7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.9 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
A wine tasting road trip to salute Jack's final days as a bachelor careens woefully sideways as he and Miles hit the gas en route to mid-life crises. The comically mismatched pair, who share little more than their history and a heady blend of failed potential and fading youth, soon find themselves drowning in wine and women. Emerging from a haze of pinot noir, wistful yearnings and trepidation about the future, the two inevitably collide with reality.
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh, Marylouise BurkeDrama | 100% |
Romance | 48% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: DTS 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Portuguese: DTS 5.1
English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional)
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
In a day and age where absurd comedy seems to be preferred by many audiences, it can become difficult to find those special little films that manage to marry intelligence and wit with genuinely heartfelt and inspired storytelling. Amongst contemporary filmmakers, one man in particular stands out from the pack of the most reliably astute producers of such films. Having written and directed the strangely endearing comedic classics Election, About Schmidt and Citizen Ruth, Alexander Payne continually delivers films that balance subversive and understated humor with a subtle understanding of fear, longing and sadness. Mr. Payne’s most recent feature, Sideways, further solidifies his talents for creating monumentally funny and unconventional films that never shy away from genuine emotion.
Jack's passionate plea for female companionship
Intentionally shot in moderately soft focus while featuring a somewhat bland color
palette, Sideways has never been a particularly lush-looking film. Given the film's
extremely low budget (by Hollywood standards) it should come as no surprise that
Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael shot the film as simply and naturally as possible.
There's no CGI, camera trickery or telecine tweaking in Sideways and the entire
films looks natural and unadulterated.
Colors are generally muted with the occasional splash of bright primaries. Skin-tones are a
bit washed out and black levels can, at times, appear slightly crushed. Much of the film takes
place indoors and at night; the film's use of natural light renders these scenes particularly
dark and black levels excel in these instances. Digital compression issues are, thankfully,
absent from this Blu-ray. I didn't detect any edge enhancement, macroblocking, ringing or
noise; fortunately the film's fine grain structure is apparent throughout. In comparing this
Blu-ray release to the previous DVD releases of Sideways, it is clear that colors,
detail and overall clarity are greatly improved. The best thing about this Blu-ray edition is
that Sideways finally looks like it was shot on film. The DVD version is far too
smooth and its limited resolution eliminates most of the grain that adds essential texture to the look
of the film. For those that appreciate the appearance of actual film, Sideways is
sure to please. Recommended!
As the catalog of available Blu-ray films continues to increase, films featuring fewer
explosions and less surround action will become more commonplace. Fans of explosive
soundtracks have been spoiled up to this point as studios have concentrated on demo
material as a priority in their Blu-ray release schedules. While there will always be plenty of
action films to satisfy that market, there are far more films like Sideways; films that
focus on dialogue over machine guns and quiet moments over momentary quiet.
Sideways is all about dialogue. It's a comedy / drama and no one has to fire a gun
or ride in a helicopter during the duration of the film. As such, what this Blu-ray will provide
is a perfectly realized 5.1 DTS HD-Master Audio soundtrack that never wavers in its
attention to making sure that every line is clearly heard. Those expecting anything else will
be disappointed as Sideways sounds like it is supposed to.
Here's what's included:
- Feature-length Audio Commentary with Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church
- Deleted Scenes
- Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
I wish that I could report that Sideways arrived on Blu-ray with a wealth of
supplements. Unfortunately, that's just not the case. On the bright side, however, the
limited features that did make it into the final product are better than average. The
highlight of the set is the feature-length audio commentary featuring stars Thomas Haden
Church and Paul Giamatti. It's a tremendously entertaining track; both men recount various
escapades on the set of the film while managing to sound like real friends in the process.
Seven deleted scenes are also included; most are lengthened scenes from the
film and none carry much weight, but it is always informative to see the impact that editing
can
make on a completed film. Finally, a short behind-the-scenes featurette is included. I didn't
find it to be particularly enlightening, but some viewers might find it interesting.
Sideways is a remarkable film. It explores some pretty dark territory while accenting Miles' downward spiral of self-doubt and loneliness with a genuinely subtle and intelligent sense of humor. Regardless of whether or not you happen to be a wine drinker, the film offers highly original storytelling and remarkable performances that continue to resonate to this day. Fox brings Sideways to Blu-ray replete with a video transfer that is a little underwhelming yet completely accurate to the film's theatrical exhibition. The audio presentation is subtle and front-loaded, yet remains consistent with the soundtrack's original intentions. Supplements, on the whole, are lacking in volume but excel in the quality department. Sideways is a film that I've cherished for quite some time. I sincerely hope that cinema aficionados who have yet to see this wonderful movie will give it a chance; it's a truly great film that deserves to be seen. Sideways easily earns my highest recommendation.
2012
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Includes "Him", "Her", and "Them" Cuts
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Filmmakers Signature Series
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1931
2009