Warner Home Video (Japan)
Blu-ray Region Code: A - Americas (North, Central and South except
French Guiana), Korea, Japan, South East Asia (including Hong Kong,
Macau and Taiwan). NOTE: We strongly suspect the disc is REGION FREE!
Review by Gary W. Tooze
2.35:1 1080p - VC-1 encode
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, DUB: Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English Japanese, none
Extras:
• Making of... (14:56)
Disc - Single-layered 25Gig
Feature - 19.6 Gig - 2:15:59
Released: June 11th, 2008
Standard Blu-ray case
27 chapters
Product Description: From Director Michael Bay (Armageddon, The Rock) comes an action-packed thrill ride that's an "explosive mind-blowing assault on the senses! - Clay Smith (The Insider) Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson lead an all-star cast as residents of an isolated high-tech compound. But when they discover they're actually clones and worth more dead than alive they stage a daring escape. Battling an unfamiliar environment and an armed team of mercenaries in hot pursuit they'll risk their lives and freedom to save those they left behind - and reveal the truth about The Island...
The Film:
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When you add up all the best things about The Island, you might just conclude that there's hope yet for Hollywood's most critically reviled hit-maker, Michael Bay. Recruited by Steven Spielberg to direct this lavish and often breathtaking sci-fi action thriller, Bay rises to the occasion with an ambitious production that is, by his standards (and compared to Bay's earlier hits like The Rock and Armageddon), surprisingly intelligent as it explores the repercussions of cloning in a sealed-off society where humans are cultivated for spare parts, surrogate parenthood, and full-body replacements for wealthy clientele. But when two of the clones (Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johanssen) begin to question their fate and the motives of their keepers, they escape into the real world and The Island becomes just another Michael Bay action extravaganza, albeit an impressively exciting one. With elaborate chase scenes and a high-tech feast of CGI to dazzle the eye, The Island recycles much of the plot from 1979's Clonus while borrowing elements from Logan's Run, Gattaca and Minority Report, and while it's not as smartly conceived as those earlier films, there's no denying that, in many ways, it's Bay's best film to date.
Excerpt from Jeff Shannon's review at Amazon HERE
Video: NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.
Secondary NOTE: This is not yet available in North America BUT this Japanese disc will play on 'Region A' Blu-ray equipment which includes the Americas (North, Central and South except French Guiana), Korea, Japan, South East Asia (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). I actually think the disc is region-free (but cannot yet verify) but when I can confirm we will publish that here.
This has Japanese menus but, like a typical 'Warner' Blu-ray - the film starts up as soon as you put the disc in (no painfully long trailers or Blu-ray adverts). It's fairly simple with only 2 options for both audio and subtitles and the only supplement is in English. I strongly suspect that the transfer will be the same as the eventual U.S. release.
This Blu-ray is single-layered with the feature taking up 19.6 Gig of the 2 1/4 hour film in 2.35 aspect ratio. It looks pretty darn strong as evidenced by the large resolution screen captures (clickable below.) Detail and colors all definitely outshine the competent SD edition and I noted no intensive flaws to mar a home theater presentation. It can look saturated in some scenes but I have no evidence to suggest this was not an intentional look. Being a Michael Bay film there are some rich, striking images (some fake, many real) and they look duly impressive on 1080P. The Island is probably one film that is worthy of being noted as a strong reason to encourage upgrading to Blu-ray dependant, of course, on how keen you might be on the film - which, dare I say, one of Bay's most intelligent and possibly his best effort to date (mimicking the last line of Shannon's review above) - I agree!
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
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Audio: Nothing overly notable with
Warner's inclusion of the English surround option which is quite competent when called upon - buoyant and separated... but still fairly even and consistent in the interim with dialogue audio supported by English or Japanese subtitle options. No complaints at all. There is also a Japanese surround DUB if necessary.
Extras: We don't get the commentary found on the SD but we do get a
15-minute 'Making of..." with input from many of the cast,
Bay and some crew. It covers, on the surface, some of the details and
why specific choices were made. It's okay but not any deep analysis or
evolution of the story which I would have preferred.
Extras
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BOTTOM LINE: Being a Michael Bay production I was not optimistic about the film, but was very pleasantly surprised! Yes, the chase scene is overdone, but conceptually it remains exceptionally intriguing presenting itself as a cross between Coma and Logan's Run. McGregor is excellent as is Johanssen - who is pristine as futuristic eye-candy. The Blu-ray is better than one might suspect for a single-layered effort and although the extras are light I think many fans would enjoy The Island in high-def in their home theaters. I sure did.
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