L e n s V i e w sA view on Blu-ray and DVD video by Leonard Norwitz |
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Introduction: I first noticed that some movies were actually "films" back around
1960 when I saw Seven Samurai (in the then popular truncated version),
La Strada and
The Third Man for the first time. American classics were a later and
happy discovery.
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Vicky Cristina Barcelona [Blu-ray vs. DVD comparison]
(Woody Allen, 2008)
Review by Leonard Norwitz
Studio: Theatrical: Mediapro & Gravier Blu-ray: Weinstein Home Entertainment
DVD stats (where they differ from the Blu-ray) and Gary's comparison comments are in light green.
Disc: Region: FREE / Region 1Runtime: 1:36:44.465 / 1:36:24Chapters: 18 Disc Size: 22,251,337,934 bytes / 4,544,423,936 bytesBitrate: 29.84 Mbps / 5.52 MbpsCase: Locking Blu-ray case / Standard DVD Keep caseRelease date: January 27th, 2009
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 Resolution: 1080p / 480PVideo codec: VC-1
Audio: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 3.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 16-bit / DVD: Dolby Digital 3.0
Subtitles: English SDH & Spanish (feature film). Burned-in English on Spanish dialogue
Extras: • None
The Film: Woody Allen gets his first showing on Blu-ray*, not with Annie Hall or Manhattan or Hannah and Her Sisters, not even with his musical, Everyone Says I Love You, but with his most recent film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. A curious title to say the least, for it is not, as you might guess, a woman's name. Rather it is two names and a city - inaccurately written on a single line, as you can see from the title card.
*ed. note: actually Cassandra's Dream is on region-free Blu-ray in Scandinavia. That was his first.
Image:
7/8
NOTE:
The below
captures were ripped directly from the respective
disc.
This Weinstein Blu-ray delivers a modest, but agreeable image, drenched in warm, golden hues, that seemed to give way to more natural tones as the movie progressed. In all respects the picture quality is pristine, though a bit soft, as expected. Noise is minimal, if at all present. Blacks are consistent with a natural contrast. Bit rates are in the 30s and upper 20s.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Blu-ray TOP vs. SD DVD BOTTOM
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Blu-ray TOP vs. SD DVD BOTTOM
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Blu-ray TOP vs. SD DVD BOTTOM
Blu-ray TOP vs. SD DVD BOTTOM
Blu-ray TOP vs. SD DVD BOTTOM
Blu-ray TOP vs. SD DVD BOTTOM
Audio & Music:
7/8 Even though the Blu-ray cover states "English Dolby Stereo," my PS3 indicates Linear PCM - 3 channels – 3.1 Mbps (constant). Looks like uncompressed audio to me, even if entirely devoid of surround channel information - not that it's missed all that much in this movie. The dialogue is crisp, focused and clear, which is a good thing, considering how much of the drama is invested in its language – both English and Spanish (the latter was not subtitled, by the way – though it is often translated by one person or another.) The voiceover maintains the same acoustic space throughout the movie in contrast to the actors, whose voices are always appropriately affected by whatever venue they pass through. This differentiation is done so smoothly as to belie its artful technique. The music, whether performed on screen or as part of the soundtrack mix, is always a little muted. A good example occurs at the beginning of chapter 7 where the guitar sounds decidedly thin, even considering that it's outdoors and therefore less full bodied. From the point of view of the audience, who are only a few feet away, the guitar would be much fuller. However, I assume that to observe this reality would have competed with the overall sound design of the film. Decisions like this abound. I approve. Ditto - excepting the DVD is Dolby and compressed. Not much significance to this film though.
Operations:
7
Extras:
0 No extras on either.
Bottom line:
7
I liked the film - but didn't love it. I'm a big Woody Allen fan and feel slighted that both discs are single-layered and bare bones. The Blu-ray gave the better presentation but neither format gave stellar visuals. It's $6 difference - which sounds about right but for what they are offering digitally-speaking both are priced high in my opinion. Leonard Norwitz Gary updated January 18th
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