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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

directed by Rob Reiner
USA 1992

A taut script and bravura performances distinguish Rob Reiner's masterfully directed adaptation of the award-winning play written by West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin. Tom Cruise heads the powerhouse cast, portraying a callow Navy lawyer who defends two young Marines accused of murdering a fellow Leatherneck on their Guantánamo Bay base. Although he's got only three major scenes, Jack Nicholson sparkles as the stern commanding officer, a much-decorated veteran who resents Cruise's intimation that the accidental death resulted from the misinterpretation of orders from higher-ups. Nicholson's fiery courtroom confrontation with Cruise precipitates a shattering climax, and it has come to rank among the most memorable sequences in any Hollywood movie. The direction by Reiner (The American President) is assured but unobtrusive, relying more on the forcefulness of Sorkin's screenplay and the skill of a stellar ensemble cast (which also includes Demi Moore, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, and J. T. Walsh) than on flashy camera moves. Solid and unpretentious, albeit somewhat floridly melodramatic in spots, A Few Good Men certainly makes riveting entertainment, but it also reminds us that courage, honor, and integrity are virtues worth defending -- even when the defenders themselves are the ones making mistakes.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

 

***

The role doesn't have to be big, but if it's good, and if the actor playing it is great, the results can be magically transforming. Witness Jack Nicholson's vicious, funny, superbly reptilian turn in Rob Reiner's entertaining "A Few Good Men," adapted by Aaron Sorkin from his hit Broadway courtroom drama.

Mr. Nicholson doesn't steal the film, which would mean that he somehow separates himself from everybody else in it. Rather, in the course of only a handful of scenes, he seems to suffuse the entire production, giving it a weight, density and point that might not otherwise be apparent.

Excerpt from Vincent Canby's review at the NY Times located HERE

Posters

 

 

Theatrical Release: December 9th, 1992

Reviews                                                               More Reviews                                                              DVD Reviews

 

Comparison: 

 Sony Pictures (Special Edition) - Region 1,3,4 - NTSC vs. Sony Pictures (SuperBit) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Sony Pictures - Blu-ray vs. Sony - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD

 

1) Sony Pictures (Special Edition) - Region 1,3,4 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Sony Pictures (SuperBit) - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Sony Pictures  - Region FREE - Blu-ray  - THIRD

4) Sony Pictures  - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - RIGHT

 

 Box Covers

 

 

  

  

Distribution

Sony Pictures (SE)

Region 1,3,4 - NTSC

Sony (SuperBit)

Region 0 - NTSC

Sony Pictures - Blu-ray Region FREE Sony
Region FREE -
4K Ultra HD
Runtime 2:17:50 2:17:50 2:18:01.273 2:18:01.272

Video

2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 5.2 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 6.48 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 44,323,203,268 bytes

Feature: 39,556,442,112 bytes

Video Bitrate: 22.14 Mbps

Codec: MPEG2 Video

2.4:1 2060P 4K Ultra HD

Disc Size: 62,590,145,023 bytes

Feature: 62,324,023,296 bytes

Video Bitrate: 47.80 Mbps

Codec: HEVC Video

Bitrate :

 Special Edition

Bitrate:

 SuperBit

Bitrate:

Blu-ray

Bitrate:

 Sony
Region FREE -
4K Ultra HD

Audio English (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), DUBs: French, Spanish, Portuguese (Dolby Digital 2.0) English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS)

Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
LPCM Audio English 4608 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4608 kbps / 16-bit
Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio German 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -1dB
LPCM Audio German 4608 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4608 kbps / 16-bit
Dolby Digital Audio Hungarian 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Polish 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -1dB / Dolby Surround
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Dolby TrueHD + Atmos English 3895 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 3895 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Embedded: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio French 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround
Dolby Digital Audio Italian 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Japanese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 384 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Thai 384 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround

Subtitles English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, None English, Japanese, None English, English SDH, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Norwegian, Swedish, Turkish, French, Hungarian, Romanian, Icelandic, Bulgaria, Croatian, Slovenian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, None

Supplements in English, Dutch, French, German, Korean, None

English, English SDH, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Norwegian, Swedish, Turkish, French, Hungarian, Romanian, Icelandic, Bulgaria, Croatian, Slovenian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, None

Features Release Information:
Studio: Sony

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1

Edition Details:
• Director Reiner Commentary

• Featurette: Code of Conduct

• Featurette: From Stage to Screen (with Sorkin and Reiner)

• Filmographies

• Theatrical trailer

DVD Release Date: May 29th, 2001
Keep case

Chapters 28

Release Information:
Studio: Sony

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1

Edition Details:
• none

 

DVD Release Date: April 23rd, 2003
Keep Case inside cardboard box

Chapters 28

Release Information:
Studio: Sony

 

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 44,323,203,268 bytes

Feature: 39,556,442,112 bytes

Video Bitrate: 22.14 Mbps

Codec: MPEG2 Video

 

Edition Details:
• Director Reiner Commentary

• Featurette: Code of Conduct (34:51)

• Featurette: From Stage to Screen (with Sorkin and Reiner) (13:45)

DVD Release Date: September 18th, 2007
Blu-ray case

Chapters 16

Release Information:
Studio: Sony

 

2.4:1 2060P 4K Ultra HD

Disc Size: 62,590,145,023 bytes

Feature: 62,324,023,296 bytes

Video Bitrate: 47.80 Mbps

Codec: HEVC Video

 

Edition Details:

on UHD

• Director Reiner Commentary

 

on Included Blu-ray
• Director Reiner Commentary

• Featurette: Code of Conduct (34:51)

• Featurette: From Stage to Screen (with Sorkin and Reiner) (13:45)

UHD Release Date: November 7th, 2017
Standard Black case inside cardboard slipcase

Chapters 16

 

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective discs.

ADDITION: Sony "25th Anniversary" - Region FREE - 4K UHD - (May 2019):

Sony transferred "A Few Good Men" in 2017 a 2-disc set with a 4K UHD disc that includes the exact same MPEG2 Blu-ray from 2007 (VOB files: 02/28/2008.) The 4K rending has over 8 X the bitrate of the 2001 DVD and is in the 2.40:1 where the previously released Blu-ray was 2.35:1. The precise level of fine detail in the image results in a much brighter image with intense white levels (in the uniforms). The HDR (or Dolby Vision, to those with the capability) utilize the format's ability to show a wider spectrum of light (and color) which looks highly impressive on our OLED TV (which has the capability to show almost pure black) - especially compared to the 2007 Blu-ray. The 4K image dramatically benefits from superior contrast and detailed image. The framing is ever-so-slightly different from the old Blu-ray as the matched screen captures bear out. 

NOTE: 18 more full resolution (3840 X 2160) captures for Patrons HERE.

 

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. This is the first where our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future.

 

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR),  2001: A Space Odyssey (using the included Blu-ray to showcase the new restoration color difference), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).


As for the audio - it is the equal of the strong image. We get an Atmos option as: "The audio presentation is mixed specifically for Dolby Atmos enabled receivers and speaker configurations to produce full, multidimensional sound without channel restrictions in the home - even overhead. Dolby Atmos is compatible with current generation Ultra HD players. Also select this option for other speaker configurations. For Dolby Atmos Playback, set your Ultra HD Blu-ray player to bitstream out and disable secondary audio."

For Atmos my system recognizes it as TrueHD 7.1, but from Wikipedia: "Because of limited bandwidth and lack of processing power, Atmos in home theaters is not a real-time mix rendered the same way as in cinemas. The substream is added to Dolby TrueHD or Dolby Digital Plus. This substream only represents a losslessly encoded fully object-based mix. This substream does not include all 128 objects separated. This is not a matrix-encoded channel, but a spatially-encoded digital channel. Atmos in home theaters can support 24.1.10 channel, but it is not an object-based real-time rendering. Filmmakers need to remix and render the TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks with Dolby Media Producer."

The 4K Ultra HD  sounds very crisp and tight - Marc Shaiman (Misery) did the score along with the film having some pop music of the time (in the bars) plus John Philip Sousa's The Stars and Stripes Forever and Semper Fidelis. There are a few foreign-language DUBs and it has optional subtitles. As always 4K UHD discs are also Region Free.

The only extra on the
4K UHD is the Reiner commentary, but the package includes the 2007 Blu-ray with those two featurette supplements.

Aaron Sorkin's "A Few Good Men" has aged incredibly well. The film has immensely strong performances from Jack, Cruise, Demi and excellent support from Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak, J.T. Walsh etc.  Since the old
Blu-ray was only
MPEG2 and never upgraded - it makes this stellar 4K UHD disc almost essential. I've seen this half a dozen times and it is always an enjoyable film experience about honor and abuse of power. I consider this a definite 'keeper' in my digital library.

 

***

ADDITION (2007): The new Sony Blu-ray - while ahead of the DVDs is using the same, less dynamic, MPEG2 encode and has lossy Dolby audio. It has DUB and subtitle options and the same commentary and extras as the 2001 DVD. It requires an upgrade. 

***

RE the DVD's: There is no significant image quality differences - the Special Edition may have slightly redder skin tones but detail and external colors are an fairly exact match. Both DVDs are progressive, anamorphic in the film's original 2.35 ratio and transferred to dual-layered discs.  Both have black borders circumventing the edge of the frame slightly limiting the horizontal resolution. But overall the image is excellent, very few artifacts - clean and sharp.

The differences come in the supplements. In the SuperBit - on the pretext of filtering more data - has none. It offers English and Japanese subtitles and a 5.1 and, largely superfluous, DTS track. The Special Edition has a rather bland commentary from 2001 by director Rob Reiner (lots of gaps) and two featurettes - of the two I preferred 'From Stage to Screen' with input from Sorkin about his original play and Reiner again about the adaptation to film. There are also text screen filmographies and a theatrical trailer. It is coded for regions 1, 3 and 4 with subtitles options making it suitable for sale in alternate locations (parts of Asia and Europe). It loses the DTS track for a 2.0 channel stereo and another 5.1 job with a few offered DUBs. Both are in the NTSC standard.

NOTE: My software states the Japanese SuperBit is region 0 although I would assume it is region 2.

Bottom line - I'm expecting the Blu-ray to look marvelous and hope it contains some new extras (as well as the old). Great film and Jack's performance borders on terrifyingly sobering as an extremely fundamentalist military mind. I look forward to owning the Blu-ray. We will get some comparative shots if possible. 

Gary W. Tooze

 


Menus

Sony Pictures (Special Edition) - Region 1,3,4 - NTSC

 

Sony Pictures (SuperBit) - Region 0 - NTSC

 

Sony Pictures - Blu-ray Region Free

 

Sony Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD

 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY (1920 X 1080) and 4K UHD (3840 X 2060) CAPTURE TO SEE IN FULL RESOLUTION

 

 

1) Sony Pictures (Special Edition) - Region 1,3,4 - NTSC - TOP

2) Sony Pictures (SuperBit) - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Sony Pictures  - Region FREE - Blu-ray  - THIRD

4) Sony Pictures  - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - BOTTOM

 


Subtitle Sample: Not exact frame

 


 

1) Sony Pictures (Special Edition) - Region 1,3,4 - NTSC - TOP

2) Sony Pictures (SuperBit) - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Sony Pictures  - Region FREE - Blu-ray  - THIRD

4) Sony Pictures  - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - BOTTOM

 

 


 

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Sony - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Sony - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Sony - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Sony - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Sony - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Sony - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Sony - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Sony - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Sony - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Sony - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Sony - Region FREE - 4K Ultra HD - BOTTOM

 

 

More full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K Ultra HD Captures for Patreon Supporters HERE

 

 

 

 Box Covers

 

 

  

  

Distribution

Sony Pictures (SE)

Region 1,3,4 - NTSC

Sony (SuperBit)

Region 0 - NTSC

Sony Pictures - Blu-ray Region FREE Sony
Region FREE -
4K Ultra HD

 


 


 



 

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