A theoretical analysis of this one is 4 years overdue and entirely unnecessary. If you’ve seen it, you’ve probably decided whether or not to buy the Blu-ray already. If you’ve seen it once, you’ve probably seen it half a dozen times. In technical terms it’s a pretty remarkable work of art, from its cinematography to its sound design to the progressive steps it made in digital post-production. So, why review it?
Well, there are only so many times you can say a movie looks beautiful or talk about how awesome it is, so that angle’s out. There’s nothing I can really say against the film; as I’ve already stated, it’s technically next-to-flawless, and strikingly beautiful to take in. The biggest criticism I have of the film is that its style, when juxtaposed with the film’s surprising length, can start to grate a bit. But even that is like saying ice cream is great but a hot fudge sundae isn’t, so I don’t know how valid the point is in actuality.
The performances have to be mentioned, even though they’ve already been brought up a hundred times in the past. The entire cast is stellar, reciting often robustly melodramatic lines of dialogue with entirely admirable professionalism. If the film has one strength that supersedes its visual and aural beauty, it is easily the complete and total brilliance of its nearly faultless ensemble. Alphabetically down the line: Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis and Elijah Wood are all freaking sensational. It's rare to get a cast this good and all three directors nail it.
I think I’d be better off just going over the Blu-ray’s remarkable presentation than to continue wasting your time with recounting stuff I’m sure you already know. With that in mind, lets check out the visual presentation Video:
Breathtaking. From the opening frames I was shocked at how crystalline and gorgeous the film appeared. Razor-sharp edges throughout, and black levels are flawless nearly all of the time. The only fault in the video I noticed was an extremely thin layer of digital grain in some shots, and even then I had to literally be 4 inches from the screen to see it. Also, whenever there is digital grain, it uniformly appears in out-of-focus backgrounds, so you most likely won’t even be able to tell. This is easily a five-star transfer. Great stuff. Audio:
The soundscape is engrossing, even when the rear speakers are quiet. The sounds of the world Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller have created fill the night sky realistically and totally. Gunshots and slashes stand out as they would and speeding cars race by you persistently. Again, a superb job. Blu-ray Bonus Features
First off, both versions of the film are included – theRestored Theatrical Version and the Recut, Extended, Unrated Version. Pick yer’ poison.
New to the release on disc one is the Cine-Explore track, which is a picture-in-picture dongle featuring comic stills and green screen footage available elsewhere on the discs. I’m beginning to hate these PIP extras, especially when they’re the biggest Blu-ray-exclusive features added to Hi-Def re-releases. Honestly, I’d rather separate the film from the extras, as the pop-up boxes are simply distracting more than anything else.
Also on disc one are two commentaries – one with Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, and one with Rodriguez and Tarantino. You’ll probably want to listen to at least one of them, and of the two, I’d probably recommend the latter, just because.
Finally, there’s an "Audience Reaction" audio track, which is exactly what it sounds like. If you’re interested in hearing people hoot and holler over the movie like you were really in the Alamo Drafthouse, be my guest.
Moving onto disc two, there’s an interactive comic book you’ll most likely be perusing. And that wraps up the Blu-ray exclusives.
After that there’s a whole slew of featurettes covering everything from the green screening process to the costumes and cars. Included, as per usual for Rodriguez’s releases, is his 15 Minute Film School. If you’re interested in Special Effects 101, take a gander – you may be educated by it.
And finally, the teaser trailer and the theatrical trailer finish off the features on this stupidly awesome package. Now go buy it.
