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Quantum of Solace [Blu-ray]
(Marc Forster, 2008)
Review by Gary Tooze
Studio: Theatrical: MGM Video: MGM Disc: Region: 'A' Runtime: 1:46:14.368 Disc Size: 46,012,873,209 bytes Feature Size: 29,027,733,504 bytes Average Bitrate: 36.43 Mbps Chapters: 35 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: March 24th, 2009
Video: Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Resolution: 1080p Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 4093 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4093 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DUBs: Dolby Digital Audio French 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps
Subtitles: English, Chinese (traditional and simplified), French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, none
Extras: • 'Another Way to Die' Music Video (4:31)• 'Bond on Location' featurette (24:45 in HD - as are all featurettes!)• 'Start of Shooting' featurette (2:54) • On Location (3:14) • 'Olga Kurylenko and the Boat Chase' featurette (2:15)• 'Director Marc Forster' featurette (2:45)• 'The Music' featurette (2:36)• 4 Crew Files - Behind the Scenes Clips (45:30) • Theatrical and Teaser trailers• Previews of Valkyrie, Australia, and The Day the Earth Stood Still
Bitrate:
Description: Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in this thrilling, action-packed adventure which starts shortly after Casino Royale ends. Betrayed by the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. On a nonstop quest for justice that crisscrosses the globe, Bond meets the beautiful but feisty Camille (Olga Kurylenko), who leads him to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a ruthless businessman and major force within the mysterious “Quantum” organization. When Bond uncovers a conspiracy to take control of one of the world’s most important natural resources, he must navigate a minefield of treachery, deception and murder to neutralize “Quantum” before it’s too late!
The Film:
Quantum Of Solace picks up moments after the credits rolled at
the end of Casino Royale, with Daniel Craig’s bereaved and blooded Bond
in Siena, wrecking his Aston Martin in a pre-credits car chase
complicated by thick traffic, twisty mountain roads and emotional
Italian drivers. In his car-boot, with a bullet in his leg, is Mr White
(Jesper Christensen), a higher-up in the cartel (Quantum) which employed
and then killed the baddie of the earlier film, and who Bond blames for
the death of the girl he loved last time round. Mr White is taken to be
grilled by M, just as the local horse race (the palio) is taking place
(obviously, the filmmakers saw the documentary The Last Race
too), only for the villain to sneer that MI6 and the CIA obviously know
nothing about Quantum’s many well-placed agents, whereupon someone
presumably trustworthy pulls a gun – and Bond is back in action, leaving
wounded enemies and allies behind as he barges through crowds, runs up
stairs, dangles from scaffolding and dodges swinging girders to get his
man.
The image of Quantum of Solace in Blu-ray is not pristinely sharp but balances nicely between rough hone grain and apparent detail. It can look extremely impressive at times. Outdoor shots are brilliant and colorful; wand indoor sequences exhibit strong black levels. This 1080P image has a thickness that really resembles film - especially outside the abundant action sequences. Detail is only notable in high levels via infrequent close-ups but the image presentation is consistent and life-like. This is, expectantly, a dual-layered disc reaching almost the 50 Gig capacity and hence the bitrate is impressive. I wouldn't be surprised if this was an extremely faithful representation of the theatrical film - dependant, of course, on the system you are viewing it on. This image doesn't give a glossy artificial look, but a realistic dense grain-filled one. It is exceptional.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :Outside 3 foreign language 5.1 DUBs, we have an intense DTS-HD Master Audio English at 4093 kbps. It's as aggressive as you might expect for a Bond film. The film's mix has a strong range covering even more subtle aspects of the onscreen activity. Of course, explosions, car and plane chases and extensive gunplay explode around the room with realistic fury. It's as dynamic as one might surmise. Subtitles are offered in a variety of options indicating this may, indeed, be region-free - but we will post as it becomes confirmed (either way).
Extras :Perhaps somewhat lighter than fans might anticipate. Aside from two healthy pieces there are a number of small featurettes running about 3 minutes or less each and a music video and trailers. 'Bond on Location' is in HD - and runs around 25-minutes highlight brief segments on production with sound bytes from many involved in the film including Barbara Broccoli, Michael Wilson, Gemma Arterton, Daniel Craig and Marc Forster. 4 Crew Files - Behind the Scenes Clips are in SD and run over 45 minutes - not offering much in the way of value. So no commentary and certainly some 'filler'.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze March 12th, 2009
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About the Reviewer: 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
favorites on the old YMdb site now accessible
HERE.
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