Blu-ray Movie Reviews

He was imprisoned 27 years for his heroic fight against apartheid. So what does Nelson Mandela do after he is elected president of South Africa? He rejects revenge, forgives his oppressors and finds hope of national unity in an unlikely place: the rugby field. Morgan Freeman portrays Mandela, who asks the national rugby team captain and his underdog squad to do the impossible and win the World Cup. One team, one country.

For some reason I decided to skip this one at the theaters. I’m a huge fan of Eastwood’s directorial efforts, but the trailers didn’t do much to sell this one for me. What a mistake. Eastwood delivers yet another brilliant piece of cinema that covers the events that brought a strong unity to South Africa shortly after Mandela took office. The performances by Freeman and Damon are brilliant and everything about this production is top notch. By far one of the best films I’ve seen from 2009 and a worthy contender for the Best Picture Oscar race.

Warner delivers an outstanding Blu-ray presentation with one of the best day-and-date transfers I’ve seen. I loved the way this film was lensed and the Blu-ray really delivers a cinematic quality that few titles can match. From fine detail to subtle film grain, this Blu really captures this film wonderfully. The soundtrack is also impressive with impressive use of the surround soundstage to capture the air of the Rugby stadiums. Low bass is impressive at times and really adds a lot to the sport sequences and tone of the film. A wonderful presentation from Warner on this one.

The Blu-ray features some great additions to the film including a picture-in-picture feature that includes interviews with the cast and crew and the people portrayed in the film. You also get a behind the scenes look at the production, casting and the process that the actors went through for their roles. A retrospective on Eastwood is also included and this continues Warner’s trend of adding a DVD and digital copy to all their new Blu-ray releases.

I’m really glad I had the opportunity to review this film. I almost made the same mistake with The Changeling, which was another brilliant effort by Clint. If you didn’t catch this one in theaters, you really should make it a point to see this superb Blu-ray release. Highly recommended.