7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A young orphan seeks refuge from his abusive adoptive parents with the help of a pet dragon and a couple who live in a lighthouse.
Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Oakes Fegley, Oona Laurence, Wes BentleyFamily | 100% |
Fantasy | 53% |
Adventure | 53% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Disney continues to revisit its older films in the live-action realm with much success. Pete's Dragon follows up on Cinderella and The Jungle Book (and precedes Beauty and the Beast) and it's the best of them so far. While not exactly the same as the others -- the original Pete's Dragon was a blend of live action and animation rather than straight animation -- the formula holds tightly enough to lump it in the same category. It's a beautifully simple film, polished but allowing the wonder and raw emotion rather than spectacle and special effects to dictate the movie's cadence. It's subdued and sublime and portends great things for its Writer/Director, David Lowery, who is currently attached to a future live-action re-imagining of Peter Pan.
A dragon and its boy.
Pete's Dragon arrives on Blu-ray with a nicely balanced, not too flashy, tried-and-true 1080p transfer. Much like the movie, really. It can be fairly dark under some of the thicker woodland canopy, where color vibrancy gives way to a bit of darkness. Nevertheless, core greens -- leafy greens and Elliot's green fur -- and smaller accents hold up nicely under the conditions. Brighter, more directly lit scenes thrive, revealing more brilliant greens but also a healthy variety of shades around town and on clothing and vehicles. Details are true and effortlessly complex. The digital source material pushes the movie ever so slightly flat, but never at the expense of clarity and finer point definition on clothes, skin, woodland elements, or other natural and manmade environments. Black levels are deep and honest. Flesh tones appear accurate. A hint of aliasing is evident in a spot or two, ditto banding and source noise, though none of them ever last long enough to raise alarms, let alone an eyebrow. Overall, this is a high quality release from Disney.
Pete's Dragon soars onto Blu-ray with a high end DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. The only real drawback is a mild timidity at reference levels; there's a slight hushed feel to some dialogue and music, but clarity is certainly never lacking. Music is well spaced across the front, enjoying natural envelopment and just the right amount of low end depth. The movie is punctuated by several heavy action-style moments or support pieces. Crashing trees, Elliot's rumbly footfalls, and a couple of vehicle crashes and perilous moments are all supported by a deep and well defined bass pronouncement. Environmental ambience of the lighter variety, largely woodland specific details but also a few other scattered bits around town or the logging camp, are nicely integrated as naturally occurring and expertly positioned atmospherics. Dialogue, even as it's occasionally a touch too quiet, enjoys effortless clarity and prioritization from the front-center channel.
Pete's Dragon contains a commentary track, a few featurettes, deleted scenes, and two music videos. A DVD copy of the film and a Disney
digital copy voucher are included with purchase.
Pete's Dragon may not wind up nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, or any of the other major categories, but it's every bit as deserving as anything else to come out this year. It's a wonderful movie, composed and executed in a way that emphasizes its heart and soul rather than its cruder mechanics. It's uniquely simple, beautifully scored and supported by popular music. Touching, tender, graceful, and a joy to watch and feel, this is moviemaking as it should be, and usually isn't. Disney's Blu-ray release of Pete's Dragon features high quality video and audio. A nice little allotment of extra content is included. Pete's Dragon earns my highest recommendation.
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50th Anniversary Edition | DVD Packaging
1963
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40th Anniversary Edition
1982
1993
DVD Packaging
1977
80th Anniversary Edition
1939
30th Anniversary Edition | US Version
1984
20th Anniversary Edition | Mastered in 4K
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