Blu-ray Movie Reviews

When a man stumbles on a bloody crime scene, a pickup truck loaded with heroin, and two million dollars in irresistible cash, his decision to take the money sets off an unstoppable chain reaction of violence. Not even West Texas law can contain it.

The Coen Brothers delivered an amazing adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s bleak crime story. This film is almost a line for line adaptation of the novel and delivered one of the most menacing characters of recent memory. There isn’t anything about this film that I don’t love. The performances are fantastic as is the photography and pacing. Miramax has decided to do a double-dip on this Best Picture winner this time delivering it with a few more extras plus a digital copy.

The video transfer seems pretty much unchanged since the first go around, which is just fine by me. This was already one of the best looking titles on Blu-ray of 2008 and continues to be an outstanding transfer. The photography of the film just lends itself to the format with exquisite detail and depth. The contrast levels are a bit stark, but blacks still retain plenty of shadow detail. Dimensionality is first rate as is fine object detail making this still one of my favorite reference titles.

This time around Miramax delivers the film with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack foregoing the previous uncompressed PCM mix. I didn’t notice any real changes between the two other than a slight difference in overall volume. This is a very spatial mix with a great sense of air and atmosphere. The soundstage has a very open quality and the surrounds do a great job with subtle ambiance and directional cues. Dynamics can be jolting at times and this is a track with plenty of great effects that will sneak up on you. Dialogue is delivered perfectly with good tonal balance and no signs of strain.

Extras are slightly different this time. Miramax has included all of the same features from the last one including a look at the production and working with the directors and a making of feature. But this time you also get interviews and Q&A’s with most of the talent involved and more insight into the making of the film. There is also an episode of the Charlie Rose show with the directors. A second disc also includes a digital copy of the film for portable devices.

Unless you need the additional supplements it would be hard to recommend this over the current edition of the film already available on Blu-ray. There are some interesting additions in the supplement department though. If you don’t own this one though, I highly recommend it.