6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A devoted husband in a marriage of convenience is forced to confront his secret life.
Starring: Robin Williams, Bob Odenkirk, Kathy Baker, Giles Matthey, Eleonore HendricksDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Boulevard engenders an eerily pervasive melancholy, not only because of the deeply seeded pain that runs through its dramatic arc but also the real-life death of its star that hangs over the movie. While Boulevard is a stalwart Drama about a man slowly morphing into who he is rather than who the world wants him to be, the film will always be remembered as the final performance of leading man Robin Williams, the beloved entertainer whose suicide shocked not only the entertainment industry, but the world. The final performance sees Williams not as the cheery comedian that made him a beloved movie star but rather a downtrodden banker leading a veiled life defined by lies and deep seeded unhappiness. One cannot help but to feel that there's an underlying parallel with Williams' battle with depression, which, by all reports, was the primary driver in his untimely death.
Living in the shadows.
Boulevard features a richly defined and effortlessly colorful 1080p transfer. The digital source photography leaves the movie looking a tad flat and glossy but the sheen is soon lost to the positive details and colors. Facial features are strikingly complex, presenting broad details and nuanced textures alike with remarkable clarity. Environments are nicely defined, too, whether a warm and inviting dining room, a dimly lit restaurant interior, shady motel rooms, or the nicely appointed bank interior that contrasts with the somewhat rougher world that exists outside of it. Image sharpness is consistent with no soft or blurry edges to be seen. Colors are impressive with a nice blend of sun-drenched greens and bright business signs seen during the day with warmer accents both inside and out evident elsewhere at night. Black levels are impressively deep and healthy. Flesh tones, too, are neutral and satisfying. Very mild banding is visible in a couple of shots but the image is otherwise pristine.
Boulevard features a relatively simple yet effective and technically proficient Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Dialogue is the primary element throughout. The spoken word enjoys effortless clarity and strong center placement. Music is nicely spaced and suitably clear, even through the primary refrain that's both a bit bubbly and mildly piercing. Light ambient effects support various environments -- city streets, a bank office, a restaurant -- and adequately define the areas in question and help draw the listener into them.
This Blu-ray release of Boulevard contains no supplemental content.
Boulevard may superficially be about Nolan Mack's closeted homosexuality, but the movie feels somehow bigger than that, using it as a vessel to tell a greater story about life and the struggle to be oneself, no matter what it is one may be hiding. Life is too hard to make it artificially harder, the movie seems to say, by living it as a lie. The film is beautiful in its simple technical craftsmanship but it's in Robin Williams' performance where it shines. His last is one of his best, a layered, nuanced, and deeply pained effort that defines the character's duality with expert precision. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of Boulevard is unfortunately absent any kind of supplemental content, but video is top-notch and audio isn't far behind. Recommended.
2014
1961
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Warner Archive Collection
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