8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.3 |
A washed-up actor who once played an iconic superhero must overcome his ego and family trouble as he mounts a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim his past glory.
Starring: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Zach GalifianakisDrama | 100% |
Dark humor | 59% |
Comedy | 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)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
French: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Turkish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Turkish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Confession time: I never totally bought Michael Keaton as Batman . The actor’s less than buff physique was one drawback, of course, though that could be “augmented” by a somewhat ridiculously puffy, muscle bound rubber suit. But Keaton’s persona seemed slightly (or maybe more than merely slightly) snarky at times, as evidenced in any number of turns in films like Beetlejuice and Night Shift, something that seemed at odds with the tamped down, darker ambience that Tim Burton sought to bring to the venerable DC Comics reboot. Keaton experienced a fan backlash at the time, with many issuing a litany of complaints that at least partially echoed the above sentiments, but a lot of those people were won over once the film (and its sequel Batman Returns) actually came out. Keaton demurred from making a third Batman outing when Tim Burton left the franchise, and Batman Forever featured Val Kilmer in the iconic role. It’s perhaps ironic that due to the disconnect between the character of Batman and Keaton’s perceived persona, the actor didn’t initially seen to be inescapably linked to the role, as Adam West had been after Batman: The Complete Series left the air. That said, Keaton’s post-Batman filmography was a kind of spotty amalgamation of sometimes second rate material interspersed with occasional glimmers of brilliance (Jackie Brown). As the 1990s gave way to the new millenium, Keaton’s film roles took a decided downturn, with generic entries like Herbie Fully Loaded seeming to reinforce the image that he was a “has been” who would now be relegated to B-movie character parts, if even that, and remembered largely if not totally for the Batman films. Perhaps that’s one reason why Birdman seemed to virtually erupt into the cultural zeitgeist in an unexpected way. Rarely has an actor reinvigorated his or her career so substantially with one film, but as this review goes live, Keaton is already the winner of a Golden Globe for his performance and is the odds on favorite to take home an Academy Award for his portrayal of onetime film superstar Riggan Thomson, a guy who, not so coincidentally like Keaton himself, one sold “billions” in tickets as an iconic superhero, albeit one who is in the film called Birdman. Thomson has been down on his luck for some time and has decided to reinvent himself as a stage commodity, bringing an adaptation of a Raymond Carver piece to Broadway in a play that he not only is starring in, but which he has also written and is co-producing and directing.
Birdman is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Digitally shot with a variety of Arri Alexa products, and offered on Blu-ray with a healthy bitrate and roomy BD-50, this is by and large a stunningly beautiful high definition presentation, though curmudgeons (and you know who you are) may find one or two very small things to complain about. As mentioned above in the main body of the review, Iñárritu and ace cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity 3D ) filmed Birdman in long, unedited takes, and with an emphasis on handheld cameras, Steadicam and otherwise. Surprisingly, there's very little "jiggly cam" on display here, and the result is an appealingly sharp and clear looking presentation. While a lot of the film takes place in very dimly lit backstage environments, shadow detail remains strong and in close-ups fine detail is often astonishing. Whimsical CGI elements can look just slightly soft when compared to the bulk of this presentation. There's little if any overt color grading on display here, and while some scenes play out in fairly dense colored lighting (see screenshots 2 and 10), detail is only rarely affected. And now for those curmudgeonly issues. An opening pan across Riggan's dressing room reveals just incremental image instability, something that is not repeated later in the film. And a couple of quick pans across changing lighting schemes reveal just the barest hint of banding. These issues are mentioned only for those who like every jot and tittle of a release's supposed "failings" to be documented. They are minimal to the point that many may not even notice them, and for all intents and purposes, this is a problem free presentation.
Birdman's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix offers a subtly immersive environment which presents the film's dialogue very cleanly while also featuring the propulsive punch of an unusual score that is made up entirely of drum cues interspersed with various classical snippets. There's good discrete channelization employed in the sometimes chaotic backstage world where various people are performing their tasks while the play is being presented (or rehearsed) on stage. The trap set cues are often disarmingly "present" in the mix, suddenly erupting through the surrounds as if to say, "Wake up! This isn't a dream!" Fidelity is top notch and there are no issues of any kind to report.
Confession time: I may not have totally bought Michael Keaton as Batman, but I went for his Birdman hook, line and sinker. What a captivating and ultimately astonishing film this is. It may ask more questions than it ultimately answers, but you've never seen anything quite like it. A beautiful (Biutiful?) mix of backstage shenanigans and magical realism, Birdman is one of the highlights of this past year's theatrical releases and even without a bevy of supplements will certainly be among the best Blu-rays of 2015. Highly recommended.
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