Review by Gary Tooze

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• The Real Interview (7:29)

My Scenes

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Description: From Academy Award-winning director, Ron Howard, comes the electrifying, untold story behind one of the most unforgettable moments in history. When disgraced President Richard Nixon agreed to an interview with jet-setting television personality, David Frost, he thought he’d found the key to saving his tarnished legacy. But, with a name to make and a reputation to overcome, Frost became one of Nixon’s most formidable adversaries and engaged the leader in a charged battle of wits that changed the face of politics forever. Featuring brilliant portrayals by Frank Langella and Michael Sheen, Frost/Nixon is the fascinating and suspenseful story of truth, accountability, secrets and lies.

 

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Audio :

The DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 3237 kbps seems somewhat wasted here with hardly any instances of notable separation. Although, when a light-stand bulb bursts on the faux set - I almost jumped out of my skin. Subtleties of the dialogue (hushed tones, slightly aggressive inflections etc.) are rendered perfectly. There is nothing wrong with the mix at all but don't expect a lot of surround usage. Subtitles are offered in English, French or Spanish and the disc is region free - playable on Blu-ray machines world-wide.

Extras :

The supplements appear to duplicate the simultaneously released DVD (available HERE) with optional audio commentary from Ron Howard. While it reveals a fair amount I was only moderately interested but it is nice to get the feeling that he had a real passion for this work. The Blu-ray does have an untested BD-Live and My Scenes functionality. There are some, basically short, featurettes starting with Discovering Secrets: The People and Places Behind the Story running less than 15-minutes about research for the topic and film. The Making of Frost / Nixon is 23-minutes and covers the usual ground with sound-bites. The Real Interview kind of short-changes us with excerpts and comments from the likes of people like Howard and Langella - it runs only 7 1/2 minutes but I see it can be bought on DVD now HERE (again not the entire 28 hour interview). We also have The Nixon Library for 6 minutes and a half-hours worth of 7 Deleted Scenes

BOTTOM LINE:
This is a highly interesting fictional account of the behind-the-scenes development of the famous interviews. While I was very keen on Frost / Nixon and recommend people see it - I don't know that being on Blu-ray vitally advanced my enjoyment of the film itself. It appears to be a full $9 more and I question whether it is necessary for this particular edition which never demonstrates important satisfaction vis-à-vis aural or visual grandeur. I doubt we're going to see it looking or sounding any better than it does on this Blu-ray but I expect most would enjoy the DVD (available HERE) just, or almost, as much. However, those more in tune with the hi-def experience may find the extra money a worthy investment. Either way - we endorse the politically and historically interesting film that also simply makes for good 'theater'.