Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Body of Lies Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 2, 2009

Already released in the United States in February, Ridley Scott's "Body of Lies" (2008) is now available on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom via Warner Brothers. The disc offers the same supplemental materials found on the US release with a different set of audio tracks and subtitle options. It is Region-Free.

Watching

There are two sides of Ridley Scott’s latest film Body of Lies. The first and more entertaining one tells the story of CIA special agent Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio, Titanic) who has been dispatched by his superior, Ed Hoffman (Russel Crowe, Gladiator), to the Middle East in hope of tracking down the leader of a powerful terrorist organization. Ferris, who speaks Arabic fluently, arrives in Jordan where he meets Hani Salaam (Mark Strong, RocknRolla), a brilliant strategist and head of the Jordanian Intelligence, who agrees to help so long as his US colleague never lies to him. The two quickly draw a plan that would force their target to come out of hiding. They also manage to infiltrate a local cell which, according to intelligence reports, is directly linked to the terrorist organization.

Back in Langley, however, Hoffman draws a different plan. Ferris warns his boss that if they fail with it Hanni and his people would walk away, thus, severely limiting the CIA’s chances of dealing a deadly blow on the terrorist organization. Hoffman ignores Ferris’ warnings and puts his man in an extremely complex situation. While visiting a local hospital, Ferris also falls in love with a beautiful nurse (Golshifteh Farahani, To Each His Own Cinema).

The other side of Scott’s Body of Lies is less entertaining. It has to do with the film’s ability to recreate a world where paranoia is so powerful and so impossible to control that it actually creates events few people can accurately deconstruct. Here the main characters from the film are practically unimportant; one sees them only as objects in a giant puzzle with plenty of missing pieces.

Body of Lies is also interesting to analyze as a political statement. There are a number of references in it that target the US and its role in the Middle East quite effectively. And though none of them are presented in an accusatory way, the context within which they are placed certainly allows one to see this film as more than just a flashy blockbuster.

Aside from the superficial romance between Ferris and a beautiful nurse, Body of Lies is a plausibly realistic film. A lot of the interrogation methods, the chaotic exchange of information as well as the cultural tensions between the Americans, their allies and those that are not directly involved with them are very convincing. There is also a heavy sense of urgency here that follows each of the main characters and indirectly influences their words and actions.

Technically, the film impresses with its terrific lensing - cinematographer Alexander Witt's marquee touch is again very easy to recognize - stylish editing, and an unusually strong music soundtrack courtesy of Marc Streitenfeld. The on-location shootings (most done in Morocco) in particular are very effective and certainly one of the key reasons why the film looks so realistic.

Body of Lies Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Ridley Scott's Body of Lies arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner-UK.

Warner have delivered a solid Blu-ray transfer that will surely impress quite a few of you. Contrast here is exceptionally strong, clarity outstanding and detail simply superb. The color-scheme is also notably pleasing – yellow, orange, green, brown, black and white, all key colors in this film, are rich and well saturated. Furthermore, the overwhelming amount of the close-ups that you will see in Body of Lies also look fantastic (something that was a major issue of concern for me with another very recent Blu-ray release). This being said, I was particularly impressed with how the desert footage looks on this VC-1 encoded transfer. Also, the actual print is very healthy - I did not detect any disturbing debris, scratches, or stains to report here. Finally, there is a bit of edge-enhancement that pops up here and there, but I am not convinced that it is something that could have been avoided completely (there are a number of outdoor scenes for example that look artificially sharpened but, given the detrimental sunlight effect that has a major part in this film, I think that it is incredibly difficult to tell how much of the heavy lining that occasionally becomes noticeable is actually artificial). (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release which you could play on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Body of Lies Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Warner-UK have included a number of audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc - English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Descriptive Audio 2.0, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (the US release contains English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, and Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1). Well, to make a long story short, the English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track sound absolutely phenomenal - the bass is deep and incredibly potent, the rear channels very active and the high frequencies at times overwhelming. The numerous explosions in Body of Lies will certainly rock your home! I am not entirely sure I like how aggressive the sound is, but I have to admit that it is very much in sync with the film's intense narrative. This being said, Marc Streitenfeld's evocative soundtrack could have been given a bit more room to breathe. Still, the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is nothing short of spectacular and, as far as I am concerned, there is hardly anything here that could have been bettered.

A quick comparison between the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track and the Dolby Digital 5.1 track reveals a serious gap in quality. There are a number of action scenes in Body of Lies that make it extremely easy to compare the two tracks and, not surprisingly, the Dolby Digital 5.1 track does not match the intensity of the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track - both surround activity and bass potency are far more convincing on the loseless track. Finally, Warner-UK have provided optional English HOH, German, German HOH, Italian, Italian HOH, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles for the main feature (for the record, the subtitles are split between the image frame and the black space below it).

Body of Lies Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Warner-UK have provided a number of very informative supplemental features for the Blu-ray release of Body of Lies. First is a full-blown commentary by director Ridley Scott, screenwriter William Monahan and author David Ignatius. The trio addresses the book, screenplay, direction, execution, and history of the film while also addressing selected scenes of importance. There are also a number of topics the trio addresses that are not directly related to the film's subject matter (optional subtitles for the commentary are not provided). Actionable Intelligence: Deconstructing Body of Lies contains nine long and very informative featurettes that address a number of key segments from the film as well as important contributors – Uneasy Aliance: Ferris and Hoffman; Foreign Relations: Ferris & Aisha; The Color of Toast: Costume and Production Design; Master of the Craft: Ridley Scott; Safe Haven: Morocco; Controlled Hostility; Stunts and Special Effects; Field Operation: Safe House; Field Operation: The Terrible Room; and Author Provocateur: David Ignatius (optional English, German, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch subtitles are provided for each episode). Interactive Debriefing offers a gallery of interviews with Ridley Scott, Leonardo Dicaprio, and Russel Crowe where the three address the film's story, characters as well as the nature of global espionage. Next is a small gallery with five deleted scenes - Introduction by Ridley Scott, Bassam's Wife, Christmas for Everyone, Crossing the Line, and Gel Bridge as well as an Alternate Ending. This Blu-ray disc is also BD-Live enabled.

Body of Lies Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Despite the harsh criticism Body of Lies has generated from all sorts of different critics, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Under its flashy action there is actually a good dose of well measured criticism that some may find particularly intriguing. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Warner-UK, looks very strong. Highly Recommended.