6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A remake of the 1976 Disney comedy where a mother and her daughter switch bodies for one Friday.
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon, Harold Gould, Chad Michael MurrayComedy | 100% |
Family | 95% |
Teen | 28% |
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)
DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3666 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit / DN -4dB)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The original Freaky Friday made a big splash with audiences back when it released in 1976 and has remained a favorite within the larger canon of Disney live action family films. A remake seemed at some point inevitable, and that point came in 2003 when Disney returned to the property with an updated, fresher, and more lively take on the story of a mother and daughter swapping bodies and dealing with the personal, private, and emotional fallout of the switch-aroo.
Fortunate Daughters.
Freaky Friday's 1080p image is very nice. Shot on film and retaining a very attractive, modestly grainy filmic veneer, the Blu-ray replicates the theater experience very well. Details are very organic. The image is sharp, complex in all the right places, and free of all but a smidgen of print wear. Textural highlights include pretty much everything in the film: clothes, skin, hair, and various environments, whether densely packed classrooms or Tess' finely appointed office spaces. Colors are bold and accurate, pushing slightly warm -- which also includes flesh tones -- but the palette never wants for much more intensity and depth. There are a few softer shots (look at the 20:45 mark, for example) but it's hard to find fault with the transfer and even harder to not enjoy it's visual excellence.
Disney's low volume thing isn't exclusive to wide release big blockbusters. Freaky Friday's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack requires turning it up a fair bit beyond one's usual, comfortable volume to hear at proper levels, in this reviewer's case a calibrated 0.0db volume where -12.5db is generally a more agreeable position on the dial and 0.0 is far too loud. Properly adjusted, the track is largely fine. The film's aggressive Pop-Rock beats are very satisfying, naturally sharp-edged, and spill into the stage with prominent definition and power, whether overlaid tunes or "in-film" garage band rock-out jam sessions. Orchestral score is nicely balanced as well. The earthquake that brings the characters together is prodigiously intense, shaking the stage as intensely as the characters in the film, with plenty of bass and no shortage of chaotic rattling and tumbling in every speaker. Environmental din -- at school, in a restaurant -- is full and reflective of place. Dialogue is unproblematic, clear, and detailed from a natural center-firing position.
Freaky Friday, exclusive to the Disney online movie club, contains no supplemental content. The main menu screen offers only "Play" and "Scene Selection" tabs.
Freaky Friday's 2003 remake is a bit more enjoyable than the original, which was comparatively stuffy. This one's more modern, more breezy, more spunky, more fun. The Blu-ray is very good, beyond the complete absence of supplements. Just be sure to turn the volume up a bit more beyond usual levels. Recommended.
Available on Double Feature
2004
2003
2004
2003
2003
2006
Available in Double Feature
2001
2009
2004
1993
Extended Rock Star Edition
2008
2007
Extended Edition
2007
2005
2005
Movie-Only
2011
2011
1997
2003
2005