Sony Pictures (USA)
Review by Gary W. Tooze
1.85:1, 2:4, 2:4 1080p - AVC/MPEG-4
Approx times: 1 -> 2 hours, 2 -> 2:07:00, 2.1-> 2:15:00, 3-> 2:20:00
Audio: All three have - Dolby True HD 24 bit/48 kHz 5.1 lossless mixes
Spider-Man 3 has PCM 5.1 (Uncompressed) option
Spider-Man 1 has DUBs offered in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai (Dolby 5.1)
Spider-Man 2 has DUBs offered in French, Spanish (Dolby 5.1)
Spider-Man 3 has DUBs offered
in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai (Dolby 5.1)
Subtitles:
Spider-Man 1 has subtitle options for English (SDH), French, Spanish, Portuguese Thai, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, none
Spider-Man 2 has subtitle options for English, English (SDH), French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, none
Spider-Man 3 has subtitles
options for English (SDH), French, Spanish, Portuguese Thai, Chinese
(traditional and simplifies), Korean, Arabic, none
Extras (4th disc os supplements in Spider-Man 3 box):
• Audio commentary with
director Sam Raimi and the cast (Actors Tobey Maguire, James Franco,
Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Kirsten
Dunst)
• Audio commentary by the filmmakers (Producers Avi Arad, Grant
Curtis and Laura Ziskin, Editor Bob Murawski and Visual Effects
Supervisor Scott Stokdyk)
Featurettes:
• Grains Of Sand: Building Sandman
• Re-imagining The Goblin
• Covered In Black: Creating Venom
• Hanging On: Gwen Stacey And The Collapsing Floor
• Fighting, Flying And Driving: The Stunts
• Tangled Web: The Love Triangles Of Spider-Man 3
• Wall Of Water
• Inside The Editing Room
• The Science Of Sound
• New York: From Rooftops To Backstreets
• Cleveland: The Chase On Euclid Avenue
• 5 behind-the-scenes galleries
• Blooper reel
• Signal Fire music video by Snow Patrol
Released: October 30th, 2007
3
Blu-ray cases inside cardboard box (see image above)
Presentation:
I feel I have a certain level of expertise in comparing these new high-definition DVDs to their corresponding SD counterparts - simply because my two boys have insisted on the former generation discs being played constantly the past few years. So when I popped in the Blu-rays of Spidey - the improvements were obvious to us all. Aside from that, like my boys, I LOVE Spider-Man immensely. I watch even when they aren't around. To be concise - the new BRD presentations of all 3 (4 if you include 2.1 as unique) look absolutely marvelous. I'm very happy to report that the 3-D visage that hi-def owners always seem to both crave and be peering out for - is here in multitude. They look 'WOW', Tiger!
NOTE: At this time you can only purchase Spider-Man 1 + 2 (and 2.1) hi-def in this The High Definition Trilogy boxset. Spider-Man 3 and its extra features is available individually HERE.
2nd NOTE: These DVDs took an inordinate amount of time to load. They seemed to be trying to connect to something externally ('DVD-ROM' appears in the LCD window) but I have no information on that.
Titles
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Stan Lee (always a cameo in the films) and Steve Dikto (artist) struck gold with their Spider-Man creation decades ago - Lee's idea was to create a "human character", an imperfect geek born to constantly fall short. A weak child, with black-framed glasses, deceased parents, picked on by his classmates, and often unable to find the money for the rent. Seeing this protagonist succeed sparked hope for everyone. This was no undefeatable Superman but an everyman coping with his special powers... and trying to do the right thing. At the same time making the mistakes that you and I might in his position - seduced by his own abilities, desirous of acceptance and love (like us all) but learning the hard way that it doesn't always work out for the best in the end. Peter Parker is the perfect comic book invention - right down from being bit by a genetically mutated spider - to his age, his friends and Joe-job circumstances he lives under. His success become our success... and for that we love him and follow his adventures in crime fighting, family support and seeking love.
The three Sony films have barely touched the surface of this icon's depth - another positive as we may have years and years ahead of growth, maturity and battling the forces of evil. Bravo!
Video:
There is a huge improvement from the most recent SD DVDs
incarnations of Spidey in this Spider-Man - The High Definition Trilogy. The colors, detail and depth are astounding. Every facet in DVD appearance is improved. Spider-Man 1 is much better (skin tones are occasionally reddish), but Spider-Man 2, the best film of the series in my opinion, is the star of the set. It is virtually pristine with only some minor digital noise as a negative. I even noted some fine grain. Spider-Man 3 stands out as being somewhat darker (not unlike the film itself) but in terms of sharpness it takes a backseat to none of the others. I suspect if I was forced to score image out of 5 - it would be 4, 4.5, 4.5 respectively for the three Spider-Man editions.T
echnically the three are supported with their original aspect ratios, 1.85:1, 2:4 and 2:4 again in glorious 1080p with AVC/MPEG-4 compression. I would occasionally check the bitrates and it would be a staggering 38-42bps.NOTE: I noted no significant differences in 2.0 to its extended 2.1 version (8 minutes added) - both looked bright, vibrant seeming to adhere to a very pure representation of the films.
Cover
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Subtitle Sample
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Screen Captures
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Cover
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Subtitle Sample
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Screen Captures
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Cover
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Menus
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Screen Captures
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Audio:
Whenever I look at my notes made during viewing I always find
the audio portion limited with only one or two notations. I never consider it my strength to identify greatness in all the modern options (for that I apologize) - I thought all three had solid separation with Spider-Man 1 being the weaker sister with background audio overpowering dialogue in many instances. 2 + 3 sounded equally as impacting and boisterous. I listened to the lossless True HD tracks. To reiterate what we have written above about the audio: All three have - Dolby True HD 24 bit/48 kHz 5.1 lossless mixes. Spider-Man 3 has PCM 5.1 (Uncompressed). Spider-Man 1 has DUBs offered in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai (Dolby 5.1). Spider-Man 2 has DUBs offered in French, Spanish (Dolby 5.1), Spider-Man 3 has DUBs offered in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai (Dolby 5.1).Supplements
:There are only extras for Spider-Man 3. Aside from 2 separate commentaries on the features disc - the rest are housed on a second Blu-ray disc although I believe they are all 480 and also appears on the Spiderman 3 SD 2-disc Special Edition. An audio commentary with director Sam Raimi and the cast (Actors Tobey Maguire, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Kirsten Dunst) is quite fun with lots of humor - NOTE: Dunst portion was recorded separately as she was away on a film production. There is a second, more technical commentary with the filmmakers (Producers Avi Arad, Grant Curtis and Laura Ziskin, Editor Bob Murawski and Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Stokdyk) - it seems to be a lot of PC glad-handing and not enough substance - well, not as much as we might like. There are a number of featurettes - mostly to do with the special effects and stunts - the titles are self explanatory. They range from 9-20 minutes each - they are Grains Of Sand: Building Sandman, Re-imagining The Goblin, Covered In Black: Creating Venom, Hanging On: Gwen Stacey And The Collapsing Floor, Fighting, Flying And Driving: The Stunts, Tangled Web: The Love Triangles Of Spider-Man 3, Wall Of Water, Inside The Editing Room, The Science Of Sound, New York: From Rooftops To Backstreets and Cleveland: The Chase On Euclid Avenue. There are also a gallery, a short comical blooper reel and the Signal Fire music video by Snow Patrol
. In truth they all made me want some extras for Spider-Man 2 (and 1) which seem mighty conspicuous by their absence.BOTTOM LINE: I admit to having collected Marvel comics pretty seriously with friends while we were growing up - sealing them in Mylar bags - attending conventions. These films were like a *past* dream come true (I even added Spider-Man 2 to THIS article identifying it as one of the best Hollywood films of the past decade). The amazing thing is that it's been long enough that Tobey Maguire now is Spider-Man / Peter Parker for me - as is J.K. Simmons - an excellent J. Jonah Jameson and ditto for Elizabeth Banks as comely efficient Betty Brant. I am totally taken back to my wasted youth with these films... and being a devotee of high-definition DVD - I was anxious about their arrival to the mailbox. They look and sound even better than my wildest dreams and I still adore the films. If you are at all keen on your friendly neighborhood webslinger and gravitate to Blu-ray - then these are a wonderful addition to your budding library. I'd be lying if I didn't fully recommend!
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Supplement Menus (taken from the Spiderman 3 SD 2-disc Special Edition - as they are the same)
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