|
Search DVDBeaver |
S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
|
|
The Big Short [Blu-ray]
(Adam McKay, 2015)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Regency Enterprises Video: Paramount
Disc: Region: FREE (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 2:10:15.849 Disc Size: 44,758,221,950 bytes Feature Size: 33,994,721,280 bytes Video Bitrate: 24.23 Mbps Chapters: 21 Case: Standard Blu-ray case inside cardboard slipcase Release date: March 15th, 2016
Video: Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 4958 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 4958 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DUBs:
Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
/ DN -4dB
DTS Audio English 768 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB
Subtitles: English (SDH), English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, none
Extras: • In the Tranches: Casting (15:51) • The Big Leap: Adam McKay (11:32) • Unlikely Heroes: The Characters of The Big Short (11:28) • The House of Cards: The Rise and Fall (14:01) • Getting Real: Recreating an Era (11:13) • Five Deleted Scenes (6:28) DVD
Bitrate:
Description: This adaptation of Michael Lewis' nonfiction book The Big Short explores the 2008 financial crisis through the lens of four unorthodox moneymen, who foresaw the consequences of the fraudulent mortgage-lending practices of large banks on Wall Street. Christian Bale plays Michael Burry, a former hedge-fund manager who was one of the first to forecast the collapse of the credit bubble due to excessive subprime lending. Steve Carell is Mark Baum (based on the real-life Steve Eisman), a money manager who rose to fame after successfully betting against subprime mortgages. Directed by Adam McKay. Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, and Marisa Tomei co-star.
The Film: It’s a trip. At the end, your brain hurts and you feel sick to your stomach, as can happen when too much adrenaline has been surging through your system. But that queasy, empty feeling is the point: This is a terrifically enjoyable movie that leaves you in a state of rage, nausea and despair. What is to be done with those feelings is the great moral and political challenge Mr. McKay has set for the audience, which I hope is vast and various. I don’t condone mob violence and I’m supposed to keep my political opinions to myself, but as soon as I’m done writing this I’m going out to the garage to look for a pitchfork. Excerpt from the NY Times located HERE
Rewriting a Charles Randolph script already commissioned by Brad Pitt’s company, Plan B (Pitt has a cameo as the film’s quasi-counterculture conscience), McKay turns Lewis’s dense source into a blackly catastrophic comedy, a story of greed, venality, incompetence and barefaced corruption in which the good guys are the renegades who see disaster coming and stake their shirts on the apocalypse. Unlike the slick suits and killer sheen of Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, this is a world of chaos and disorder filled with misfits who understand numbers more than people; from Christian Bale’s Michael Burry, a socially awkward heavy-metal enthusiast who dreams up the credit default swaps that enable him to “short” the housing market, to Steve Carell’s bereaved and fractured Mark Baum (a character inspired by the real-life Steve Eisman) who balances moral outrage and repressed self-loathing as he swims with sharks in the cesspool of the financial market. Excerpt from The Guardian located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. The Big Short looks, predictably, adept on Blu-ray from Paramount. It was shot with varied cameras and the 'look' shifts throughout the film showing intentional degrees of grain, noise and the limitations and benefits of HD. Being the film is, for most, probably less about the 1080P image quality than the content of the film - it is still dual-layered with a supportive bitrate. It's clean and crisp, colors look true - there is depth with, overall, acceptable and authentic to theatrical, visuals.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :Paramount use a DTS-HD Master 7.1 at a deep 4958 kbps (24-bit) - although the film has few aggressive instances but there are some swift musical chords, however brief by the likes of Wayne Newton, Metallica, The Pussycat Dolls, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin etc. and they sounds tight, crisp and very buoyant at times. The score is by pianist, composer Nicholas Britell and adds a provocative and contemplative edge to the tone to The Big Short. There are optional DUBs and subtitles as well as a 'headphone track' and a 'descriptive audio track' in English and my Oppo has identified it as being region FREE as all Paramount Blu-ray discs are.
Extras : There are about 1.5 hour's worth of supplements including video pieces on the production including In the Tranches: Casting, The Big Leap: Adam McKay, Unlikely Heroes: The Characters of The Big Short as well as a further examination of the technical details of the story, The House of Cards: The Rise and Fall as well as art direction in Getting Real: Recreating an Era. There are also 5 deleted scenes for those interested. A DVD is included with the Blu-ray..
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze March 10th, 2016
|
|
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 5000 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
|
CLICK PayPal logo to donate!
|
Gary Tooze
|
|
Thank You!
