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Red Planet [Blu-ray]
(Antony Hoffman, 2000)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Warner Bros. Pictures Video: Warner Home Video
Disc: Region: FREE! (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:46:29.341 Disc Size: 23,615,508,337 bytes Feature Size: 21,927,598,080 bytes Video Bitrate: 17.96 Mbps Chapters: 31 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: July 26th, 2011
Video: Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 3807 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3807 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio German 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Italian 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB * Dolby Digital Audio Japanese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English (SDH), Danish, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, none
Extras: • 8 Deleted Scenes (14:22 in 480i) • Theatrical trailer (1:27 in 480i)
Bitrate:
Description: In the mid-21st century, the nations of a dying Earth look starward for a solution and set out to colonize Mars. But something no one could have expected awaits. Houston, we have big trouble. Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss and Tom Sizemore star in this taut adventure about humankind’s first mission to the mysterious Red Planet. Also on the mission is the multifunctional robo-assistant AMEE. In one mode, she's a as loyal as a puppy. But a malfunction has locked her into a far different mode: a killing machine bent on destroying the crew. Yet that’s not the end of the expedition’s perils. Because Mars may be barren, but it’s not uninhabited.
The Film:
As the voice-over at the beginning of Red Planet informs us, in the
future, after realising that Earth will one day be uninhabitable because
of our pollution, plans are made to terraform and eventually colonise
Mars.
"Red Planet" is an entertaining film that evokes the imagination
and attempts to deal with the possibility of the colonization of Mars
once/if Earth becomes uninhabitable. Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Red Planet looks decent on Blu-ray from Warner. It's a single-layered 1080p transfer that shows acceptable detail and a bit of depth. I'd say the effects don't overly boost the visuals to a memorable presentation but for what the film has its inherent video quality - the representation seems quite accurate. The terrain of Mars has some nice scope with a dusty red/gold tinge. Skin tones seem a shade warm at times but for the most part are not distracting. There is some tinting in the disabled space craft that acts as a nice foil to the orange hues of the planet. This Blu-ray does as good as job as we are likely to find for this oft-considered also-ran of the genre. By modern standards this isn't as dynamic as some might expect from the format but I thought the Blu-ray produced a consistent and enjoyable presentation far in advance of my old SD-DVD.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :It's an impressive DTS-HD Master 5.1 audio track at a whopping 3807 kbps. Some of the effects are notable potent with resounding depth. I didn't find the range dynamically crisp but there are some decent separations. Sting will be recognized within the score sounding solid. There are a few foreign language DUBs and plenty of subtitle options. My Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.
Extras : Nothing new or noteworthy. 8 Deleted Scenes lasting less than 25-minutes in 480i and a theatrical trailer - also in SD.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze July 19th, 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.
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
Oppo Digital BDP-83 Universal Region FREE Blu-ray/SACD
Player APC AV 1.5 kVA H Type Power Conditioner 120V Gary W. Tooze ALL OUR NEW FORMAT DVD REVIEWS
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