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The Company Men [Blu-ray]
(John Wells, 2010)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Spring Creek Productions Video: The Weinstein Company/Anchor Bay Entertainment
Disc: Region: 'A' (B,C untested) Runtime: 1:44:36.395 Disc Size: 23,603,006,710 bytes Feature Size: 21,149,970,432 bytes Video Bitrate: 21.79 Mbps Chapters: 16 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: June 7th, 2011
Video: Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 3425 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3425 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: • Commentary by director John Wells • Alternate Ending (12:52 in 480i) • 7 Deleted Scenes (7:16 in 480i) • Making The Company Men (14:23 in 480i)
Bitrate:
Description: Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) is living the
proverbial American dream: great job, beautiful family,
shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing
leaves him and co-workers Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) and
Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones) jobless, the three men are
forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands and
fathers.
The Film:
Before Hollywood discovered it could reap huge profits by adapting comic
books, mainstream movies used to attempt subjects that might have
something to do with real grown-ups’ lives. That impulse rarely surfaces
these days, but it’s the motor that drives The Company Men, John
Wells’ downsizing drama set in the Boston area circa 2008, just as the
economy was beginning its long, slow-motion crash. Excerpt from Stephanie Zacharek at MoviweLine.com located HERE " The Company Men" follows the stories of characters who have oriented their lives around a corporation once named General Transportation Systems. Years ago, this company involved two men who began building ships; small ones at first, and then big ones. Now it's called GTX, which is how we spell Acme these days. Caught in the economic downturn, GTX is downsizing, and some of its employees are discovering their primary occupation was making and spending a lot of money, and that without those jobs, there isn't much they really know how to do.Excerpt from Roger Ebert at the Chicago Sun-Times located HERE Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. The Company of Men appears a notch above 'average' for a single-layered new format video transfer. The bitrate is modest but the image is consistent and has a few impressive scenes. Detail is at the higher end - notable in many of the close-ups. Colors seem true and contrast is strong. While I don't have any complaints - the depth isn't overwhelming. This Blu-ray is beyond SD and is probably a decent representation of the theatrical appearance. There are hardly any dark scenes and noise is non-existent. Hopefully the captures below will give you a good idea of the image quality.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :The DTS-HD Master 5.1 track at 3425 kbps is more than capable of handling what is necessary, audio-wise, for The Company Men. There is not a lot of robust effects necessary and a few subtle separations make it to the rear speakers. Aaron Zigman's score is less noticeable but supports the film well - in required moments. Overall while the lossless transfer is capable of more - the film doesn't throw much at it in terms of depth. There are optional subtitles.
Extras : We get a good commentary from director/writer John Wells. He is a smart chap and has some interesting things to say beyond production details. Give it a whirl and you should be pleasantly surprised by it. There is a 13-minute alternate ending (think I prefer the one in the film), and Deleted Scenes (running just over 7-minutes) plus the, more or less, standard Making of... for just shy of 15-minutes. All supplements are in 480i and are on the simultaneously released DVD HERE.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze June 2nd, 2011 |
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. 60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD
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