Leatherheads Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Leatherheads Blu-ray Movie Review

Mill Creek has released the 2008 History-Comedy film 'Leatherheads' to Blu-ray. At time of release, it is exclusively available from Mill Creek as part of a two-film bundle with 'The American.' Universal relesed the film to Blu-ray in 2010 and that disc contained superior video and supplementary content, all of which is absent here.

Leatherheads Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Leatherheads arrives on Blu-ray for the second time, and for the first time from Mill Creek, with a 1080p transfer, here encoded in MPEG-4; the 2008 Blu-ray used the antiquated VC-1 encode. This appears to compare favorably to the Universal disc, and is likely sourced from the same master, resulting in an image that is very much similar to the 2008 issue for detail and clarity. In fact, the here for that disc largely suffices here, but for this caveat: the compression on this disc is plainly inferior. The image struggles with macroblocking, rendering a number of lower light backgrounds, primarily, as messy, chunky digital artifacts. Such are not usually so severe as to distract or even detract from the experience, but the typical Mill Creek compression issues do hinder an otherwise lovely image.

Leatherheads Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mill Creek brings Leatherheads to Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track is lively and full, offering very solid clarity and an exceptional sense of space. Whether old-timey score, crashes and hits on the field, or simple environmental ambience, the track is in very good shape. Dialogue is always clear and center focused. The track is not significantly different from the track of the same configuration as found on the 2008 Blu-ray. Please click here for a few additional thoughts.

Leatherheads Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, there are no supplements on this Mill Creek disc. The 2008 Universal presentation included an audio commentary track and a comprehensive picture-in-picture supplement that contained a slew of content. As it ships with the above-linked two-film bundle, no DVD or digital copies are included with purchase and the bundle does not ship with a slipcover.

Leatherheads Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Leatherheads is a fun movie with a lot going for it, and even though it falters from the middle of the film on, there is much to enjoy here, for football fans and non-fans alike. Much of the movie is pure comedy gold, and the romantic angle doesn't feel forced. The football segments are more for laughs than serious sports action or drama, however, and when the focus attempts to shift to the dramatic at the end of the film, albeit with a few more laugh-out-loud moments tossed in, it doesn't quite work. Leatherheads is a crowd-pleaser to be sure, featuring another fine performance from George Clooney, who is right at home in a comedy or in a serious dramatic film (Good Night, and Good Luck, for example) and is sure to win over even more fans in Leatherheads. Mill Creek's Blu-ray features good video save for the compression issues. Audio is fine. All supplements have been cut. Recommended, but be aware that, at time of writing, the superior Universal edition is still available and at a lower price, even when buying alongside The American.