Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Disc:

Video:

Audio:

• "A Cinematic Life: The Art and Influence of Conrad Hall" (26:39 in HD!)
• 11 deleted scenes with optional Mendes commentary (22:16 in SD)
• "The Making of Road To Perdition" (25:04 in SD)
• "The Library: A Further Exploration of the World of 'Road to Perdition' (explores creative process and historical inspirations for the film in an interactive format)
• Theatrical trailer (2:52 in HD!)

Bitrate:

 

Description: Two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks in “one of his best performances” (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times) stars as Michael Sullivan, a father fighting to keep his only son from traveling the Road to Perdition. Directed by Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty), this towering motion picture achievement has been acclaimed by audiences and critics alike.

Also starring Academy Award winner Paul Newman and Oscar nominee Jude law, Road to Perdition weaves a mesmerizing tale of a father and son bound together by tragedy and betrayal. On an unforgettable journey of honor, vengeance and redemption, they confront overwhelming odds – and forge an indestructible bond. Hailed for the powerhouse performances of its stars and the stunning impact of its story, Road to Perdition is an electrifying experience that will stay with you for a lifetime.

 

 

The Film:

Excerpt from Ian Nathan of Empire Magazine located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.
 

For the most part the image quality on the Blu-ray of Road to Perdition is quite good - certainly eclipsing the previous DVD.  There is some strange softness at times that I can't nail it down and noise exists in some of the darker sequences. Grain is prevalent and reasonably consistent (not too blocky) giving an even texture to the presentation. Daylight scenes showcase a bit of the film's depth, however, Road to Perdition has a lot of darkness and the cinematography never abuses the shadow usage but it is nice to see the subtleties and the 1080P pick up these markers so well. In the, optional, introduction director Sam Mendes states how he was not a supporter of the new format but was blown away by the end result with every drop of rain in the Hanks/Newman dramatic conflict later scene was readily visible via the HD rendering. Aside from vibrant blood colors are never heavily used in the film. I'm not dissatisfied with the way Road to Perdition looks but my expectations may have been a bit higher but it certainly the transfer seems to showcase the original gritty appearance. It is an expertly framed film and I doubt we will see it looking any better for your home theater enjoyment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lossless DTS-HD Master 5.1 at a mammoth 4606 kbps has guns sounding like canons and it also supports the more subtle aspects of the track. It can be so incredibly powerful that I was conscious of, and slightly feared, the aggression through my speakers. When you've got the volume level correct the experience was a highly immersive one. Thomas Newman's score runs beside the film supporting the action and the HD audio delivers it with decent depth. There are optional subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked although it is available in region 'B'.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Not surprisingly I had a typical HD-experience - meaning that I enjoyed the film much more on Blu-ray than I remember doing so with the DVD (which was my first viewing). Everything was far more impacting - especially the visceral effect of the violence and subtly bonding with the Michael Sullivan (Hanks) character only through his eyes. Road to Perdition is like a gangster film thrown on it's side with equal parts brutality and under spoken humanity at its core but Mendes tackles the narrative with a furtive style that really works efficiently. If this was 50 years older - it would easily be considered part of the Noir cycle. The Blu-ray elevates the impact of the film to a far more dynamic level and this works to establish a mesmerizing effect on this reviewer. We strongly recommend. 

Gary Tooze

July 29th, 2010