7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A colorful array of characters competes at a national dog show.
Starring: Bob Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge, Christopher Guest, John Michael Higgins, Michael HitchcockComedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
DD 2.0=Latin
English SDH, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The faux documentary style became a staple of contemporary comedy with the success of the British version of The Office in 2001, but its origins are considerably older. It flowered with the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap in 1984. It continued with a series of four largely improvised films directed by Christopher Guest, a co-writer and star of Spinal Tap, beginning with Waiting for Guffman (1996), followed four years later by Best in Show. After appearing in Spinal Tap as the dim-witted guitarist Nigel Tufnel ("These dials go to eleven"), Guest assembled a kind of repertory company from such improv training grounds as Second City and the Groundlings. He would give them character outlines and a basic story, then let the cameras roll. The results were unique—and hilarious. As a famous quote from Spinal Tap puts it, there's a fine line between clever and stupid, and no one has ever pirouetted on it more delicately than Guest's sophisticated troop of clowns. In all four of his films, Guest and co-writer Eugene Levy delved into a specific world of enthusiasts: community theater in Guffman; dog shows for Best in Show; folk music in a A Mighty Wind (2003); and award campaigns in For Your Consideration (2006). The common element is that the participants in these pursuits take them with deadly seriousness, sometimes to the point of obsession, but to an outsider the whole thing often looks ridiculous. If Guest hadn't tired of the format, one can only imagine what he might have done with the home theater community. Best in Show remains the most popular of Guest's films, probably because so many people love dogs and, thanks to the cooperation of various trainers and kennel clubs, the production was able to obtain magnificent specimens as canine cast members. Besides, the dogs emerge as the film's true heroes. They're much better behaved than the humans.
Consistent with its documentary aesthetic (and also no doubt due to budgetary constraints), Best in Show was shot on 16mm film using available light. Although Cinematographer Roberto Schaefer is perfectly capable of producing a polished, glossy image (e.g., Quantum of Solace), here he delivered an appropriately textured and slightly grainy product that looks like it was captured "on the run"—which it frequently was. For example, in the painful scene where the Flecks attempt to check into the hotel, the production couldn't afford to rent the facility for the day, which meant that the staff continued doing business as Guest filmed, with phones ringing and patrons registering on either side of the actors performing their lines. Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray will disappoint those who expect "pop" from their Blu-rays, but it accurately captures the film's roughness and preserves the somewhat coarser grain structure that resulted from the combination of 16mm photography and available light. Fine detail remains quite good in close-ups and medium shots, although in some longer shots, the limits of 16mm's resolution become apparent. Colors are generally realistic, and no attempt has been made to "push" them toward greater saturation or intensity. A minute amount of video noise creeps in from time to time, but Warner is to be commended for not trying to hide it with DNR or strip it away with high frequency filtering. No other artifacts were observed; the 90-minute film fits comfortably on a BD-25, especially since all the supplements are in standard definition. A detail worth noting: Unlike the usual Warner treatment of films framed at 1.85:1 theatrically, Best in Show has not been opened up to 1.78:1 on Blu-ray. It remains at its original aspect ratio.
Best in Show was released with a 5.1 soundtrack, which appeared on the DVD and is reproduced on the Blu-ray in DTS-HD MA 5.1, but you're not likely to notice much sound from anything other than the center speaker. The documentary style of the film dictates that all sonic activity will come from the front, and most of it is dialogue. Even the footage from the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which would be a likely candidate for crowd noise and other such surround phenomena in a different kind of movie, doesn't break the illusion that the entire film has been shot by a documentary crew with one sound man and a boom mike. Except for the closing credits, music doesn't occur on the soundtrack unless sung by someone on camera. Most of the compositions are credited to Eugene Levy or Jeffrey C.J. Vanston.
The extras have been ported over from the 2004 Warner DVD.
You don't have to be a dog lover to enjoy Best in Show, just as you don't have be a theater enthusiast to laugh at Waiting for Guffman or, for that matter, a rock music fan to laugh at This Is Spinal Tap. Guest's approach is summed up in the quote: "I am interested in the notion that people can become so obsessed by their world that they lose sense and awareness of how they appear to other people." As long as they know their world, you don't need to. You just have to watch them get caught up in it. As far as the Blu-ray is concerned, it's a faithful representation of the film. Just don't expect something glossy. Those who already own the DVD might reasonably decide to stick with it, since there are no new features. Otherwise, highly recommended.
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