Something doesn't seem right here. The image on this Blu-ray is decidedly softer than I've seen from a dual-layered hi-def disc of this film's age (about 15 years). No, I don't like the look of this very much - and I was expecting more. I don't think we need to throw around terms like DNR (Digital Noise Reduction) - the images below tell just about all we need to know about the visuals. There is not a lot of depth and actually Tony Scott's other films kind of share this visual style - a 'clouded' flatter look - thick and bland - without a discernable texture. Perhaps he feels it exports a form of realism... or nostalgia. The outdoor scenes tend to look better and black levels are notably deeper.  Does it look better than the Special Edition SD-DVD? Yes - I'd say so - but not by any amount that dramatically improved the presentation on my system. To be fair the DVDs never represented a pristinely crisp image and it may very well be the original source is not especially detailed. I actually think I may have seen this theatrically, but it was far too long ago for me to recall the sharpness of the picture. Colors are certainly brighter (oft-used pinks and to a lesser degree 'reds') but sometimes look artificial. The Blu-ray is 2.4:1 and shows a shade more information on the side edges. Generally though, it doesn't seem to benefit as much from the move to high-def on the visual front as many would hope - despite the reasonably strong bitrate.

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track fares a little better even though it is rendered at but 1830 kbps. There is some occasional punch although not an excessive amount of depth. Separation exists in the more aggressive moments (and there are quite a few even beyond the 'blood bath' at the conclusion). Slater's distinctive voice is crisp, deep and resonating. The music tracks - Soundgarden and Billy Idol to The Big Bopper and Burl Ives - sound pretty great. There are subtitles in English, French and Spanish and my Momitsu tells me it is Region FREE!

Extras duplicate the stacked 2-disc SE and I haven't yet found anything new. Beyond the three fun commentaries with respectively Slater & Arquette, Scott and Tarantino - there is the selective scene commentary input with Hopper, Kilmer, Pitt and Rapaport and decidedly poor alt-ending (good thing it wasn't chosen) with that commentary, 34-minutes of 8 deleted and three extended scenes (with Scott commentary - pointing out production details and people like Jack Black - who had very minor roles), featurettes and more. I don't see anything in HD but it's nice to have it all on one accessible disc.