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Crazy Heart [Blu-ray]
(Scott Cooper, 2009)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: 20th Century Fox Video: 20th Century Fox
Disc: Region: A (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:51:37.190 Disc Size: 35,614,538,660 bytes Feature Size: 31,299,538,944 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.77 Mbps Chapters: 28 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: April 20th, 2010
Video: Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 3540 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3540 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles: English (SDH), French, Spanish, none
Extras: • Deleted Scenes and Alternate Music Cuts (18:05)• Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Robert Duvall on what brought them to Crazy Heart (3:02 in HD!)Digital Copy 2nd disc
Bitrate:
Description: Bad Blake is a broken-down, hard-living country music singer who's had way too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks way too many times. And yet, Bad can't help but reach for salvation with the help of Jean, a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician. As he struggles down the road of redemption, Bad learns the hard way just how tough life can be on one man's crazy heart.
The Film:
Some actors are blessed. Jeff Bridges is one of them. Ever since his
breakthrough role in "The Last Picture Show" in 1971, he has,
seemingly without effort, created a series of characters who we simply
believe, even the alien "Starman." He doesn't do this with
mannerisms but with their exclusion; his acting is as clear as running
water. Look at him playing Bad Blake in "Crazy Heart." The notion
of a broke-down, boozy country singer is an archetype in pop culture.
We've seen this story before. The difference is, Bad Blake makes us
believe it happened to him.
This is a solid Blu-ray image from Fox. The dual-layered 1080P visuals don't showcase the film too often as we are in some pretty dark Honky-tonk bars for a lot of the first 1/3 of the film. When the plot does venture elsewhere - especially outdoor vistas of New Mexico - the quality shines appropriately. Close-ups display decent detail and contrast is healthy. Skin tones seem a shade warm at times - but colors look un-manipulated. By modern standards this can look reasonably modest visually but when the cinematography jumps to some more vibrant areas - the transfer has no problem in handling and delivering the goods. I see no DNR tinkering and suspect this is as strong a representation of the film as you are likely to find on disc.
Audio :The only track is a buoyant DTS-HD Master 5.1 at a responsible 3540 kbps. The film's music (Stephen Bruton and T-Bone Burnett) wasn't meant to sound overly crisp - it's clean and refreshing but 'twangy' accurate to the film's vérité realism. It sounds good. Aside from a car crash there isn't an abundance of effect noises necessary - nor seperations. Dialogue is audible without need for demonstrative range or depth. There are optional subtitles and m y Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked disc.
Extras :Not much in the way of extras but some may enjoy the 20-minutes of deleted scenes and alternate music cuts, Plus there is a scant 3-minutes on Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Duvall discussing what brought them to Crazy Heart. The film can speak for itself but I would have thought more (director interview/commentary) would have been appropriate. A second disc Digital Copy is provided for your portable device.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze April 11th, 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
favorites on the old YMdb site now accessible
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