kal
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| Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 2:30 am Post subject: The Right Stuff (30th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] |
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The Right Stuff (30th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] (2013)
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| Quote: | Thirty years after it first rocketed into theaters, 'The Right Stuff' still delivers the goods. Reverent and respectful, yet laced with biting comedy and a whimsy that belies the toughness of the figures it salutes, Philip Kaufman's epic chronicle of trail-blazing test pilots, America's premier astronauts, and the elusive quality that sets them apart from most mortals remains a terrifically entertaining and exciting film. It may not always travel at the speed of sound and runs about a half hour too long, but vivid characterizations by a gallery of fine actors and riveting historical recreations keep 'The Right Stuff' aloft. Warner's handsome digibook presentation honors the film with a striking video transfer that improves upon the previous DVD, top-notch lossless audio that puts us in the thick of the action, and all the extras from the 20th anniversary edition. Even if you're not an aeronautical junkie, you'll love 'The Right Stuff' for its history, humor, and humanity. Highly recommended.
The Video: Sizing Up the Picture
'The Right Stuff' underwent a meticulous restoration before its 2003 DVD release, but this 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer raises the bar yet again. The biggest difference lies in the removal of dozens of errant marks that littered the DVD. With such annoyances gone, we're left with a spotless, perfectly balanced image featuring slightly enhanced contrast and clarity. The letters that signify location are markedly sharper than they are on the DVD, and close-ups possess more impact (check out the shot of Cooper reflected in the nurse's eyeglasses), highlighting a host of fine facial details. Faint grain maintains the feel of celluloid and adds a modicum of necessary grit, but there's a lovely silky quality to the picture that heightens the story's epic nature and makes the film a joy to watch.
Though the color palette isn't especially intense, most hues are bold and vibrant, from the orange of Yeager's jet to the yellows and greens that adorn costumes and landscapes. Fleshtones appear natural and remain stable throughout the lengthy running time, while rich black levels add welcome weight to the picture. Shadow delineation is always strong (crush is never an issue), background elements are easily discernible, and archival footage is nicely integrated into the whole.
No banding, mosquito noise, or aliasing afflicts the image, and no digital doctoring, such as edge enhancement or noise reduction, has been applied. Without question, this is the best 'The Right Stuff' has ever looked in the home video realm, and this impeccable transfer, which showcases Caleb Deschanel's Oscar-nominated cinematography to the fullest, injects new vitality into this 30-year-old movie. Fans shouldn't hesitate to upgrade, and if they do, they won't be sorry.
The Audio: Rating the Sound
A film that wins Academy Awards for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing demands a strong audio track, and Warner delivers with a highly immersive Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix that subtly improves upon its lossy counterpart. Smoother, richer, and more nuanced than the DD 5.1 track that graces the 2003 DVD, the Blu-ray sound makes full use of the surround environment while remaining well modulated. A wide dynamic scale handles all the activity with ease, especially the whistling, whirring, and whizzing of the jet engines and rocket propulsion. (Such messy sounds often break up or fall victim to distortion, but they're rock solid here.) Some mild directionality provides wonderful atmosphere as planes careen through the clouds and soar overhead, and waves of applause wash over us during the press conference scene, while the tick-tock of a metronome cuts across the rear speakers with acute crispness. Accents, such as bubbling water, the clip-clop of horse hooves, and the rapid-fire shutters of camera lenses are all marvelously distinct, and the subwoofer provides vital jolts of thundering bass during explosions and rocket launches.
Amid all the potent ambient action, dialogue occasionally becomes slightly muddled, but for the most part it's properly prioritized and easy to comprehend, and Bill Conti's Oscar-winning music score adds an air of majesty to the proceedings, exhibiting great depth of tone as it sweeps across all five speakers. Best of all, no hiss, pops, or crackles disrupt the audio's purity, making this finely tuned mix one of the best restored 1980s tracks I've heard. |
Kal
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