Crimson Tide - [Blu-ray]
(Tony Scott, 1995)
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Review by Leonard Norwitz
Studio:
Theatrical: Hollywood Films
Video: Hollywood Films Home Entertainment
Disc:
Region: FREE! (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)
Runtime: 1:55:56.666
Disc Size: 31,225,111,832 bytes
Feature Size: 27,434,502,144 bytes
Video Bitrate: 24.00 Mbps
Chapters: 32
Case: Standard Blu-ray case
Release date: February 5th, 2008
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Video:
Aspect ratio: 2.4:1
Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio:
LPCM Audio English 4608 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4608 kbps / 16-bit
Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Subtitles:
English SDH, French, Spanish, none
Extras
• The Making of Crimson Tide
• On the Set of Crimson Tide
• Deleted Scenes
Standard Blu-ray case
1 disc: 32 chapters
Release Date: February 5, 2008
Crimson Tide ~ Comment
From the pop quizzes the junior officers throw at each other about classic submarine movies to the potentially internecine duel between the captain and the exec about military strategy and the subsequent mutiny and its consequences; from the captain's Jack Russell terrier that has the run of the ship to the attack by a Russian sub, this is one a very few Jerry Bruckheimer feature films I can get completely caught up in. The director, Tony Scott, is working with a coherent script that doesn't get sidetracked by romances (think Top Gun). Even the usual heroics that so often define war stories are kept at bay – no michael intended.
Movies set on submarines constrain the action to small spaces that, in the hands of good director, can ratchet up the tension by intensifying the sense of claustrophobia. But the effect is not a given. The worry is that after a while all the spaces start to look the same. The audience needs to know exactly where we are and whose playing on which team. The good news about a nuclear sub is that it has more than one deck. While that's nice for variety it can disorient us just as easily. Scott's particular gift is to make all the action clear and, because the script is so good, tension is never lost for a moment, regardless of the fiction.
But Crimson Tide wouldn't be the success it is without veterans Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington at the top of their form. Their duels, whether sotte voce, or pipes blaring are riveting. We also get to see James Gandolfini and Viggo Mortensen prior to their rise to stardom.
One final note about this edition. This is the Original Theatrical cut, not the Extended/Unrated. I find both cuts worthy: the original emphasizes the contest between captain and exec; the later cut becomes more of an ensemble piece. Would have been nice to have both. Hell, it's Blu-ray, ain't it!
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Crimson Tide ~ The Score Card
The Movie : 9
Russia is in the midst of a military coup as a fanatical rebel leader seizes control of some serious weaponry. If he were to get his hands on the launch codes of nuclear weapons, WWIII could be just seconds away. The nuclear submarine USS Alabama, aware of the political situation, is positioned in the Western Pacific where it receives an unclear order to launch. As the sub's hawkish captain (Gene Hackman) and dovish exec (Denzel Washington) argue about whether an unconfirmed or incomplete order is or is not an order, questions about the ethics of nuclear retaliation become confounded with proper procedure, resulting in a tug-of-war for control of the ship. Meanwhile a Russian sub is also in the area and must be assumed to know what the Americans are about – but under whose orders are they?
Image : 9 (8~9.5/10)
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.
The score of 9 indicates a relative level of excellence compared to other Blu-ray DVDs. The score in parentheses represents: first, a value for the image in absolute terms; and, second, how that image compares to what I believe is the current best we can expect in the theatre.
This is one hell of an image – but, then, so was the Extended/Unrated SD. There are moments when I felt the high definition image to be almost too sharp – certainly things would never have been in such clear relief in a theatrical presentation regardless of how alert the projectionist was. Resolution and color contrast on this DVD is always exceptional, given the context: you shouldn't expect the same degree of clarity under intensely filtered light, whether by smoke, lamp or reflection from a radar screen. The ability to see deeply into the frame involves us in the action in subtle ways without our even being aware of it. Colored light appears to have a life and transparency that is only hinted at in the SD.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
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Audio & Music : 8/9
Nothing like a good surround mix to give the feeling that at any moment you could be imploded by half the Pacific Ocean on the one hand, or have the firepower of WWII at your disposal on the other.
Operations : 6
Disney put in their two cents with their usual Blu-ray promos, but they can all be skipped quickly. One annoyance is the scene selection menu: only three thumbnails at a time is not especially helpful and the highlighting to other triads is less than clear. But the thing that annoyed me most was the high volume level of the click when the menu is accessed while the movie is in progress. If you happen to be watching a relatively quiet scene with the volume turned up, as you are likely to have it, accessing the menu could cause you to jump off the couch.
Extras : 6
All the features that were on the Unrated/Extended SD are brought aboard the Blu-ray, including a ten-minute tour of the set with rehearsals in progress and a 20 minute docufeaturette with producers Bruckhemier and Simpson along with the actors and bits of special effects.
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Recommendation: 9
If you can tolerate the heightened definition that comes with the Blu-ray, this is one hell of a thrill ride. Highly recommended.
Leonard Norwitz
LensViews
February 1st, 2008
June 2010
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