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Blue Valentine [Blu-ray]
(Derek Cianfrance, 2010)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Silverwood Films Video: Weinstein / Anchor Bay
Disc: Region: 'A' (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:52:04.759 Disc Size: 24,947,558,012 bytes Feature Size: 23,054,419,968 bytes Video Bitrate: 22.14 Mbps Chapters: 16 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: May 10th, 2011
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 3531 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3531 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit / DN -4dB) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Subtitles: English (SDH), Spanish, none
Extras:
• Audio Commentary with director Derek Cianfrance and
co-editor Jim Helton
Bitrate:
Description: Blue Valentine is the story of love found and love lost told in past and present moments in time. Flooded with romantic memories of their courtship, Dean and Cindy use one night to try and save their failing marriage. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star in this honest portrait of a relationship on the rocks. *** A complex portrait of a contemporary American marriage, "Blue Valentine" tells the story of David and Cindy, a couple... who have been together for several years but who are at an impasse in their relationship. While Cindy has blossomed into a woman with opportunities and options, David is still the same person he was when they met, and he is unable to accept either Cindy's growth or his lack of it. Innovatively structured, the narrative unfolds in two distinct time frames, juxtaposing scenes of first love and youthful sexuality with those of disenchantment and discord. *** Blue Valentine is a true love story flooded with romantic memories of the courtship between Dean and Cindy. The tale is told in past and present as they recall the episodes that brought them together. Oscar®-nominated Michelle Williams (Shutter Island, Brokeback Mountain) and Ryan Gosling (The Notebook, Half Nelson) deliver the performance of a lifetime in this unforgettable portrait of a young couple in love.
The Film:
But it is in the final days, when things turn ugly and love dies scene
by scene, that Gosling and Williams prove what emotional heft they give
their characters. The result is an unsettling portrait of marriage as
failed enterprise and broken dreams, the tears over the scattered shards
hard-earned. Excerpt from Betsy Sharkey at the L.A. Times located HERE
Ms. Williams is, as ever, heartbreakingly precise in every scene, but if
Mr. Gosling’s character is burdened with too little story, hers is
saddled with too much. Mr. Cianfrance is capable of drawing nuances of
feeling from his actors, but he does not trust the story enough to let
it move according to any internal emotional logic. Instead, a lot of
pretty obvious and not always convincing stuff needs to happen. Cindy’s
boyfriend and father need to be made into caricatures of male
insensitivity, and narrative bombs need to be carefully lighted and
detonated, as if ordinary love were not explosive enough. Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Blue Valentine has a decent amount of style in the cinematography - shifting from two specific timeframes noted by character's physical changes (mostly evident in Dean's receding hair or beard growth) and other factors determining the story's non-linear timeline. This comes through very well on Blu-ray shifting from heavier grain to more gloss and tighter detail. The film has an independent verité realization that works well and although I didn't see it theatrically I suspect that the single-layered Weinstein / Anchor Bay transfer is a close approximation. There is some noise but it is not overwhelming and while this Blu-ray does not look 'pristine' - it was not meant to. The film's appearance is perfectly in line with the content. I have no issues with the video transfer. I loved my 1080P presentation in the rarely used (nowadays) 1.66:1 aspect ratio.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :It's a solid DTS-HD 5.1 track at a healthy 3531 kbps that doesn't have much aggression or effects to export. Dialogue can be purposely hushed or scattered as a factor the film's realism intent. There isn't much depth but a few instances of separation and there are a few good song tracks - for the most part sparingly utilized in the film including - in a memorable scene - one entitled "Unicorn Tears" written and performed by... Ryan Gosling avec ukulele. Nothing sounds rich or imposing but is probably how it was theatrically. There are optional subtitles and m y Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.
Extras : The commentary by director Derek Cianfrance and co-editor Jim Helton is a good one with some anecdotes involving the practicalities of a low budget film including the moving furniture scene which was identified as cinematographer Andrij Parekh's stuff - who was actually moving at the time. After that is a standard Making Of with input from the principles - being fairly frank about the production. 20-minutes of deleted scenes and a short 'Home Movies' entitled "Frankie and the Unicorn" that is reasonably cute. All the video supplements are in SD.
NOTE: the UK edition has a Q+A listed that is not available on the North American Blu-ray.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze May 3rd, 2011
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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.
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