Robert George
06-11-07, 08:10 PM
The Island
US Distribution - DreamWorks
EU Distribution - Warner Bros.
Blu-ray released in Belgium by Warner (no region code)
Coming to other EU countries in both Blu-ray and HD DVD (varies by country, Blu-ray only in Belgium).
Running Time - 136 minutes
Aspect - 2.40:1
Languages - (Dolby Digital 640 kb/s) English 5.1, French 5.1, Spanish 5.1, Italian 5.1, Castellan 5.1; English Descriptive Track 2.0 (192 kb/s)
Subtitles - Too many to list (like, a dozen tracks)
VC-1 1080/24P
Default Playback Configuration: English 5.1/Subtitles Off (disc goes in, Warner logo, movie starts. No scary FBI warning, no menu, no bullsh!t. My kind of disc.)
(Perfunctory reviewer comments on the movie...)
Michael Bay is one of those filmmakers that critics hate and moviegoers love. If you judged Bay's cinematic expertise on the average review one of his movies gets, you'd wonder why anyone in Hollywood would give him the time of day, much less hundreds of millions of dollars. To divine that answer, one need only look at the box office and home video receipts of the average Michael Bay movie, and you'll know why Hollywood likes him rather more than the average film critic. Michael Bay makes movies that people like to watch. While most of Bay's films are hugely successful, The Island from 2005 would have to be counted as a minor hit, except at my house.
I consider The Island to be an imminently repeatable bit of sci-fi fluff beautifully shot, competently acted, and with a story that does, perhaps, a bit more than just connect the various and obligatory action set pieces. No matter how many times I have seen this flick, I can still drop the disc in the player and have my attention grabbed right from the opening dream sequence. But, every time I have seen the film on DVD, I can't help but recall how enjoyable that first theatrical experience was and how far from that a DVD, even a good DVD, really is. The Island is a film that is best enjoyed in a dark room with a big screen and a crankin' surround system. It was with no small bit of excitement I opened the Airmail package containing the spankin' new high definition edition of this modern extravaganza on Blu-ray disc. My excitement quickly turned into almost childish glee as the opening frames lit up my 106", 1080p projection screen.
(Yada, yada, yada. Tell us how it looks...)
The hi-def transfer Warner has graced us with in this new Blu-ray disc is, in a word, gorgeous. Candy cane colors pop off the screen without a hint of oversaturation or smearing so often found on lesser video formats. Much of Bay's lighting is high contrast with bright hot whites and deep, inky blacks. This transfer conveys the film's production design without a hiccup. The image is consistently sharp and detailed with a natural grain structure and not a hint of blocking or digital noise. So sharp, in fact, one can now detect less than perfect focus from shot to shot (don't they pay guys just to "pull focus"?). I did note a few fleeting instances of banding in a few shots, though this was slight and never distracting.
Of course, this is a Michael Bay film, so lots of things get blown up. While not quite the uncompressed or lossless audio we have come to expect on the HD formats, the 640 kb/s Dolby Digital track certainly delivers the goods here. For those not keeping score, Dolby Digital on DVD is limited to 448 kb/s and as good as those are, the extra bits here are put to good use. Dialog has a clear, natural timbre while the score and effects have a rather more "airy" quality than the DVD version. Not hi-res lossless, but certainly not bad.
Warner has also included a short, 15 minute "making of" piece of the marketing EPK variety. This gives a bit of background on the film with Michael Bay and most of the film's principles talking about how great everything is. In this case, I happen to agree with them.
If you are a fan of The Island, this is a disc you will want to seek out. It will likely be a bit easier to find as it is released in other European counties in the coming weeks. I guarantee it will be worth the effort.
Pass the popcorn...
US Distribution - DreamWorks
EU Distribution - Warner Bros.
Blu-ray released in Belgium by Warner (no region code)
Coming to other EU countries in both Blu-ray and HD DVD (varies by country, Blu-ray only in Belgium).
Running Time - 136 minutes
Aspect - 2.40:1
Languages - (Dolby Digital 640 kb/s) English 5.1, French 5.1, Spanish 5.1, Italian 5.1, Castellan 5.1; English Descriptive Track 2.0 (192 kb/s)
Subtitles - Too many to list (like, a dozen tracks)
VC-1 1080/24P
Default Playback Configuration: English 5.1/Subtitles Off (disc goes in, Warner logo, movie starts. No scary FBI warning, no menu, no bullsh!t. My kind of disc.)
(Perfunctory reviewer comments on the movie...)
Michael Bay is one of those filmmakers that critics hate and moviegoers love. If you judged Bay's cinematic expertise on the average review one of his movies gets, you'd wonder why anyone in Hollywood would give him the time of day, much less hundreds of millions of dollars. To divine that answer, one need only look at the box office and home video receipts of the average Michael Bay movie, and you'll know why Hollywood likes him rather more than the average film critic. Michael Bay makes movies that people like to watch. While most of Bay's films are hugely successful, The Island from 2005 would have to be counted as a minor hit, except at my house.
I consider The Island to be an imminently repeatable bit of sci-fi fluff beautifully shot, competently acted, and with a story that does, perhaps, a bit more than just connect the various and obligatory action set pieces. No matter how many times I have seen this flick, I can still drop the disc in the player and have my attention grabbed right from the opening dream sequence. But, every time I have seen the film on DVD, I can't help but recall how enjoyable that first theatrical experience was and how far from that a DVD, even a good DVD, really is. The Island is a film that is best enjoyed in a dark room with a big screen and a crankin' surround system. It was with no small bit of excitement I opened the Airmail package containing the spankin' new high definition edition of this modern extravaganza on Blu-ray disc. My excitement quickly turned into almost childish glee as the opening frames lit up my 106", 1080p projection screen.
(Yada, yada, yada. Tell us how it looks...)
The hi-def transfer Warner has graced us with in this new Blu-ray disc is, in a word, gorgeous. Candy cane colors pop off the screen without a hint of oversaturation or smearing so often found on lesser video formats. Much of Bay's lighting is high contrast with bright hot whites and deep, inky blacks. This transfer conveys the film's production design without a hiccup. The image is consistently sharp and detailed with a natural grain structure and not a hint of blocking or digital noise. So sharp, in fact, one can now detect less than perfect focus from shot to shot (don't they pay guys just to "pull focus"?). I did note a few fleeting instances of banding in a few shots, though this was slight and never distracting.
Of course, this is a Michael Bay film, so lots of things get blown up. While not quite the uncompressed or lossless audio we have come to expect on the HD formats, the 640 kb/s Dolby Digital track certainly delivers the goods here. For those not keeping score, Dolby Digital on DVD is limited to 448 kb/s and as good as those are, the extra bits here are put to good use. Dialog has a clear, natural timbre while the score and effects have a rather more "airy" quality than the DVD version. Not hi-res lossless, but certainly not bad.
Warner has also included a short, 15 minute "making of" piece of the marketing EPK variety. This gives a bit of background on the film with Michael Bay and most of the film's principles talking about how great everything is. In this case, I happen to agree with them.
If you are a fan of The Island, this is a disc you will want to seek out. It will likely be a bit easier to find as it is released in other European counties in the coming weeks. I guarantee it will be worth the effort.
Pass the popcorn...