7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 3.9 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.2 |
A thriller involving a couple who have gone on vacation to overcome a personal tragedy and become involved with a dangerous and mysterious stranger.
Starring: Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman, Billy Zane, Sharon Cook, Michael Long (I)Thriller | Insignificant |
Horror | Insignificant |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.41:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 2.0
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, French
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Every now and then I come across a formulaic genre pic worth recommending. Regardless of whether my enjoyment or enthusiasm can be traced back to impressive performances, gorgeous cinematography, or a sharp screenplay, I tend to overlook clichés and forgive convention if a film is strong enough to make me forget I'm watching something I've essentially watched a hundred times before. Dead Calm is just such a flick. After a surreal, disorienting opening sequence -- one whose tone I wish director Philip Noyce (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger) had preserved throughout his production -- the film never drifts far from its beaten genre path, serving up an emotionally scarred couple, a sweaty-toothed madman, a scenario that pits both protagonists against unspeakable terrors, and offers each one an opportunity to heal old wounds. However, its leads are so compelling, its villain so unnerving, and its scenes so ripe with palpable tension that I can't help but give it a nod.
The eyes of a woman who has little left to lose...
Prepare yourself for a more frightening sight than Billy Zane leering through an open hatch: the first ten minutes of Dead Calm's 1080p/VC-1 transfer. The image is simply awful. Uneven grain, surging noise, digital artifacts, murky colors, sickly skintones, detail-sapping shadows, telecine wobble... you name it, it probably haunts the film's opening scenes. Thankfully, once Kidman and Neill reach the open sea, the presentation improves dramatically and stays strong for the duration. The palette springs to life, offering vibrant spatters of blood, striking blue expanses, and absorbing blacks where there once were none. Contrast is bright and healthy, delineation is revealing, and depth and dimensionality are convincing (particularly for a twenty-year old catalog title). Whites are occasionally a bit hot and faces sometimes flush above deck, but the majority of scenes boast a natural appearance. Likewise, edge enhancement is a persistent issue and textures are prickly at times, but detail remains quite satisfying. Granted, overall clarity is hindered by errant noise and several soft shots, but the Blu-ray edition nevertheless represents a substantial upgrade over previous releases. It isn't perfect, it isn't impervious to criticism, and it isn't consistent. However, I doubt Warner could do much more to improve matters without tackling each frame of the film and giving Dead Calm the sort of high-dollar high definition overhaul reserved for the studio's fan-favorites and critically acclaimed award-winners.
Warner offers Dead Calmers a basic but capable Dolby TrueHD 2.0 mix that offers a decent sonic experience, but ultimately fails to overcome its inherent limitations. Dialogue is crisp, clean, and well-prioritized (despite a few muddled lines attributable to the film's original audio elements), and the remaining soundscape is commendable, if not underwhelming. I would have enjoyed listening to the raging ocean engulf my home theater; to hear Zane scamper across the deck above Kidman's head; to quiver as Neill scrambled to escape a sinking ship. Dead Calm strikes me as a natural candidate for an involving 5.1 remix, but I suppose it wasn't meant to be. Ah well. At least Warner delivers the film's stereo mix via a lossless track. While proper LFE support and engrossing rear speaker activity would take the film to new high definition heights, fans will be fairly pleased with the results.
Like the 2004 standard DVD, the Blu-ray edition of Dead Calm includes a single theatrical trailer. No more, no less.
A competent thriller, Dead Calm delivers fine performances and a solid, albeit conventional genre tale. Though it seems relatively tame some twenty years after its debut, it's still quite unsettling, particularly as Kidman's character begins to assert herself and turn a madman's madness to her advantage. Alas, its Blu-ray release is a mixed bag. Warner's video transfer gets stronger as the film plows along, but its lossless stereo track is a bit of a letdown and its lack of supplements is a disappointment. Even so, Noyce's thriller has never looked better. At such a low price point, it's tough to complain too much.
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