7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Austrian actress Hedy Lamarr fled an oppressive marriage to create a name for herself as one of Hollywood's top leading ladies in the 1940s. Behind the glamour and sex appeal, though, was a talented and inquisitive inventor who created a radio system that is now considered the basis of Bluetooth technology.
Starring: Hedy Lamarr, Peter Bogdanovich, Mel Brooks, Diane Kruger, Robert OsborneWar | Insignificant |
Documentary | Insignificant |
Biography | Insignificant |
History | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
As an actress, Hedy Lamarr was defined by her beauty, using good looks to support a Hollywood career that included turns in films such as “White Cargo,” “The Conspirators,” and “Her Highness and the Bellboy.” During her heyday, she created a stir wherever she went, wowing the public with extraordinary glamour. “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story” endeavors to find the woman underneath the attractiveness, identifying the star as a brilliant mind interested in the mastering of inventions, with a strong pull toward science, reaching a specific breakthrough during World War II that’s largely responsible for the world of wi-fi that we know today. “Bombshell” has the benefit of shock value, with director Alexandra Dean selecting an extraordinary topic for documentary dissection, working to redefine Lamarr’s legacy as a figure of allure to one of unheralded brilliance.
"Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story" arrives on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation. Like many documentaries, the film creates a patchwork quilt of film and video sources, tracking the subject's history and achievements during her lifetime. The digital quality of the production is displayed, with low-res clips employed, and HD cinematography for interview segments comes through clearly. Detail is especially strong on faces, tracking skin textures and subtle emotional responses. Clothing is fibrous too, and displays of paperwork and animation are sharp, making shots pausable to grasp all intended frame information. Colors are equally kind, offering lively primaries with contemporary outfits, while period wear also adds varied hues. Delineation is communicative. Artifacts are present off and on during the viewing experience, with banding appearing on occasion and macroblocking a periodic issue.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix offer a largely frontal listening event for "Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story." Interview audio is mostly precise, delivering slightly emotional recollections of the subject's highs and lows, while cassette examination preserves the hissy, distanced sound of the format. Scoring is agreeable and balanced, with supportive instrumentation helping to support the tonal flow of the work. Sound effects are loud and defined, helping to sell the suggestion of movement in still photographs and excerpts from silent movies. Surrounds aren't active, but there are select moments of expanse. Low-end is limited, only punching through during discussions of World War II and additional military conflicts and weapons testing.
"Bombshell" provides an overview of her six marriages and fledgling career, using interviews with family members and professional admirers (including Mel Brooks and Peter Bogdanovich) to beef up the celebratory mood. There's darkness as well, detailing an aging process that didn't go well for Lamarr, who tried to keep her looks through plastic surgery, dealing with depression through addiction, creating a reclusive personality. However, love remains for the star and mother, as Dean is careful to position her subject as an architect of the world we know today, clearing the path toward ubiquitous communication through an invention meant to bring the Nazis to their knees. "Bombshell" is sensational when focused on Lamarr's amazing achievements, offering sensitivity to a complicated life but also assigning heroism to an unlikely source, achieving its goal to position Hedy Lamarr in an all new light.
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