Rating summary
| Movie |  | 3.0 |
| Video |  | 4.0 |
| Audio | | 4.0 |
| Extras |  | 0.0 |
| Overall | | 3.0 |
G.I. Jane Blu-ray Movie Review
Demi Moore's personal ego project makes its way to Blu-ray
Reviewed by Ben Williams September 18, 2007
When G.I. Jane was released in 1997, Demi Moore was at the height of her fame and power in Hollywood and with audiences. She had catapulted herself to the top spot amongst the Hollywood elite and had managed to command almost unlimited earnings. One could certainly argue as to the quality of her films, but few could argue against her seemingly limitless popularity. Strangely, G.I. Jane marked a turning point in her career as her popularity suddenly waned. Ridley Scott, director of G.I. Jane, on the other hand, almost immediately sprung from this film into a new era of popularity and artistic success as a filmmaker. It seems that one person’s downfall is another’s brass ring.
G.I. Jane follows the pursuits of Lieutenant Jordan O’Neil as she attempts to become the first woman to become a Navy SEAL. O’Neil battles sexism, harassment, brutality and humiliation as she breaks the mold, shaves her head and proves the establishment wrong in her quest. The battle of the sexes, indeed.
I guess a scene where Ms. Moore applies "Nair" to her head would have been much less dramatic.
G.I. Jane has loads of potential that is often overshadowed by the massive amount of publicity that originally accompanied the film upon its theatrical release. I remember Demi Moore’s shaved head being such a major news story in 1997, that one would have thought that the woman had lost a limb in the name of acting. Of course, we’ve since seen Natalie Portman pull of the same stunt in
V for Vendetta, so the impact of Ms. Moore’s bald head is now somewhat diminished. What we are left with, is a Ridley Scott film with some good performances and a bit of a precursor to the style he would adopt in subsequent years with
Gladiator and
Black Hawk Down. Technically, the film is exceptionally well made, but the story just gets a bit boring over repeated viewings.
G.I. Jane Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
G.I. Jane arrives on the Blu-ray format looking about as good as it possibly could. If that doesn't exactly sound like a ringing endorsement, then let me say that I'm confident that the film looks precisely the way it was filmed, but isn't even slightly reminiscent of anything resembling eye-candy. This film is very soft and filtered and seems to have been shot with a very hazy look from beginning to end. Almost every room is filled with smoke or some sort of ambient haze. About the only scene that isn't soft, is the aforementioned head-shaving scene. It definitely looks like a different and more detailed filming technique was used there to pump up the emphasis on the head shaving in question. For the remainder of the film, however, we are treated to images that border on completely monochromatic and have very little in the way of pop. If I could levy one complaint at the transfer that keeps it from achieving a perfect score, it would be in the occasional print defects that show up from time to time. There were just too many scratches and pops on this print. We've seen time and time again that proper restoration can bring these slightly older films back to pristine condition. The Blu-ray format demands just that.
G.I. Jane Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
PCM audio is, again, the best sound option on the G.I. Jane Blu-ray. There is quite a bit of challenging material on this disc and the PCM tack is a clear improvement over the Dolby Digital track. Much of this film centers on military training sequences with lots of panning effects and nicely placed music. The occasional helicopter flies by and machine guns rattle effectively in the surround channels. Dialogue is perfectly presented and there is a nice amount of deep bass during the more immersive action sequences. Unfortunately, the film is predominantly front-loaded in its sound design and the rear channel activity is fairly limited.
G.I. Jane Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
Here's what's included:
NOTHING!
That's right, there are no extras on this disc.
G.I. Jane Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
With a mildly enjoyable story and an competent technical presentation, G.I. Jane on Blu-ray is really something of a mixed bag. The total lack of extras is sure to be a big disappointment with fans of the film. I give G.I. Jane a marginal recommendation for those who have never seen the film, but those who have already seen it will probably find themselves a bit bored. In the end, G.I. Jane is terribly dated and has very little replay value. Make this one a rental.
