Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Eight Below Blu-ray Movie Review

'Eight Below' rises above the crowd.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 7, 2010

What's important is finding that one thing that will truly put your heart at rest.

Leave it to Disney to craft a top-tier feel-good movie. The studio, better known for its rich history of animated films and, more recently, its tween-centric pop-star icons and their many on- and off-stage exploits, returns to the days of Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson with a live-action picture suitable for the whole family. 2006's Eight Below is an uplifting adventure, one that is wrought with danger and raw emotion but also engendering through the trials and tribulations of its characters both human and canine an unwavering spirit of honesty, perseverance, and traditional values that, despite its recent vintage, allows it to fit right in with similarly-themed family classics of yore. Though the picture does explore some mature themes, features a bit of violence, and offers at least one honest-to-goodness jump scare, Eight Below is a movie that's appropriate for young audiences who, if nothing else, will come away from the experience with an idea of the unbreakable bonds of love and friendship and the courage to fight for and do what is right, even in the face of the most challenging of odds and desperate of situations.

Eight in frame.

Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker, The Fast and the Furious) is a sled dog team leader at the National Science Foundation's research base in Antarctica. Arriving at the base is a UCLA professor named Davis McClaren (Bruce Greenwood, Star Trek) who needs Jerry and his team to take him to a remote location so he may collect a rare rock sample believed to be from the planet Mercury. Despite the potential dangers of the trip, Jerry, Mr. McClaren, and the dogs -- Max, Maya, Shadow, Dewey, Truman, Old Jack, Buck, and Shorty -- make the perilous trek; the mission proves a success, but on the return trip home, Dr. McClaren breaks his leg and nearly dies from hypothermia, and Jerry suffers severe frostbite to his hands. The dogs get them back to base, but the animals are left to fend for themselves when Jerry, Dr. McClaren, and the remaining humans are forced to abandon the station ahead of an approaching winter front so that they may get the wounded the immediate medical attention they need. A fully-recovered Jerry is unable to return to Antarctica to retrieve his dogs; they're stranded, alone and hungry, and left to fend for themselves. As one day alone becomes four, as four becomes 15, as 15 becomes 50, as 50 becomes 133, as 133 becomes many more, the dogs find themselves in a desperate fight to survive the elements, while Jerry, back in the United States, lobbies several government agencies and even Dr. McClaren in hopes of finding some way to get back to his dogs before it's too late.

What makes Eight Below a standout film is its ability to be so many things at any given point throughout. Though at its center a good family film with a purposefully honest message and a pure heart, the picture demonstrates an amazing ability to be poignant and, sometimes, even, demoralizing, but also uplifting and sincere with every development. This is a movie about love and friendship first, but it's also about persistence, persistence to survive and persistence to carry on and never give up on those things that mean the most, even when they've been taken away with seemingly no way of getting them back. Even at its most hopeless, Eight Below exudes an aura of confidence that even in the darkest of hours, light will once again shine on those that choose to continue the struggle to live, fulfill promises, and maintain hope. Eight Below looks at persistence from two vastly different perspectives in two vastly different environments and through two vastly different sets of struggles along the way. The picture effortlessly entwines two tales, one of survival and one of perseverance, switching between the struggling animals and a dejected but never completely demoralized human who never gives up hope that somehow, someway, he will again be reunited with his sled dogs, even after months have past and there seems little chance that they could have survived the harsh Antarctic winter. Although the movie seems destined for a storybook happy ending, it heads in that direction with an appreciable honesty; there are consequences, fears, and trials that try and threaten to break the spirit of all those involved, but its the triumph over the odds in a heart-wrenching but sincere way that makes Eight Below a special film.

Eight Below proves to be as technically proficient as it is thematically relevant. Of note is the way that Director Frank Marshall handles the frigid landscapes and makes the environment into a character both beautiful and dangerous. He demonstrated similarly great success with another film, 1993's Alive, a picture about plane crash survivors struggling to live in a frigid, inhospitable environment. Eight Below is certainly not as grim and unforgiving as Alive, but the similarity in elements and the director's prior experience do lend a degree of credence and technical proficiency that only helps Eight Below from both a visual and dramatic perspective. Also of note are the performances of Paul Walker and Bruce Greenwood; the veteran Greenwood handles his part professionally and admirably, but Walker proves himself to be a solid actor when working with good material. He does a wonderful job conveying the raw emotion of what is almost akin to a father figure struggling to hold himself together as he longs to find his missing children. Walker is convincing and relatable throughout the movie, finding the right balance between tough and sensitive, externally strong but internally frightened, his character and performance not particularly memorable but certainly bordering on the outstanding given this style of movie. Of course, the film's true stars are its animal heroes. They don't have a voice, per se, in a traditional sense and they don't communicate in voiced-over English as one might expect of a Disney animal adventure, but they've been remarkably trained to demonstrate a level of physical and emotional communication that's truly a marvel to behold. They show fear, support, love, and respect in the way they look, walk, tend to a fallen comrade's wound, or share with those less fortunate among them whatever morsels of food they happen to come upon. The audience always knows what each animal is thinking and feeling, a testament not only to the trainers and the directors, but the quality of animal working in the film. Most importantly, they lend credence to their uplifting tale of survival and kinship in the most difficult of circumstances.

Eight Below Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Eight Below pulls onto Blu-ray with an above-average 1080p, 2.40:1-framed transfer. Though an early release from Disney, this disc yields a good image, one that is nicely detailed, crisp, and enjoyably film-like in texture. The picture is often saturated in shades of white and gray; however, colors can be vibrant at times, particularly as brightly-colored jackets contrast against the many white snow-covered landscapes and gray overcast skies that compose the Antarctic landscape. Additionally, the transfer excels in adding layers of visual realism to the barren landscapes; snow-covered and generally solid-white land and rock formations often enjoy excellent texturing. Snow rarely looks like a massive and undefined white glob, save for some scenes such as one in chapter five during a blowing snowstorm where whiteout conditions and bleak, textureless formations are to be expected. Additionally, the image offers fine detailing on heavy winter clothing -- particularly woven caps and fur collars -- and human faces, whether Paul Walker's slightly scruffy facial hair or Bruce Greenwood's wrinkly mug. Shadow detail is nicely realized and black levels prove deep and true throughout. Skin tones also take on a neutral appearance, influenced sometimes by frigid conditions but remaining as one would expect given the various environmental hardships encountered throughout the film. Disney's print is in fine shape, exhibiting only the odd speckle, and a light coating of grain covers what is a very good, but not quite exceptional, Blu-ray transfer.

Eight Below Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disney provides Eight Below with a high quality PCM 5.1 uncompressed soundtrack. The track consistently incorporates the back channels for both musical support and atmospheric effects. As to the music, this PCM offering delivers each note crisply and with a full presence that makes fine use of the entire soundstage. Whether more subtle notes or amped-up action-oriented pieces, such as that heard in chapter 10, the track presents each segment of the score with a clarity that brings the film to life and draws the listener into the Eight Below experience. The track also implements some environmental atmospherics, and to fine effect. In several scenes, cold winds blow harshly about the listening area and almost seem to bring with them a palpable chill, the effect filling the entire soundstage and making for a very strongly-realized environmental support element. Additionally, several chunks of shifting ice crack and maneuver about each speaker in the configuration, with an added bonus of some potent bass. Dialogue reproduction is crisp and natural throughout, completing a track that's not the most aggressive or natural out there, but one that's certainly a strongly-realized companion to a solid film.

Eight Below Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Eight Below gives buyers the cold shoulder, offering but a few scattered extras. Chief among this paltry collection of supplements is an audio commentary track with Director Frank Marshall, Cinematographer Don Burgess (The Book of Eli), and Actor Paul Walker. The track proves steady and well-spoken, with the participants sharing a good chemistry. It's easy, informative, but not too heavy, touching on the challenges of making the film, the work of the animals and the difficulties of riding with the sled dogs, shooting in the frigid locales, the quality of Mark Isham's (The Crazies) score, some nuts-and-bolts technical observations, and much more. Each participant proves affable and happy to be sharing with their listeners the experience of making Eight Below; this is a worthwhile commentary. Also included is Blu-Scape -- 'Ice' (1080p, 5:16), a short film by Louie Schwartzberg, and Movie Showcase (1080p, 2:49), a collection of three scenes from the film that demonstrate the quality of the Blu-ray release.

Eight Below Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eight Below is heartwarming tale of friendship, courage, and survival, of never letting go of all that's most precious in life, namely love and life itself. It's a movie of danger and heroism and of bonds that neither time, distance, nor hardships can break. A family Adventure in the classic Disney spirit, Eight Below is a film suitable for the whole family, even if it does delve into some slightly complex themes that the youngest of viewers may find difficult to grasp. Still, the picture's many positive elements, uplifting messages, fine photography, and first-rate characters both man and animal alike make this one a winner. Disney released Eight Below in the early days of the Blu-ray format, and while the disc lacks a more thorough selection of bonus features, fans will be pleased with the technical presentation. Unfortunately, the disc is currently priced far too high to recommend a purchase, but should it drop below $15 in the future, this would make for an excellent addition to the Blu-ray library. Until then, Eight Below is best enjoyed as a rental.