Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Blu-ray Movie Review

Blu-ray Cyrus makes an explosive debut on high definition - now, will anyone over 11 actually see it?

Reviewed by Lindsay Mayer August 25, 2008

Lately, not a day goes by that one can go anywhere remotely commercial without seeing some sort of merchandise tied to the Disney Channel Original Series, Hannah Montana. At first, the show - which began a mere two years ago in 2006 - seemed to be like any of Disney's other "kid sitcoms" aimed at the 12 and under crowd, like Even Stevens, That's So Raven, or Lizzie McGuire. But inexplicably, the awareness and "popularity" of Montana exploded, which brings us to the present day of August 2008. Back to school shopping is well underway, and not a single chain store has been left untouched by massive amounts of sparkly purple apparel, toys, or school supplies prominently emblazoned with the Hannah Montana logo.

Wait, is this just a really flamboyant episode of The Electric Company?

The show stars Miley Cyrus (daughter of Billy Ray... yes, that Billy Ray) as average teen girl Miley Stewart, who moonlights as pop star Hannah Montana, concealing her identity from the public at large. The thing is, Montana sings real, full-blown pop songs on the show, which has spawned 7 albums thus far (9 if you include the karaoke titles). The concert tour has been notorious for selling out fast, as opportunists snatch up large amounts of tickets and scalp them off on eBay or other venues. The phenomenon has grown exponentially, creating the current juggernaut that even the most remote of hermits cannot escape from.

One wonders whether the series is genuinely popular, growing of its own accord. Perhaps I'm too cynical, but it feels as though Disney wanted another property on the level of their previous merchandise monster, Lizzie McGuire. But the show was over once its star Hilary Duff opted out. Even Stevens (the show to which rising star Shia LaBeouf can credit his initial popularity) was also gone, and That's So Raven was slumping. Another one of Disney's meta-pop groups, the Cheetah Girls, were almost milked dry of their licensing potential. In the midst of all this, Hannah Montana came about, with its blonde Lizzie McGuire clone of a star and lots of music. With sparkles. And bright colors. Whether Disney pushed the show to its current ubiquitous stature or not, the current situation still stands. And now Ms. Cyrus has made her way to Blu-ray.

Best of Both Worlds is primarily a concert-on-film, produced for all the unfortunate Montana fans who weren't able to attend a live show. Released theatrically in February 2008, the film itself made an impressive amount, grossing over $65 million domestically, nearly half of which was made on its opening weekend. At just over 80 minutes, many of Hannah/Miley's most popular songs are performed in a flamboyant display of color and light, including "Life's What You Make It" and "Pumpin' Up the Party." A small fraction of the film shows some candid behind-the-scenes material, like crew rehearsals and sound checks. Though we are never told the locales, Cyrus performs at a handful of venues, as the stage set is ever-changing. In addition, the concert features a "special guest appearance" by Disney's other musical darlings of the moment, the Jonas Brothers. It's a testament to how out of the loop I am on this particular brand of music from all these kids when the only song I had any familiarity with, in the entire concert, was "Year 3000." The Jonas Brothers recorded this for Meet the Robinsons, and I had a wisp of a memory from hearing it during the credits. Otherwise, it was all a new experience.

One of the novel factors about the Best of Both Worlds film was it was projected in Disney Digital 3-D, giving even more of a "live" experience for the viewer. A stereoscopic "Real D" process in theatres using polarized glasses, the home video release has been provided with four anaglyphic (red and cyan) glasses, and the option of watching the concert in "2D" or "3D" is given from the main menu. Viewing some segments in 3D, the anaglyphic glasses just didn't well enough for this little reviewer. The polarized process in theatres is more seamless and less jarring, as its lenses are not colored; viewing Best of Both Worlds in 3D was just too red overall, even when attempts were made to let the eyes relax and combine the effects of the cyan and red lenses. The bright patches of light in performances were often too glaring, as well. For myself at least, the anaglyphic process didn't just didn't work properly on my home theatre system.

It is clear that the likes of Cyrus, and her music, were not especially meant to appeal to me. As entertainment for young girls, it is distracting enough. The concert tour sure puts on one heck of a performance, to boot. After two years of such a brightly burning star, it will be interesting to see just how much longer Ms. Montana's fame will hold up. I know I, for one, won't be too upset to see her go.

Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For all of its bright colors and shiny things flashing around onscreen, The Best of Both Worlds never falters in picture quality. Viewed in "2D" for review purposes, the performances are captured in a high amount of detail that does justice to the plethora of bangles and separate costumes that Cyrus and her back-up crew wear throughout the 80 minute program. Colors are brilliant and frankly entertaining to watch in motion, especially during the Latin-flavored "Let's Dance" number. At other moments the stage is filled with trippy paisley patterns and lots of, uh, teal and pink, for some odd reason! The spectrum, from garish to pastel and anywhere in between, is depicted faithfully on this Blu-ray Disc. Encoded in AVC and averaging about 25 Mbps, the concert is captured very nicely all the way through - be it the glowsticks of an excited audience at the outset or the white light of the stage beating down on Cyrus and company as they take their final bow, not a flaw can scarcely be seen.

Aside from the colors, blacks are nice and rich in the large amount of shadow present during musical numbers. Whites never go out of range, and the brilliance of the spotlights stay in check. As mentioned previously, no compression artifacts can be spotted during playback. About the only time the picture does falter is during the behind-the-scenes antics, which were filmed with handheld cameras likely at a resolution of 720p. The scenes look a right bit blurrier than the concert's full blown 1080p presentation.

Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

One would expect a concert on Blu-ray to have killer sound, and Best of Both Worlds does not disappoint. Being the first Disney title to sport a lossless DTS track of any kind, the concert goes all out and offers up a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix. Sampled on a 5.1 system for review purposes, the mix sounds darn good, to put it lightly. Though the style and content of the music may not be to an A/V enthusiast's tastes, the DTS mix gives the songs an ample and very impressive playback. And yes, it does make one feel "like they're really there." Thousands upon thousands of screaming prepubescent girls. And if you listen closely, you might hear some singing, too!

The lossless track is mixed in a typical "live concert" fashion, with much of the sound coming from the center and front channels, though the performances do spread to the rears at times - the latter mostly used for ambiance and crowd noise. Cyrus' voice is crystal clear, even in the quieter moments like her memorial single "I Miss You." The pop beats of the fast paced songs are helped out with a hefty amount of LFE that gives the music a fuller effect, but is never overkill. In addition to the Master Audio track, there are tracks in English PCM Stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0, and Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 options are provided. The only dubbed parts of the concert are the spoken lines - the songs themselves remain performed in English.

Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Knowing full well that the appeal of Hannah Montana is enough to attract the fans (or more often, the fans' parents) to buy the disc, this concert Blu-ray is light on extra features. The Ultimate Personal Tour is an 11 minute look at the stage preparation, led by Miley Cyrus herself. A rundown of star arrivals and soundchecks is given almost by the minute with a digital clock icon in the lower right corner of the screen. Going from late afternoon to the last bow and beyond, the Tour shows a typical evening at a Hannah/Miley concert.

The remaining extras are music related, naturally. Two Bonus Songs, "Good and Broken" and "S.O.S." (featuring the Jonas Brothers) are provided in high definition AVC with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Sing Along With the Movie is a subtitle feature that gives a constant running highlight of the lyrics at the bottom of the screen, encouraging participation from viewers to keep up with the performers. About two thirds of the concert's songs are available to select from a menu for singing along to.

Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Best of Both Worlds is a very straightforward offering. Ya got a good hour and a half of Hannah Montana and her "actress," Miley Cyrus. Lots of flash and brilliant fluorescence, with songs that sound just about the same no matter what order you listen to them. The not-so-impressive anaglyphic 3D process aside, the Blu-ray Disc features great picture with excellent color and detail. Disney's first lossless DTS track makes one heck of an impression, with a full sound field, ample bass, and balanced range. Though it sports a great presentation, overall this release is recommended for fans only. Those outside the Cult of Pink won't find much worthwhile viewing (or listening) here.