6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
God Bless the Broken Road tells the story of a young mother who loses her husband in Afghanistan and struggles to raise their young daughter in his absence. The film combines elements of faith, country music, and stock car racing while paying tribute to those who serve in the United States Military.
Starring: Lindsay Pulsipher, Jordin Sparks, Andrew W. Walker, Robin Givens, Makenzie MossDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
With the recent news that Kino Lorber will be releasing Bob Fosse’s film version of Sweet Charity, that ticks off at least one more 1969 musical film “behemoth” (if you’re prone toward disparagement, anyway) that high definition fans will be able to add to their collections. Some may already have Hello, Dolly! in their collections, but two other “big” movie musicals from that year have yet to see the Blu- ray light of day. Goodbye, Mr. Chips was “Part 2” of Leslie Bricusse’s sometimes derided trifecta of movie musicals which I discussed at some length in both my Scrooge Blu-ray review and Doctor Dolittle Blu-ray review (the two other films in that particular Bricusse triptych). The last remaining “big” musical of 1969 was Paint Your Wagon, a film which perhaps arguably was the most successful of any of the musicals released that year in terms of return on investment, even if that’s a decidedly relative term in this case. And what does all of this have to do with God Bless the Broken Road, you may well be asking at this point? Well, there’s a certain through line from Paint Your Wagon to this cliché ridden but undeniably emotional enterprise about trauma and ultimately restored faith, and that through line is the perhaps unexpected aggregation known as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Perhaps aiming for a bit of the “youth market”, Paint Your Wagon included a cameo sequence for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who romped through a tune called “Hand Me Down That Can Of Beans” (remarkably, it did not go Top 40, and, yes, that’s a joke). And while Rascal Flatts recorded what is arguably the best known version of the song (one that is utilized in this very film), the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band were also responsible for the song called “Bless the Broken Road”, which is an obvious source of inspiration for not just the title, but the underlying content, of God Bless the Broken Road.
God Bless the Broken Road is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. The closing credits for the film have the "Red" logo, and this another sharp and appealingly detailed presentation that has been digitally captured by that brand of camera. There's not a lot of "wow" to the visuals here, with much of the film concentrating on the hard working, everyday life of Amber, but perhaps appropriately given that character's first name, there's a kind of buttery yellow suffused light that often informs some of the material here. Outdoor scenes pop nicely, with good detail levels across the board, and even most interior scenes offer good fine detail levels. There were a couple of very brief flirtations with banding in the bookending sequences supposedly taking place in Afghanistan, but otherwise this is a problem free presentation.
The soundstage of God Bless the Broken Road opens up the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track pretty significantly when either music plays or the NASCAR element sneaks in, but otherwise this is a fairly relentlessly talky, small scale drama where quite a bit of the surround activity is fairly subtle placement of ambient environmental noises. That said, the film has a glut of outdoor material, and that does provide opportunities for at least sporadic immersion. The musical elements, both source cues, and a few performances actually on screen, sound clear and inviting (the closing credits seem to suggest that Pulsipher is lip synching to someone else's voice, in case anyone cares). Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.
If the non-Bricusse trifecta of Christianity, Country Music and NASCAR gets your heart pumping, God Bless the Broken Road will almost certainly meet your expectations. Those with a more jaded world view may find this film awfully calculating, with a few bumps in the road itself in terms of its character unfolding and general track (racecar or otherwise) of the storyline. Performances can be a little wobbly here at times, but the underlying message is certainly worthwhile, especially with regard to wounded vets who manage to get back stateside, if sometimes in pretty bad shape. Technical merits are solid for those considering a purchase.
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