7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Through a carnival wishing machine, a 12-year-old boy is transferred into the body of a 30-year-old man.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard, Jared RushtonComedy | 100% |
Family | 58% |
Romance | 39% |
Coming of age | 32% |
Imaginary | 16% |
Drama | Insignificant |
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)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified)
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It’s a truism that kids can’t wait to grow up, while adults, especially those of a certain age, wouldn’t mind shaving a few years off of their adulthood to return to a more youthful time. That latter formulation is almost always tempered with statements like “if I knew then what I know now,” a summation of one of the salient problems this kind of wishful thinking entails. Kids have a rosy eyed view of what being an adult is like—after all, adults get to do whatever they want (as if), are in charge of their lives (as if), and don’t have a worry in the world (you know the drill). Adults on the other hand look back nostalgically on their childhoods as a time when most if not all of their day to day needs were taken care of by adults, and when the worst thing they had to deal with was an impending math test or feeding the dog. Neither of these points of view is completely accurate, of course, for each and every age we pass through has its own pleasures and tribulations. Depending on our mood, we’re apt to focus on one category more than the other, and it’s only the wisest among us who can really see the “big” picture (sorry), taking in the pageant of what life has to offer us in all its positives and negatives. But it seems to be an almost genetic proclivity of humans to wish for something they can’t have, and that is perhaps part of the underlying allure of Big, a film which eschewed the common “trading bodies” syndrome that in other films (like Freaky Friday) had allowed a youngster to experience the “joys” of adulthood, and instead simply had a young boy named Josh make a wish to be big—a wish that improbably comes true.
Big is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. While I don't have the original Blu-ray release to do a side by side comparison, from a cursory glance at the screenshots as well as a comparison of the average bitrates of the two releases it appears this is probably the same transfer that graced the first release (I have a message in to Fox's PR firm and will update this review with salient information if I'm provided any). My colleague Martin Liebman summed up the positives of this high definition presentation, right noting the nicely saturated color, and some very good fine detail in items like Zoltar's mottled face or the weave of the cardigans Josh wears. The only thing I would add to Marty's assessment is that this has a rather soft overall ambience which some may attribute to a lackluster transfer when in fact it's an accurate representation of the original cinematography by future director Barry Sonnenfeld. There is a natural layer of film grain here and no signs of egregious digital tampering.
Big features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that is really rather surprisingly immersive for a comedy of this type. Right off the bat, the carnival sequence sets the aural scene, with a nicely rendered accounting of noisy crowd sounds whisking through the side and rear channels. A number of later moments, including Josh's iconic musical moment at F.A.O. Schwarz, also capture a nice sense of space and ambient environmental effects. The film's dialogue is never less than clear, and Howard Shore's appealing score also sounds great in this lossless format. As Martin Liebman mentioned in his review of the previous release, there's even some unexpected low end on this track, courtesy of some nicely vibrational sound effects.
How much difference does packaging and a little swag mean to you? That will probably determine whether you choose to double dip on this new release, as the actual on disc supplements duplicate what the original Blu-ray release of Big offered. In this case, the disc comes with a slipcover with a flap which upon being opened plays a horrible MIDIfied version of the opening of "Heart and Soul" (kind of like those "musical greeting cards" that are available). Inside of the Blu-ray case you'll find a collection of three Zoltar Speaks cards. The actual on disc supplements are:
- Trailer A (480p; 1:16)
- Trailer B (480i; 2:250
- TV Spot - "Women" (480i; 00:32)
- TV Spot - "Adult Review" (480i; 00:32)
Big is a beautifully wrought film, one with unobtrusive direction from Penny Marshall, and a nicely written screenplay Annie Spielberg and Gary Ross. But it's the performance of Tom Hanks that carries this film and elevates it into the completely memorable experience it is. Very funny at times, but also surprisingly touching and even just a little bit sad now and again, Big may have you reassessing where you are in your life's arc, hopefully helping you to realize it's best to be thankful of your current "location", no matter where that is. The original Blu-ray release seems to be out of print now at Amazon, and while there's nothing much new here other than packaging and some minimal swag, the price is right, so for those of you who didn't get this the first time round, stop wishing for it: it's here. Highly recommended.
Collector's Edition
1989
2004
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1989
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2011
10th Anniversary Edition
2006
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1988
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1998
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1993