Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Feeling the weight of middle age upon his shoulders, Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) rebels against his cheating wife (Annette Bening) and ungrateful daughter (Thora Birch). Seeking to relive the life of a twenty something, he leaves his high profile job to work at a local fast food joint and along the way develops a dangerous infatuation with one of his daughter's friends (Mena Suvari) that can only lead to trouble.

Time has a strange effect on ones perceptions and tastes in movies and that's certainly the case here. I remember in 1999 how powerful I found this film due to the great performances and wonderful direction from first time director Sam Mendes. As a 41 year old father of a teenage girl, I find the subject matter too disturbing and the behavior of Spacey's character criminal and sickening.

Video Highlights

• AVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Rich color saturation, especially red
• Close-ups exhibit excellent detail but longer shots are a tad soft
• Adequate depth
• Solid black levels with well resolved shadows
• Occasional edge enhancement

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack
• Front-heavy soundtrack
• Engaging score from Thomas Newman
• Intelligible dialog

Sadly, the Sapphire Series from Paramount has had some issues with past releases necessitating two recalls (Saving Private Ryan for audio and Gladiator for video) and while the video quality here isn't as egregious, it isn't the pinnacle either. Edge enhancement isn't needed with HD releases although you'll spot it occasionally, which points to the use of an older master meant for use on DVD.

Bonus Materials

• Commentary by director Sam Mendes and screenwriter Alan Ball
• American Beauty: Look Closer…
• Storyboard presentation
• 2 Theatrical trailers (HD)

While I didn't enjoy the film as much as I did in the last century, I have to give props to the director and actors for their stellar performances despite the disturbing story. Sadly the video quality isn't as good as it could be due to some edge enhancement, although those with smaller screens may not be as picky.

Release Date: September 21, 2010
Studio: Paramount

Movie: 7/10
Picture: 7/10
Sound: 8/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Panamax M5400PM power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics