Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Disc:

Video:

Audio:

• Featurette: A Look Inside Moonrise Kingdom (3:07)

• Welcome to the Island of New Penzance (Murray, Willis, Norton, Anderson - 6:11)

• Set Tour With Bill Murray (3:09)

Bitrate:

 

Description: Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two 12-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore - and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in every which way. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff, Captain Sharp. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader, Scout Master Ward. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bishop. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Bob Balaban; and introduces Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as Sam and Suzy, the boy and girl.

***

Director/co-writer Wes Anderson teams with screenwriter Roman Coppola for this period comedy drama set in the 1960s, and following a pair of young lovers (Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) from an island off the New England coast as they head for the hills and throw their small town into a frenzy. Bruce Willis co-stars alongside Bill Murray, Edward Norton, and Frances McDormand.

 

 

The Film:

Excerpt from The Toronto Star located HERE

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

Firstly, this is the UK edition that I am reviewing, but from what I have been able to ascertain - the transfer is pretty much the same for the other Blu-ray releases with differences in subtitle and DUB options varying for the country selling the package. This UK Universal region FREE Blu-ray may be the least expensive when factoring in currency exchange. Moonrise Kingdom's Blu-ray transfer is, like the film, bathed in golden yellows. It seems frequently dark cast - like a rainy day on the island.  It is a dual-layered rendering with s strong bitrate for the 1.5 hour feature. The dulled pastels are intentional and fairly consistent throughout. The 1080P supports solid contrast with some minor depth in the 1.85:1 frame.  It's pristinely clean showcasing the filmmakers style and impressive art direction. This looks exactly like the theatrical version of the film and this Universal Blu-ray provides an excellent presentation.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As well as the original score by Alexandre Desplat, we get a host of music by Benjamin Britten with some Schubert, Mozart and a couple of Hank Williams pieces thrown-in. All sound wonderful via the DTS-HD Master 5.1 at a strong 3598 kbps. It handles all the film's audio track effects that are exported. Some of the orchestral pieces have brilliant resonating string sections - that are notable. Nothing but positives here for the audio transfer as well. There are optional subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE.

Extras :

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
This is a masterpiece - one of my favorite films of the year. It seems like Wes Anderson just continues to improve as a film-maker. I found Fantastic Mr. Fox equally as brilliant with fabulous replay value. The Blu-ray does its job in exporting an accurate a/v for the film - and we give this a very strong recommendation. Let's hope Wes continues for 30 more years making gems like this! 

Gary Tooze

December 17th, 2012