7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In Falls City, Nebraska, Brandon Teena arrives to start a new future for himself. The local community falls for his charms and everyone becomes drawn to his innocence and wit. However, behind the charming persona is a totally different person - Brandon is actually a woman. After falling for a local karaoke singer, Brandon moves in with her family and wins them over. But when Brandon's secret is finally out, the rest of the family all turn against him, branding him sick and evil.
Starring: Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Brendan Sexton III, Alison FollandRomance | 100% |
Melodrama | 74% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Crime | 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 (224 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
French: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1
Japanese: DTS 5.1
Russian: DTS 5.1
Catalan: DTS 5.1
Czech: Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 kbps)
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 2.0
Thai: Dolby Digital 2.0
Turkish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In 1999, a year after gay teenager Matthew Shepard’s brutal death-by-beating triggered national awareness of hate crimes against homosexuals, writer/director Kimberly Pierce further pushed the issue to the cultural forefront with her daring true crime film Boys Don’t Cry, a dramatization of the real-life events that led to the murder of 21-year-old Brandon Teena, a preoperative female-to-male transgender who was raped and killed by two acquaintances after they discovered he was biologically female. Over a decade later, the film is no less relevant, especially considering the rash of anti-gay bullying-related suicides in late 2010, incidences that serve to remind us that no matter how far civil rights for homosexuals have come in the intervening years, discrimination and outright hatred are unfortunately still prevalent. It’s easy, then, to see Boys Don’t Cry as a mere message movie, railing against how ignorance begets violence, but Pierce’s filmmaking debut is so much more. Thematically, it’s rich with allusions and associations—conformity vs. identity, doomed lovers, the unobtainable nature of the American Dream, the fluidity of sexuality—and it draws from inspirations as diverse as Badlands, David Lynch, and The Wizard of Oz.
Boys Don't Cry debuts on Blu-ray with a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that's a suitable upgrade from the film's DVD release, although—and I'm only speculating here—it looks to me like it was possibly sourced from an old master. The picture is frequently soft—it always has been, to some extent— and fine detail is not nearly as refined as it perhaps could be. Additionally, there are light traces of noise reduction that also have a softening effect. I stress that this is light DNR. Grain is still visible, just not as sharp as it would be normally. On the plus side, while the film's palette is rather bleak, color reproduction is strong and stable, with no pulsing, flickering, or boosting. Black levels are sufficiently deep and contrast is consistent as well. Likewise, there don't appear to be any excess compression issues. While I'm fairly confident the film could look better—given the money and effort—I'm content for now with the image as it's presented here.
I have no problems at all with the film's rather straightforward DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, which offers few aural embellishments but hits all the essentials—clarity, dynamic breadth, and a balanced mix. The rear channels are mostly used for quiet ambient effects—barking dogs, wind, outdoorsy noise, barroom chatter—but the score by Nathan Larson (member of 1990s band Shudder to Think) occasionally fills the soundfield as well. Most of the film is carried by dialogue, which is expressive, clear, and comprehensible throughout. There's really nothing notable about the track, but there are no problems either. The disc also includes audio and subtitle tracks in a panoply of languages.
Unfortunately, there are no new supplements—I'd love a retrospective with Hilary Swank and Chloë Sevigny—but I have to say, Kimberly Pierce's commentary track is one of the most thoughtful and thorough I've heard in a good while.
One of the best films of 1999, Boys Don't Cry is a devastating exploration of the high cost of individuality in an intolerant society. Fox's Blu-ray release presents only a modest upgrade from DVD, but if you don't yet own the film, this is definitely the version you'll want to get. Highly recommended!
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