6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
A Russian mobster orchestrates a crooked land deal, putting millions of dollars up for grabs and attracting all of London's criminal underworld.
Starring: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandiwe Newton, Mark Strong, Idris ElbaThriller | 100% |
Crime | 97% |
Action | 83% |
Dark humor | 40% |
Heist | 28% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy (on disc)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Writer / Director Guy Ritchie roared into the world of popular film in 1998 when his quirky debut feature, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, became an unlikely cult hit that thrilled audiences and critics around the globe. He was immediately hailed as Britain's answer to Quentin Tarantino as his style focused on comic dialogue and extreme violence, much along the same vein as Mr Tarantino's work. 2000 saw Ritchie release another popular and critical favorite in Snatch; a star studded crime caper that expanded Ritchie's unique take on London's seedy criminal underworld. The films that have followed, unfortunately, have not been as successful. In particular, Mr. Ritchie found himself swimming in a sea of bad press, poor attendance and critical backlash over his third film, Swept Away. Revolver, his fourth film, proved to be equally disappointing. It's been a tough road back to prominence for Guy Ritchie. In an attempt at getting back to his roots, RocknRolla was born. Would audiences welcome him back to the fold, or had his career been too badly damaged?
SPARTA... sorry, wrong movie.
RocknRolla makes its Blu-ray debut in a VC-1 encoded 1080p transfer in its original
aspect ratio of 2.40:1. It's an odd-looking movie, to be sure, and viewers might be
immediately taken aback by the sepia-toned color scheme of the presentation. Don't adjust
your set, however, as this is the look director Guy Ritchie and Cinematographer David Higgs
intended for the movie. RocknRolla was shot entirely on high definition video
cameras and, unlike many features shot on video, no attempt has been made to try to
simulate the look of film. The image is consistently smooth and has a washed out look that
is light on detail and heavy on sheen.
Make no mistake, RocknRolla is a tough transfer to grade. I can only assume that
the look represented on this Blu-ray disc is representative of the intent of its creators, but
it's just not a whole lot of fun watch. The majority of the image is, as I mentioned earlier, a
brownish sepia-toned hue that becomes tiresome during the course of the movie. I didn't
detect and abnormalities in the image; halos, edge enhancement and noise were all
conspicuously absent. Vibrant color does appear from time to time and helps to break up the
monotony of the movie's nearly monochromatic image. Given my assumption regarding the
intentions of the filmmakers, I'll rate RocknRolla with an above-average score of 4/5.
There's nothing wrong with the image, but I doubt many viewers will be calling on the movie
as demo material.
Fans of lossless audio will be pleased to learn that RocknRolla has been given the 5.1 Dolby TrueHD treatment on Blu-ray, despite the limited capacity of its BD25 disc. The film is dialogue heavy, with only a smattering of action-oriented scenes. As such, much of the presentation is centered in the front soundstage and features a mix of music and dialogue. For those of you who have trouble deciphering English accents, no lossless encode will help you in your quest to discern much of the dialogue in RocknRolla. Regardless, the track does an admirable job of reproducing voices, music and the occasional gunshot. Don't look for too much surround action, however. When called for, this TrueHD track does provide some nice dynamics, bass and limited surround activity that will please action fans to some degree. Much like the film's video encode, there's nothing wrong with the film's surround track. In the end, while performing its tasks as well as is necessary, RocknRolla's TrueHD track simply isn't demo-worthy.
Here's what's included:
- Feature Commentary with Director Guy Ritchie and Actor Mark Strong
- "Blokes, Birds and Backhanders: Inside Rock-n-Rolla"
- "Guy's Town"
- Deleted Scene
- Digital Copy
I wish that I could report on a slew of exceptional extras in conjunction with this Blu-ray
release of RocknRolla, but that's simply not to be. Things start off on a slow note
with a tedious and uninspired commentary from Director Guy Ritchie and star Mark Strong.
This is followed by two short, EPK-like featurettes that offer little additional information on
the film. Finally, there is a single deleted scene that is so utterly pointless that its a miracle
it was even included at all. On the plus side, there is a digital copy disc included.
iPod users rejoice; you can now carry a copy of RocknRolla with you everywhere.
RocknRolla is neither Guy Ritchie's best film, nor his worst. Fans of his terrific Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch will find similarities between these earlier films and his latest, despite RocknRolla missing some of the creative spark that made his previous efforts such a joy to experience. Warner has brought the film to Blu-ray with an above average video transfer and commendable audio, though supplements are lacking and uninspired. Fans of Mr. Ritchie's work will undoubtedly be thrilled at the Director's return to form. For those unfamiliar with his work, I encourage you to approach RocknRolla with patience and a willingness to give the film a second viewing. You'll be glad you did.
2006
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20th Anniversary Edition
2000
2010
1998
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2-Disc Special Edition
2008
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Extended Edition
2011
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1995
St George's Day
2012
1998
2012
Extreme Cut
2009
2001
2013