Moon Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Moon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 17, 2009

Winner of the Best New British Feature award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Duncan Jones' "Moon" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. Amongst the supplemental features on the disc are an audio commentary with writer/director Duncan Jones, director of photography Gary Shaw, concept designer Gavin Rothery and production designer Tony Noble; a second audio commentary with writer/director Duncan Jones and producer Stuart Fenegan; director Duncan Jones's short film "Whistle"; filmmaker's Q&A from the Sundance Film Festival; and more. With optional English, English SDH, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Hindi and Bahasa subtitles. Region-Free.

A "harvester"

The Future. Lunar Industries, Earth's the largest energy provider, have built a small station in a far corner of the Moon where their "harvesters" collect helium-3. Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) is the only man on the station - together with the super intelligent computer Gerty (Kevin Spacey, American Beauty), he monitors and directs the "harvesters". Sam has been on the station for nearly three years, and now that his contract is finally running out, he is looking forward to meeting his wife and daughter again.

During a routine inspection of one of the "harvesters", Sam crashes his lunar mobile. He wakes up back in the station where Gerty informs him that he has suffered mild brain injury. Gerty also tells him that he should not go back to work until he has fully recovered.

Sam ignores Gerty’s advice and heads back to the control room where he sees a man who looks exactly like him. At first, Sam concludes that his brain is playing tricks on him and asks Gerty to clarify how bad his injuries are; but later on, when he approaches the man and he casually informs him that his name is also Sam Bell, he begins to suspect that he may not be the only living creature on Lunar Industries’ station.

Moon is a beautifully lensed minimalist sci-fi production that effectively avoids most every genre cliché one could think of. It tells an intelligent story that reaches far and leaves one pondering a number of provocative questions. Some have been asked in similarly-themed films (Solaris, Outland); others haven’t.

Despite its futuristic setting, however, Moon is very much a film stuck in the present. The overwhelming majority of the dilemmas its main protagonists face are not uncommon. Even the super intelligent computer Gerty can be seen as "normal" - which is why Moon reminded me a lot about Iain Softley’s K-PAX; it blends fantasy and reality in a genuinely entertaining fashion.

Moon is also to be commended for abstaining from preaching what the future would look like. The film intelligently suggests that while radical advancements in technology are more than likely, radical changes in the way people feel and express feelings are not.

The film ends on a happy note, though not an outright optimistic one. Also, there is plenty of symbolism in the main protagonists' words and actions, which could be easily missed if one does not pay close attention.

Moon is directed by Duncan Jones, son of legendary British musician, actor and producer David Bowie. The film had a limited budget and was shot in only 33 days. Earlier this year, however, Moon won the Best New British Feature award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Indie star Sam Rockwell, a status he is surely bound to lose now, is outstanding in Moon. His never ending self-questioning is fascinating to behold, providing the film with wonderful depth and elegance.

Given its limited funding, Moon looks great. The outside shots from the surface of the Moon where the "harvesters" collect helium-3, in particular, are outstanding. Cinematographer Gary Shaw and visual effects specialists Sam Bassett (The Day The Earth Stood Still) and Kevin Campbell (V for Vendetta), concept designer Gavin Rothery, and production designer Tony Noble have done a remarkable job.

Moon is also complimented by a wonderful music score courtesy of Clint Mansell (The Fountain; The Wrestler; Blood: The Last Vampire).

Moon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Duncan Jones's Moon arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

I find it incredibly difficult to believe that the creators of Moon had a limited budget to work with - though this is an independent film, at times it certainly looks like a big Hollywood production. The AVC-encoded transfer definitely does the film justice. Detail is fantastic, clarity excellent and contrast very convincing from start to finish. The footage with the massive "harvester", in particular, looks stunning.

Moon has a clean, distinctively organic look, with blue being its prevalent color. This said, whites and grays tend to be warm and occasionally soft while blacks look rich and well saturated. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are not a serious issue of concern. I did not detect any severe banding issues either. The actual transfer is notably healthy - there are no disturbing scratches, debris, dirt, or stains. Finally, when blown through a digital projector, Moon remains pleasingly stable. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no PAL data preceding the main menu).

Moon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Thai Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, Sony Pictures Classics have provided optional English, English SDH, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Hindi and Bahasa subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very pleasing - it treats Clint Mansell's wonderful music score exceptionally well while at the same time it sustains a convincing balance with the dialog (during the second half of the film, there are plenty of gentle tunes that are used to further enhance the dramatic tone of the story). The actual dialog is unproblematic - it is clear, crisp and very easy to follow. With the exception of a few selected scenes, the surround activity is kept to a minimum. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review.

Moon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Commentary - an audio commentary with writer/director Duncan Jones, director of photography Gary Shaw, concept designer Gavin Rothery and production designer Tony Noble. While I did not find this commentary to be as informative as the second commentary included on this Blu-ray disc, I thought that it was rather entertaining. The four gentlemen address the production history of Moon, some of the technical challenges they had to overcome, the CGI effects and production designs, how specific scenes were shot, etc.

Commentary - an audio commentary with writer/director Duncan Jones and producer Stuart Fenegan. I found this commentary to be a lot more informative, particularly as far as the technical construction of Moon is concerned. It certainly provides a much more complete view of how the film came to exist. Highly recommended.

"Whistle" - a short film by director Duncan Jones. Subtitled in English, Chinese and Thai. (29 min, 480/60i).

The Making of Moon - a standard featurette with raw footage from Shepperton Studio, March 2008 where the film was shot. Director Duncan Jones and Sam Rockwell also discuss the story of Moon, its key characters, etc. Subtitled in English, Chinese and Thai. (17 min, 480/60i).

Creating the Visual Effects - visual effects supervisor at Cinesite Simon Stanley-Clamp discusses how many how key portions of Moon were created. Subtitled in English, Chinese and Thai. (12 min, 480/60i).

Q&A - Science Center Q&A with director Duncan Jones where he talks about how his film came to exist, some of the key themes in it, his fascination with science fiction, his desire to work with Sam Rockwell, the type of symbolism found in his film, etc. Subtitled in English, Chinese and Thai. (21 min, 1080/60i).

Q&A - filmmaker's Q&A at the Sundance Film Festival where director Duncan Jones once again addresses the history of his film, its message, how Kevin Spacey was brought on board, etc. Subtitled in English, Chinese and Thai. (12 min, 1080p).

Theatrical Trailer - (2 min, 1080p).

Trailers - trailers for 2012, Ghostbusters, Julie & Julia, Angels & Demons.

BD-Live Functionality -

Moon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Intelligently scripted, beautifully lensed and terrifically acted, Duncan Jones' Moon is a small treasure, a film you absolutely have to see! Sony Pictures Classics have put together a wonderful Blu-ray package, full of informative supplemental features that would answer just about any question you might come up with. Yes, this one comes VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.