Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Korean War vet and retired autoworker Walt Kowalski doesn't much like how his life or his neighborhood has turned out. He especially doesn't like the people next door. Hmong immigrants from Southeast Asia. But events force Walt to defend those neighbors against a local gang that feeds on violence and fear.

Eastwood delivered two outstanding films last year. The summer saw the Angelina Jolie drama, Changeling, and the holiday season got a limited release of Gran Torino. Both films were brilliantly directed and I honestly think Eastwood is just getting better and better at filmmaking in general. Torino features what is said to be Eastwood’s last performance as an actor and what a way to go out. Eastwood plays a crotchety old man whose racial points of view are a little extreme to say the least. But his heart starts to change a bit when he starts mentoring the next door neighbor after catching him trying to steal his car. While the film’s themes can be a bit shocking this is one of Eastwood’s best and entertaining from end to end.

Warner delivers a solid HD transfer for this one that showcases great fine detail and a nice sense of dimensionality. Fine detail is on display throughout and the depth of image is better than what we’ve been seeing from most of Warner’s catalog output. Contrast levels are solid and add to the sense of dimension and the natural photography style lends a realistic color palette to the viewing experience.

The soundtrack is delivered in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and while not the most exciting mix, it gets the job done. Nuance is displayed nicely and the spatial design does deliver a pretty open and spacious mix. Ambiance and subtle discrete cues are heard in the surround channels and dynamic range is there when it needs to be. Dialogue is always natural in timbre and tone and imaging is spot on.

Extras were a bit disappointing from a production standpoint and limited to a focus on Eastwood and his filming style. The other featurettes dwell on the American automobile and its roll in modern society. A second disc features a digital copy of the film for portable devices.

Gran Torino is an incredibly moving film and what will probably be the last great performance by an American Icon. Warner delivers a solid presentation, but I hoped for a bit more in the supplements. Still, a must own for any film collector.