack for Costner’s accent (or lack thereof), but generally speaking, most films in the early ‘90s only made $200 million when they were actually pretty good. I don’t think Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a perfect film, but it’s a lot of fun, and I have fond memories of watching it as a young teenager, so it will always be a part of my collection, and I’m happy to have it on Blu-ray. True Romance, meanwhile, is a terrific collaboration between director Tony Scott and writer (before he became so full of himself it hurts) Quentin Tarantino. One of the few films in which Christian Slater lived up to his big screen potential, True Romance is a fun, violent, over-the-top romantic action film, and the fact that it’s well-loved but not a true cult classic kind of boggles my mind a little bit.

Both of these films come to Blu-ray with somewhat middling transfers. The age of the films is on display here. Although the imagery is generally pretty sharp, there are definitely a number of soft moments throughout both films. There are some inconsistencies as well; the presence of grain in each isn’t a negative, but it does seem somewhat heavy at times. Also, general clarity varies between being ultra-sharp and somewhat soft. For the most part, colors on both films are well saturated, giving the films a brighter appearance to help offset some of the clarity issues, but the transfers as whole are a minor upgrade from DVD, not a major one. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround soundtracks are both a little above average; like the transfers, neither one offers up a major upgrade over DVD, but you can’t argue that there is more improvement. Each mix expands on previously largely front-heavy mixes to now utilize the rear speakers to bolster the action and provide some nice immersive effects. Dialogue is at the forefront of each mix, but at least all the voices come through clean and clear. These aren’t sonic assaults, but it’s nice to hear each film come alive more than ever before.

Sadly, while each disc offers up the same extras as the film’s previously released special edition DVDs, neither offers up anything new. So on Robin Hood, you get two commentary tracks, two making-of features (running about 50 minutes total), an isolated score, a Bryan Adams concert video, and the 155-minute extended cut of the film. True Romance offers up three commentary tracks, scene specific commentaries by supporting actors (including a short one from Brad Pitt), half an hour’s worth of deleted and extended scenes (including an alternate ending), and two additional making-of featurettes.

Movies: B+
Video: C+
Audio: B
Extra Features (Robin Hood/True Romance): B-/B

Finally, we have two sports-themed movies from Buena Vista making their Blu-ray debut: Miracle and The Greatest Game Ever Played. Miracle is the more popular film, telling the story of the 1980 US men’s hockey team’s improbable victory in the Olympic Games, while The Greatest Game Ever Played was one of Shia Labeouf’s earlier starring roles that tells the true story of a poor young man who takes on a professional golfer in a tournament that becomes a whirlwind sensation. Both films are quite good, but they also both fall into the “like, not love” category. I enjoy both films equally, but neither of them is the kind of movie that I’ll regularly pop in the player to watch. I’ve seen each of them a couple of times, and I’m pretty satisfied with that, which makes them both great rentals, but not necessarily great purchases.

As both of these films were produced in the last decade, the fare pretty well on Blu-ray. Both films feature well-defined imagery with largely sharp fine details and only occasional (and perhaps intentional) moments of softness. Each film also features well-saturated colors defined only by the muted palettes each film employs. Contrasts are a bit dodgy on Greatest Game, but they hold up fine on Miracle, and likewise the black levels could be a lot more solid in Greatest Game. Now, you would think that in comparison, a movie about hockey would blow a movie about golf out of the water in terms of audio experience, but both films’ 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio surround soundtracks give your system quite a workout. Although golf is a much quieter game than hockey, the soundtrack in Greatest Game finds a way to make it come alive, filling your speakers with ambience and atmosphere. Miracle, meanwhile, is a more hard-hitting arena of sounds, but the speakers deliver a similar immersive experience. Both mixes give you exactly what you would want and expect from a sports movie soundtrack.

Both films include just the extra features from their original DVDs, with no new exclusive content. Miracle comes with five making-of featurettes, an audio commentary track, and a collection of deleted scenes. The Greatest Game comes with an audio commentary, two making-of featurettes, and a historical featurette.

Of the two films, I would actually name Greatest Game as the one I enjoy more. Directed by Bill Paxton (who also directed the brilliant Frailty), the film takes an ultimately predictable story and makes it extremely watchable and even occasionally suspense filled. There’s a charm to the film that I enjoy; not to take away from the fun of Miracle, but Greatest Game resounds better with me for some reason.

Movies: B+
Video: B+
Audio: A
Extra Features: B+

- Mike Spring
Editor