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Clash of the Titans [Blu-ray]
(Louis Leterrier, 2010)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Warner Video: Warner Home Video
Disc: Region: FREE! (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:47:51.766 Disc Size: 41,076,039,352 bytes Feature Size: 20,235,804,672 bytes Video Bitrate: 24.98 Mbps Chapters: 17 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: June 27th, 2010
Video: Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: VC-1 Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 3155 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3155 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) * Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB * Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB * Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB DTS Express English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles: English (SDH), French, Portuguese, Spanish, none
Extras: • Maximum Movie Mode: Harnessing the Gods, with Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and director Louis Leterrier and enhanced picture-in-picture; enhanced scene breakdowns; enhanced VFX breakdowns; on-the-spot vignettes; close-up views of the Kraken, the Scorpiochs, Medusa, stuntwork, filming locales, and more
•
Focus points (35:02 in
HD!) DVD/Digital copy
Bitrate:
Description: In Clash of the Titans, the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world. Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, Perseus and his warriors will only survive if Perseus accepts his power as a god, defies fate and creates his own destiny.
The Film:
The mortals are fed up with the whims of the gods. It would be one thing
if they stayed on Olympus and killed time leaning on pillars and
addressing one another in thundering ultimatums. Now they meddle in the
affairs of men. King Acrisius of Argos declares war, and enlists the aid
of a demi-god who has been found at sea. This is Perseus (Sam
Worthington), son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) and a human mother. He didn't
ask to be a savior but would be happier as a simple fisherman. You know
the type.
The outcome is told in "Clash of the Titans" with impressive technical mastery and somewhat lesser dramatic command. For its intended audience, I suspect this will play as a great entertainment. I enjoyed myself, particularly after they released the Kraken. There's no particular dramatic conflict in the movie; Perseus has to wrestle with his demi-god ambiguity; Hades (Ralph Fiennes) nurses a resentment against Zeus; he demands the sacrifice of King Acrisius' daughter Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) to spare the city, and the citizens seem prepared to get along very nicely without her. That's about it. Excerpt from Roger Ebert at the Chicago Sun-Times located HERE
The Clash of the Titans has a pretty strong transfer on Blu-ray from Warner. I, perhaps inaccurately, consider the occasional softness relating to the VC-1encode where I see AVC leaning to showcase a bit crisper visuals. But this looks quite good, regardless. Detail, depth and colors are all at the high end. The feature takes up over 20 Gig on the dual-layered disc with a supportive bitrate. As you might expect there are plenty of CG effects and they blend seamlessly into the dynamic flow of the film - as perfectly as you might hope. Skin tones don't seem overly warm and contrast exhibits healthy, rich black levels. Daylight scenes are more impressive but nothing is overly dark and there is no digital noise. This Blu-ray is impressive and offers the type of consistent image presentation that you might come to expect. It doesn't ever go overboard with the visuals, as we often see, but remains grounded and, for myself, lends the mythology themes a much needed linear edge without going to the less realistic plain. The 81' film had this same consistency and perhaps this was an intentional duplication. It certainly benefited the flow.
Audio :Strong and supportive DTS-HD Master 5.1 at a buoyant 3155 kbps . It is all you would expect from a modern action film adding the Kraken's roars that rattle the floorboards and some subtle separations that establish mood. The score is also adept developing some solid suspense (ex. in the Medusa lair) and rising to adventurous, heroic, conclusions. Warner offer some DUBs and subs and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.
Extras :A thorough listing of supplements with the extensive "Maximum Movie Mode: Harnessing the Gods" self-described with Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and director Louis Leterrier and enhanced picture-in-picture; enhanced scene breakdowns; enhanced VFX breakdowns; on-the-spot vignettes; close-up views of the Kraken, the Scorpiochs, Medusa, stuntwork, filming locales, and more. I also enjoyed the 'Focus Points' which are over a 1/2 hour's worth of 10 sub-sections focusing on production including a lot of the CG of the monster effects. There is a lesser piece on the actor; Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages running less than 10-minutes and both an alternate ending (Perseus confronts Zeus on Mount Olympus) and almost 20-minutes of deleted scenes. The package comes with a second disc representing both a DVD of the film and a Digital copy for use with your portable device. Great job here Warner!
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze July 18th, 2010
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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 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 3500 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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