kal
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Joined: 06 Mar 2006
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Location: Ottawa, Canada
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| Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 2:59 pm Post subject: Skyfall [Blu-ray] |
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Another reference disc!
Skyfall (Blu-ray/ DVD + Digital Copy) (2012)
(Hover over link for price, click to purchase and support our forum at no extra cost to you)
| Quote: | 'Skyfall' completes Craig's transition from rough and tumble Bond to a more classic, suave, sophisticated figure. Director Sam Mendes and his collaborators bring a level of prestige and artistic legitimacy to the film that the franchise has never had before, but never at the expense of what makes Bond great. The series once again feels British, wholly revitalized, and surprisingly touching. It's a fantastic springboard for a whole new series of Bond adventures in the coming years. This Blu-ray has reference level audio video quality, with a transfer that perfectly reproduces Roger Deakins' sumptuous cinematographic compositions and an audio mix that ably highlights Thomas Newman's exciting score. The special features are a bit of a mixed bag, with Sam Mendes' commentary being a definite highlight. The hour-long Shooting Bond feature is just good enough that you'll wish it were double the length. The rest of the features are fairly slight, but what we get is absolutely good enough to recommend wholeheartedly. Highly recommended and a must own for fans.
The Video: Sizing Up the Picture
I remember being surprised, pleased, and excited to hear that Sam Mendes would be helming the new Bond picture (at the time untitled and simply referred to as "Bond 23"), but my excitement bloomed into complete and utter giddy fanboy glee when I heard that Roger Deakins would be the film's cinematographer. Deakins' is justly famous for his previous work with Mendes, as well as his longtime collaboration with the Coen Brothers (among many other classic films like 'The Shawshank Redemption'). His work has a textural quality that brings images to life, and this quality is very much present in 'Skyfall'. Scenes such as the fight in Hong Kong set against a massive LCD screen backdrop, or the film's climax in Scotland, lit by raging fires, are all trademark Deakins. But even moments like the opening shot, showing an out of focus Bond in the background, slowly walking to foreground (and focus) and lifting a gun (a shot that Mendes refers to a reimagining of the classic gun barrel sequence, the traditional version of which can be seen at the film's end) reveal an eye for composition and detail that no Bond film has ever had before.
For a film with such a stunning visual palette, it was important to get the transfer right. Thankfully, Fox's AVC-encoded, 1080p 2.40:1 transfer is stunning, maintaining all the subtlety and shading that Deakins brought to the theatrical release. The aforementioned opening shot is perfectly reproduced, and everything from the icy blues of London to the warm, slightly pushed colors of Macau come through cleanly. Fleshtones are accurate to the release prints, with a bit of an orange push at times. Contrast, an important element of Deakins' technique, is well balanced, with deep blacks but strong whites. Sharpness and detail are exquisite. You can count the stubble on Craig's chin before Eve intimately shaves it all off. I was unable to detect any artifacts or other compression issues, leaving an image that is sharp, clear, and perfectly timed and balanced. Films like this justify the existence of Blu-ray all on their own.
It is worth noting that 'Skyfall' was released to IMAX theaters, both digitally and in 70mm (I had the distinct pleasure of running the picture in IMAX on film to an appreciative midnight audience), and for those releases, the film's framing was opened up from 2.40:1 to 1.85:1 to take advantage of the extra height that IMAX affords. In a proper IMAX auditorium, the taller ratio was quite effective, helping immerse the audience in the proceedings. However, it was never Mendes' or Deakins' preferred aspect ratio, and it rightly does not appear on this disc. To my eyes, the 2.40:1 composition is much tighter and highlights only exactly what you need to see, meaning that the lack of the 1.85:1 version on the disc shouldn't be seen as any kind of loss.
The Audio: Rating the Sound
Bond films have always had a way with sound. Going all the way back to 'Dr. No', Bond's sound crew has been considered among the top of the industry. By now, big sound mixes are the norm for action films, but a good Bond track still stands apart. A large part of this is due to the music. John Barry composed many classic themes that are as much a part of the series as any other element (take a look at 'Never Say Never Again' to see an example of a film that has many other Bond trademarks, including Sean Connery as 007, but feels completely off because you never hear any of John Barry's familiar music). Longtime Bond composer David Arnold did an admirable job of filling Barry's shoes from 'Tomorrow Never Dies' through 'Quantum of Solace', but Mendes smartly chose to bring in his own collaborator, Thomas Newman, to score this entry. Newman's score makes ample use of Barry's work, but also goes in several new directions. At times he makes use of locale-specific instrumentation, and other times he uses a more traditional symphonic arrangement, but no matter how he presents it, his music is the most interesting and inventive that the series has had in decades.
The disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless mix does a great job of highlighting Newman's work. For an action film, the music is surprisingly prominent. Of course, the action isn't neglected either. Dynamic range is fantastic, handling everything from the warm strings, hearty and sometimes shrill brass of the music, and rumbling of the action with equal aplomb. Directionality and panning is seamless, with bullets ricocheting around the sound field and a thrilling deep LFE track that comes to life and shakes your seats. Even more impressive is the sound field and sonic details in the film's softer scenes. The whisk of the cutthroat razor as Eve lovingly shaves Bond has a satisfying glint, and the sounds of MI6 personnel working at their stations underneath London makes those scenes feel wonderfully alive. Even when it's just two characters talking, such as when M confronts Silva in a glass cage, the voices reverberate pleasingly, with Bardem's snake oil voice standing in contrast to Judi Dench's clipped, curt performance. 'Skyfall' is a film that is just as fulfilling aurally as it is visually, and this mix is a fantastic reproduction of the theatrical experience.
The disc also includes several lossy mixes: Dolby Digital English descriptive audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, and French Dolby Digital 5.1, with English SDH and Spanish subtitles. |
Kal
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