Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Disc:

Video:

Audio:

• Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Commentary
• Canal Chats (6:01)
• A Gala Affair (7:12)
• Action in Venice (6:29)
• Bringing Glamour Back (9:08)
• Tourist Destination-Travel the Canals of Venice (3:18)

• Alternate Animated Title Sequence (2:14)
• Outtake Reel (1:26)

Play Movie with MovieIQ

Bitrate:

 

Description: Frank (Johnny Depp), a mild-mannered American on vacation in Venice, Italy, is befriended by Elise (Angelina Jolie), a breathtakingly beautiful woman with a mysterious secret. Soon, their playful romantic dalliance turns into a complicated web of dangerous deceit as they are chased by Interpol, the Italian police, and Russian hit men in this suspense-filled, international action thriller.

***

"The Tourist" revolves around Frank, an American tourist visiting Italy to mend a broken heart. Elise is an extraordinary... woman who deliberately crosses his path. Against the breathtaking backdrop of Venice, Frank pursues a potential romance but soon finds himself the pursued as he and Elise are caught in a whirlwind of intrigue and danger.

 

 

The Film:

It takes a big man to hold the screen level when Angelina Jolie is around — usually the whole thing just tilts in her direction as soon as she struts into the frame. Her partner in crazy-time fame, Brad Pitt, helped keep the balance in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” their only film together. And now Johnny Depp tries to do much the same in “The Tourist.” Going for muted, eyeliner- and nearly irony-free, he plays an ordinary American who bumbles into a Continental intrigue, which looks like a film you’ve seen before, because you have.

Excerpt from Manhola Dargis at the NYTimes located HERE

Given the screenplay for The Tourist, Alfred Hitchcock would have hired Cary Grant (or Jimmy Stewart) and Grace Kelly. Then he would have applied his particular brand of magic - the one that allowed him to sell the improbable - and an engaging romance/comedy/thriller likely would have been born. Unfortunately, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (the German-born filmmaker behind the brilliant The Lives of Others) lacks Hitchcock's deftness with this genre, and Grant, Stewart, and Kelly are all dead. The best that can be said of The Tourist is that it consistently looks glorious (credit at least in part goes to veteran cinematographer John Seale). Venice is postcard perfect (you can't see garbage floating around in the canals). But the shifting tones sound a sour note and the preposterous storyline calls attention to itself too often. Hitchcock could sell some of the silliest plots; based on the evidence at hand, von Donnersmarck's grasp is less certain.

Excerpt from James Berardinell at ReelViews located HERE

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

The Blu-ray doesn't appear to have quite succeeded in capturing the visual grandeur of The Tourist as well as some may have anticipated.  The image quality is quite strong without any notable flaws but doesn't export the type of depth I was anticipating from a modern film of this nature.  This is dual-layered with a moderate bitrate. Colors aren't particularly vibrant but contrast exhibits healthy, rich black levels. Daylight scenes on Venice are most impressive but nothing really stands out visually beyond high level of detail utilized for the intense close-ups of the two stars. No question that this looks pretty good at times - but I was never overwhelmed by the 1080P appearance beyond a few moments.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The DTS-HD Master 5.1 track at 3703 kbps is excellent. Filled with sporadic moments of deft separation and resounding depth for the more aggressive segments - there is little to complain about here. The Tourist is a thriller with some action later on - and the track supports the film's subtleties and more demonstrative moments impressively. James Newton Howard does some great scores and this is another - memorable yet not overtaking the heavy style. English, English (SDH), French, and Spanish subtitles are available. My Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked disc although it is available on Blu-ray in the UK and Europe.

Extras :

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
If the intent was the classis elegance of 'To Catch a Thief' - it achieves to some degree but The Tourist still can't fully shake its plastic byproduct impressions. If Jolie is touted as this generation's icon of beauty - well, I remain unimpressed. Venice is more appealing to this reviewer than the two mega-stars dressed to the nine's. So, yeah - I didn't get much out of this - but I honestly had my expectations in neutral to begin with. The Blu-ray looks adequate, sounds better - but leaves me wanting in the film sense. If the glory of 'celebrity' can carry you far enough - you may differ from my perspective of The Tourist. To each his own. 

Gary Tooze

March 19th, 2011