Breach Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Breach Blu-ray Movie Review

Mill Creek has released 'Breach' to Blu-ray. The release follows on the heels of the Universal release from April 2020. Video is essentially identical and there seem to be no discernible differences in audio, but the big change here is the complete absence of supplemental content. The Universal disc included a nice selection of special features, none of which carry over here. On the other hand, this release is markedly less expensive.

Breach Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of Breach appears almost completely identical to the Universal disc with the only difference being a slightly more evident green cast to the picture. It's barely perceptible unless one is going over comparisons with a fine-tooth comb; it won't make a real difference when watching the movie. The review, as recreated below for convenience from the Universal disc, suffices with the caveat of the slightly altered color temperature:

Breach's Blu-ray is uninspired, to say the least. There are signs of digital processing in every shot. The picture is not completely true to its filmic roots. Grain appears to be manipulated and the picture sharpened on top of some mild noise reduction. There is also some edge enhancement in play. The picture never bears the fruit of its filmic origins. While details are not smeared away there's a phoniness to the level of sharpness and definition on display. The picture might hold to some decent foundational textures but fans should not expect a true, pure reproduction. Colors are depressed, too, flat and bleak with little life. While such appears to be the film's intended aesthetic, even would-be brighter scenes and more cheerful colors are rendered less than appealing, dull and lacking any sort of saturation excellence or tonal vitality. Black levels are never too raised but do have a somewhat flat look to them. Skin tones are a little on the pasty side. At least print wear and compression artifacts are not major concerns. If anything defines the fledgling catalogue Blu-ray release, this is it.

Breach Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mill Creek brings Breach to Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, the same encode utilized with the Universal disc from 2020. While there are some bitrate differences along the way, the sound presentation seems fundamentally unchanged with no obvious deviations apparent when comparing the tracks back and forth. In that light, the review from the Universal disc applies here. Below, for convenience, is a reproduction of that review:

Breach arrives on Blu-ray with a solidly performing, but in no way memorable, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Most of the highlights come in the form of environmental fill, which is consistently immersive and excellent. Traffic din surrounds the listener at several junctures, easily pulling the listener into several locales. Listen to a scene between O'Neill and Burroughs at the 33-minute mark; it's a rich reveal of the track's ambient prowess with a variety of audio cues surrounding the stage. Likewise, office spaces inside the FBI locations deliver similar immersion sensations with natural flair and detail and well defined feels for space. The track incorporates good essential musical cues, boasting agreeable clarity and stretch. Gunfire at a shooting range halfway through the film hits with solid authority, as do a few shots from Hanssen's revolver late in the movie. Dialogue carries the bulk of the audio needs and it is presented with steady clarity from a natural front-center location.

Breach Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Breach contains no special features. When Universal released the film back in early 2020, it included deleted and alternate scenes, two featurettes, a TV special, and an audio commentary track. No DVD or digital copies are included. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Breach Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The math on this release is pretty simple. Mill Creek's disc is inferior to the Universal disc in that it includes none of the excellent special features found on the other disc. The discs are otherwise on equal footing in that they share nearly identical video and audio presentations. The Mill Creek disc earns a check mark for the better price. How much are those extras worth?