Blu-ray Movie Reviews

I've been in the Navy for 13 years now and I've been to sea on several occasions during that time. Fortunately for me that time was spent under the water as I am a proud submariner. Peter Weir's Naval epic may not show the life of a modern submariner, but I think it is a testament to enduring life at sea and the comradely that blooms from it. The tale pits an English boat captain against a faster and more capable French ship, but the day to day struggle of the ship's crew is really the focus of this masterful film. The production values are stunning and I'm actually shocked we haven't seen more films like this since after seeing how well they executed it this time around. Here's hoping for more!

This is the second HD presentation I've owned of this film. I was lucky enough to own this on the short lived D-Theater format, which was a clear step up from the DVD presentation. The Blu-ray features a completely new AVC encode with a significant hike in average bitrate throughout the feature. The problem is the master and film source had a difficult time with the environments this film was shot in. While this is a strong HD presentation, film grain can be quite excessive at times due to the low light and heavy fog. Detail in close ups is outstanding but longer shots tend to soften up more than most HD releases we're seeing. The color palette is bleak at times and adds to the cold atmosphere of the seas and I did see some awkward tones where live action is transposed over a CG background. This is just one of those difficult films to present and live up to the razor sharp look so many HD transfers provide. People need to start thinking about how they want a film presented; as intended by the film's creators or cleaned up to look like nature documentaries. I prefer the director's vision, which this presentation fits to a tee.

This has always been one of my favorite soundtracks and this Blu-ray release takes it up a notch. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is nothing short of staggering and offers one of the most immersive sound mixes you can imagine. The soundstage is limitless and truly puts you inside the ship and on the deck. Imaging across channels is seamless and at times the soundstage even extends to the ceiling where you'd swear you could hear people walking from the upper decks. The dynamic range of the ship battles will put even the best sound systems to the test with powerful bass and impressive infrasonics. This continues to be one of the best demonstrations of surround sound and sheer dynamics ever released.

Extras include a pop-up map of where the two ships are at anytime during the film. There is also a trivia track with historical and geographical information. Fox has included the ability to store a bookmark for favorite scenes with this one, a feature I hope to see become a standard option with ALL Blu-ray titles. Last up are some deleted scenes and the theatrical trailer which is presented in HD.

Few films achieve the balance of storytelling, character development and excitement of Master and Commander. The same can be said for the masterful 5.1 soundtrack. Fox has delivered a stunning presentation of this film and a welcome addition to any "reference" collection.