7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A Navy SEAL recounts his military career, which includes more than 150 confirmed kills.
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes, Jake McDorman, Cory HardrictAction | 100% |
History | 34% |
Biography | 32% |
War | 31% |
Melodrama | 21% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital Plus 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
While the catalog division of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment has abandoned the practice of reissuing the same Blu-ray with new packaging or a few more special features, the theatrical group continues to indulge in double-dipping. The latest example is a two-disc re-release of director Clint Eastwood's hit, American Sniper. Subtitled "The Chris Kyle Commemorative Edition", the set offers the exact same disc released by WBHE in 2015 (and reviewed here), plus a second disc of extras, including the film's trailer. However, the Commemorative Edition does not come with the digital copy that accompanied the original disc. New purchasers will have to decide where their priorities lie.
For a video evaluation, please refer to Martin Liebman's review.
As described in the previous review, American Sniper's aggressively immersive soundtrack is reference quality in the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 presentation to which the Blu-ray defaults in the absence of Dolby Atmos decoding. Now that the we have upgraded our systems to the latest formats, I can happily report that the experience is even better in Atmos (depending, of course, on one's individual speaker configuration). The precision with which the object-based Atmos encoding places sound effects in a 360-degree field is astonishing. In the early training scene on a military firing range, each weapons discharge and bullet hit registers authoritatively. In later scenes, the listener is plunged into the chaos of battle, with yelling, gunfire, explosions and bullet impacts all around. Military helicopters fly overhead and through the back channels. Quieter scenes are accompanied by subtle ambiance that enhances without distracting. American Sniper's sound design is a master class in the creative use of audio to extend the cinematic experience beyond the screen.
The same extras previously reviewed appear on the
main disc. As befits the title of this
Commemorative Edition, the new extras on the second disc focus on Chris Kyle and the military
rather than the making of American Sniper:
A sticker on the front of the Chris Kyle Commemorative Edition states that one dollar of its
purchase price will be donated to Kyle's Frog Foundation, the charity he established to benefit
veterans. (The sticker also reveals that donations will be capped at $150,000, and that purchases
in certain states do not qualify.) While this is a laudable gesture by WBHE, it isn't a compelling
reason to purchase the Blu-ray. The Frog Foundation accepts donations directly through its
website, which is easily found by an internet search. The Commemorative Edition of American
Sniper is recommended only for those who want the second disc of extras and don't care about (or
already have) the digital copy supplied with the original release but omitted here.
2014
2014
Bonus Content
2014
2014
The Chris Kyle Commemorative Edition | Patriotic Heroes Reissue
2014
Iconic Moments
2014
2014
2014
2018
2016
2001
2014
2016
2001
2019
2010
2012
Commemorative 20th Anniversary Edition
1998
2014
2011
Director's Cut
2005
2002
Yip Man 4 / 葉問4
2019
1997
2006
2012
2000
The Ultimate Cut
2004