H D - S E N S E IA view on Hi-def discs by Gary W. Tooze |
Introduction: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 7500 DVDs and have reviewed over 3000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. So be
it, but film will always be my first love and I list my
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HERE.
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Righteous Kill [Blu-ray]
(Jon Avnet, 2008)
Review by Gary Tooze
Studio: Anchor Bay
Discs: Region: FREE! Feature Runtime: 1:40:48.042 Chapters: 16 Disc Size: 32,695,163,768 bytess Feature Size: 25,955,284,992 bytes Average Bitrate: 34.33 Mbps One dual-layered Blu-ray Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: January 6th, 2009
Video: Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Resolution: 1080p Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Audio:
Supplements: • Commentary by director Jon Avnet
•
The Investigation - An In-Depth Look at
Righteous Kill (14:23) HD • Trailer in HD (2:23) • BD-LIVE Disc 2 - Digital Copy Bitrate Graph:
Product Description: Righteous Kill pairs two cinematic icons whose previous screen collaboration, Michael Mann's 1995 Heat, was absolutely electrifying despite minimal time together in a long movie. Now in their mid-60s, De Niro and Pacino are playing veteran cops who, despite being grizzled, should look much younger than these actors. The incongruent casting makes the dark story improbable from the get-go, and things get worse as dialogue by screenwriter Russell Gurwitz quickly sounds like a parody of vintage cop movie cliches. It's a strain to find anything that works. The two leads play longtime detectives and partners whose weariness with rapists, murderers, pedophiles and other villains appears linked to the acts of a serial killer taking out bad guys who got away with heinouscrimes. A videotape confession by De Niro's tightly-coiled Turk--who has been seeking the killer with Pacino's Rooster--would seem to establish his ties to the events. But the movie isn't over until it's over, assuming one is still with the movie after plodding along with its facsimile of noir conviction. Director Jon Avnet never gets a handle on Righteous Kill's gritty heart, superficially pushing suspense along with heavy-handed editing, and adding unpersuasive sauce in the form of Turk's somewhat S&M sexual relationship with a female cop (Carla Gugino).
The Film: The fact that more police do not lose their moral footing is an amazing thing. Having to put their own lives in harm’s way in order to protect us, police officers have to immerse themselves in the underside of humanity with all the stench that such a place emits. When their personal danger and sacrifice is added to the often frustrating reality that dangerously destructive people are able to avoid prosecution because of legal technicalities, then a sense of righteous indignation can overwhelm the soul. Though this film chronicles an extreme reaction, a psychological and moral study of these pressures is presented in Jon Avnet’s film “Righteous Kill.”
Excerpt from Cinema in Focus (Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin) located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc. A reasonably competent Blu-ray in terms of image quality. Righteous Kill doesn't have any glaring flaws and similarly doesn't show any demonstrative attributes in terms of high-definition. Anchor Bay's release uses a solid 1080P MPEG-4 transfer to support the film's rather even qualities. Director Avnet hasn't chosen any obvious signature strokes on the Righteous Kill canvas. There is a bit of shadow play but essentially we are presented with the story in generic cinematic terms. The 2.35 frame isolates a few characters well - and while I didn't find detail overwhelmingly sharp - it is certainly adequate and far superior to the corresponding DVD (simultaneously released). My one complaint would be that brighter scenes tends to look a shade green - of which I have no explanation. This is presented in the original 2.35 aspect ratio - the disc takes up 32.6 Gig (the film itself almost 26 Gig) with a solid bitrate of 34.3 Mbps. The image is expectantly very clean - exhibits a shade of depth and the dual-layered disc seem presents a pleasing image and the film's visuals of infrequent facial close-ups, dimly lit locales of apartments, bars and police stations which produce a settled and realistic presentation. While I wouldn't consider this a terribly dynamic image it is without impeding flaws and does a comfortable job in representing the film.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio & Music:
Extras:
Bottom line:
Gary Tooze December 26th, 2008
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