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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The Truman Show [Blu-ray]
(Peter Weir, 1998)
Review by Gary Tooze
Studio: Paramount
Discs: Region: FREE Feature Runtime: 1:42:56.920 Chapters: 24 Disc Size: 39,846,975,699 bytes Feature Size: 35,441,018,880 bytes Average Bitrate: 45.90 Mbps One dual-layered Blu-ray Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: December 30th, 2008
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.78 Resolution: 1080p Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Audio:
Supplements:
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How’s It Going To End? The Making of The Truman Show
(Two parts - 23:24 + 18:22)
Bitrate Graph:
Product Description: He's the star of the show--but he doesn't know. Jim Carrey wowed critics and audiences alike as unwitting Truman Burbank in this marvel of a movie from director Peter Weir (Witness, Dead Poets Society) about a man whose life is a nonstop TV show. Truman doesn't realize that his quaint hometown is a giant studio set run by a visionary producer/director/creator (Ed Harris), that folks living and working there are Hollywood actors, that even his incessantly bubbly wife is a contract player. Gradually, Truman gets wise. And what he does about his discovery will have you laughing, crying and cheering like few film stories ever have...
The Film: Truman's world is controlled by a TV producer named Christof (Ed Harris), whose control room is high in the artificial dome that provides the sky and horizon of Seahaven. He discusses his programming on talk shows, and dismisses the protests of those (including Sylvia) who believe Truman is the victim of a cruel deception. Meanwhile, the whole world watches Truman's every move, and some viewers even leave the TV on all night, as he sleeps.
Excerpt from Roger Ebert's review at the Chicago Sun-Times located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc. Surprisingly impressive 1080P image on this 10-year old film. I'm beginning to think that Paramount are producing the best Blu-rays in terms of image quality - certainly lately I've noted their dominance. Although I've seen over 250 high-definition discs I'm still feeling inadequate to critique. This image here seems basically flawless to me. Detail on The Truman Show is outstanding, colors are vibrant and true while noise/artefacts are seemingly non-existent through the majority of the film. I can't see that there is anything that Paramount, or anyone else, could have done to dramatically improve the visual quality of this Blu-ray transfer. I think simply viewing the captures below should support my feelings. It is presented in 1.78: 1 aspect ratio - the disc takes up just shy of 40 Gig with a towering bitrate of 45.90 Mbps! (Wow). It's expectantly damage-free and exhibits some depth at times. The dual-layered disc is consistent after the first few minutes that seem slightly below par. The MPEG4 encode comes through again with a fabulous image which, even considering the film's age, approaches awesome.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio & Music:
Extras:
Bottom line:
Gary Tooze December 13th, 2008
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