6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
The auto-biographical story of Howard Stern, the radio-rebel who is now also a TV-personality, an author and a movie star.
Starring: Howard Stern, Robin Quivers, Mary McCormack, Fred Norris, Paul GiamattiComedy | 100% |
Biography | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, English SDH, French, German
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Private Parts pulls down the pants on shock jock Howard Stern, one of radio's biggest stars and a man whose on-air antics have entertained countless millions through the years. But unlike most biopics, Private Parts stars Stern himself, as well as several others from his radio inner circle, allowing for the most authentic Stern story possible. It's a story of humble beginnings, big dreams, hard work, and eventually the payoff of fame and fortune. But Stern's life is not about living the persona off the air...not all the time, anyway. The film works to ensure audiences see the other side, the tenderhearted married man who remains faithful to his wife even through temptations that torture his very essence. Stern makes the movie fun. His personality shines through, the jokes always hit, and the movie is sure to both win over new fans and delight longtime listeners.
Private Parts rolls onto Blu-ray with a pleasant and proficient 1080p transfer. Grain management is excellent. It's even, consistent, and accentuating of the picture's natural filmic structure. There are a few pops and speckles here and there interrupting the excellence, but rarely to a truly intrusive level. Details are excellent. The picture is clear, robust, and perfectly cable of revealing fine skin textures, the depth and detail of Howard's curly hair, and textures all around the various broadcast booths, from the simple lines and elements in Howard's first job to the more dense and complex and advanced equipment in the D.C. studio. Colors are even and pleasant, delivering well rounded contrast, healthy skin tones, natural clothing hues, and holding steady to the darker colors that populate the higher end radio studios, interrupted by various light sources on consoles and the like. Black levels are slightly light at times but on the whole the image looks terrific. Add the absence of troubling encode issues and fans are going to be thrilled with Paramount's Private Parts Blu-ray.
Private Parts crashes the airwaves with a capable DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Music springs to life on several occasions, notably when Howard makes the move to New York in chapter 21, the scene bursting with robust width, healthy immersion, and terrific detail. The track additionally delivers positive atmospherics, some more pronounced than others, but all with superior spacing and detail. Thunder rolls with natural presence across the backs in chapter five, and in chapter 30 microphone reverb and crowd din present with healthy immersion and clarity. There's a solid low end response during the "radio sex" scene in chapter 16, one of the film's most famous moments and the track's best explosion of low end content. Dialogue is crystal clear, whether in the radio booth or out in the world. It's vigorous, detailed, center grounded, and well prioritized at all times.
This Blu-ray release of Private Parts contains no supplemental content. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.
Private Parts is a hearty and endlessly entertaining peek inside Howard Stern's life and growth from humble disc jokey to the king of the airwaves. That so many of the real people, including Stern himself, populate the movie only adds to its richness and the ease with which it presents the personality for all to enjoy. The movie is well paced, funny, and even enjoys a layer of dramatic undercurrent to solidify the shenanigans. Paramount's Blu-ray is disappointingly featureless but the video and audio presentations are first-class. Recommended.
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Warner Archive Collection
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2-Disc Unrated Edition
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