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Captain America: The First Avenger [Blu-ray]
(Joe Johnston, 2011)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Paramount Pictures Video: Paramount
Disc: Region: FREE! (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 2:04:11.610 Disc Size: 46,654,531,309 bytes Feature Size: 36,270,796,800 bytes Video Bitrate: 28.78 Mbps Chapters: 17 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: October 25th, 2011
Video: Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 5097 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 5097 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Subtitles: English (SDH), English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, none
Extras: • Commentary by director Joe Johnston, director of photography Shelly Johnson, and editor Jeffrey Ford
• 4
Deleted Scenes (3 with optional director commentary)
- (5:32 in total) • 2 Theatrical Trailers, Sega Game Trailer, Animated Trailer Second disc DVD and Digital Copy
Bitrate:
Description: Captain America leads the fight for freedom in the action-packed blockbuster starring Chris Evans as the ultimate weapon against evil! When a terrifying force threatens everyone across the globe, the world’s greatest soldier wages war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving, The Matrix). Critics and audiences alike salute Captain America: The First Avenger as “pure excitement, pure action, and pure fun!” – Bryan Erdy CBS-TV *** "Captain America: The First Avenger" will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers volunteers... to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes and Peggy Carter to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull.
The Film:
Instead of saving the planet with supernatural powers, this man of steel
merely wields a badass shield. As the World War II-set film is this
summer’s only mainstream superhero flick, it already has advantages over
the recent “Thor” and “Green Lantern”. “Captain America: The First
Avenger” has taken great strides to embody a relatable hero who’s born
into strength from weakness. Quite simply, his head’s on straight and
his heart’s in the right place.
Good acting in such minor roles helps anchor the story. Tommy Lee Jones
plays a cranky Colonel (when typecasting goes right), while Hayley
Atwell as Peggy Carter mostly looks nice in snug military garb while
undressing Rogers with her eyes. She also gets to fire a gun several
times, at good guys and bad guys. Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. I didn't get the opportunity to see Captain America: The First Avenger theatrically - although I wanted to. But you can see the period and comic-book ethos have affected the visual style by the filmmakers. It has a smoke-edged appearance that doesn't always translate perfectly to digital leaving some unexpected noise via the dual-layered Blu-ray transfer from Paramount. This has a high bitrate and looks to have captured the image qualities without lending a pristine glossy look to the 1940's. Bravo. It can only be presumed that this was intentional and adds unique flavor to the overall presentation. It only alters when the time frame shifts (sorry - no spoilers.) When the film sports some eye-candy action the disparity between the more modest scenes becomes significantly intense with grandiose contrast shifts of light and energy leaping across the screen. Actually part of Captain America: The First Avenger's appeal is that it doesn't tend to rely on these retina and ear-drum attacks to remain suspense-building. This is clean with solid contrast and some depth but never looks artificial or unnaturally plastic. This is surely an attribute rather than a 'what gives?' disappointment. Thumbs up for the 1080P image in its effort to translate the visual style.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :The DTS-HD Master 7.1 track at an intense 5097 kbps honestly had me walk upstairs to check that some catastrophe had not occurred outside of my Home Theater (like, maybe, the fridge toppled over or something?). Not being a chap who learns quickly - I almost repeated this journey before catching onto the outstanding separation and depth working in tandem to produce some amazing aural effects. This is crisp and subtle but also has the ability to blow out your windows. Alan Silvestri's score is in perfect step with the 'builds' and comes across wonderfully room-filling during the presentation. I think this is one of the most impressive lossless tracks of the year. There are optional subtitles and m y Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.
Extras : The package offers many extras including a thorough commentary by trifecta of director Joe Johnston, director of photography Shelly Johnson, and editor Jeffrey Ford who cover production qualities in details sharing their information generously about the project. There are also 4 kinda neat deleted scenes lasting about 5,5 minutes (3 of which offer an optional director commentary.) There is also a 7 part Behind-The-Scenes Featurette (actually seperate pieces) under the headings Outfitting a Hero (10:52), Howling Commandoes (6:07), Heightened Technology (5:43), The Transformation (8:50), Behind the Skull (10:24), Captain America's Origin (3:55) and The Assembly Begins (1:47). Fans of 'Cap' will benefit the most from these with a fair amount of nostalgia available. I was hoping the Marvel One Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer was longer than 4-minutes but is described as " Go deeper inside the Marvel Universe and unveil secret plans to assemble the ultimate superhero team, the Avengers". Lastly we have 2 Theatrical Trailers, a Sega Game Trailer and an Animated Trailer as well as a second disc DVD and Digital Copy included.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze October 14th, 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.
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