Tin Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Tin Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 10, 2024

Mill Creek has released the 2007 TV miniseries 'Tin Man,' directed by Nick Willing and starring Zooey Deschanel, Neal McDonough, Alan Cumming, Raoul Max Trujillo, Kathleen Robertson, and Richard Dreyfuss, to the Blu-ray format. This is the film's second release to Blu-ray. It was first issued to the 1080p format in 2010 by Vivendi Visual Entertainment. I did not review, nor do I have access to, that release, so I cannot offer a direct comparison between the releases. However, by all appearances the extras are identical, but there are some technical differences to the audio and video presentations that make a review of this issue worthwhile on its own merits.

Jeffrey Kauffman's review of the Vivendi Visual Entertainment disc offers an excellent and comprehensive review of the series; please click here to read his thoughts.

Tin Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Vivendi Visual Entertainment release of Tin Man was released with the VC-1 codec. This Mill Creek issue presents the miniseries with the MPEG-4 codec. How much difference that makes to the image I cannot say, but looking through Jeff's review this appears to be a mild downgrade, at least in terms of noise and compression. As with so many Mill Creek releases, compression is a difficult stumbling block for the image. It's never egregious, but it is most certainly present in some quantity in nearly every shot. From basic viewing distance it's not too terribly bad, which is in some ways a win for the image given the program's length and the fact that Mill Creek has crammed it all onto a single disc (it's broken into three parts from the main menu screen, by the way, and there is no option to play the series straight through without interruption). To be sure, the compression issues are, upon closer examination, a little more intense. Noise is also an issue. Look at the background, during an outdoor scene around the 33-minute mark, where noise is prevalent against some reeds and waters in the background.

With those problem areas out of the way, it's time to get into the good stuff. The picture is generally pleasing, certainly lacking the sophistication of superior images shot and finished with greater equipment and budget and attention to detail, but the picture is stout, offering suitably crisp details and well capable definition to basic skin and clothes but also very good clarity to makeup on the various characters and their prosthetics, etc. Some of the digital inserts are a little shaky looking, but that is more a hinderance of the series' budget rather than a difficulty of the Blu-ray encode. Overall, it's sharp enough and very pleasing to the eye. Colors are suitably deep, lacking the richness, vividness, and absolute authenticity of the best Blu-ray images (and superior productions) but never wanting for significant gains in any of these areas. Black levels can be a little murky and vacillate between light crush and mild purple-ish soupiness. Whites are not absolutely crisp (but are generally satisfying) and skin tones look good enough.

I did note a random white horizontal line popping up along the bottom of the screen at the 6:00 mark of part two, and it repeated on rewind. I'm not sure what that was, but I did not notice anything else of the sort elsewhere.

Tin Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

More than the change in the video codec, it's the change in the audio presentation which is arguably the most significant in the transition from Vivendi Visual Entertainment to Mill Creek. Where the Vivendi disc offered listeners a well-reviewed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, Mill Creek offers an audio downgrade to the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation. The track is fairly shallow and inconsequential. To be sure, there are some nice examples of surround extension here and there; one fine example comes in a fairly deep, swirling, and very immersive series of cues around the 14:30 mark of part two. There are no major moments of significance in the film, nothing resembling audio legend or even really memorable audio usage, but the track is largely proficient at a base level, even if it is a little quiet at reference volume. Music is clear enough, offering suitable spacing (largely along the front) and acceptable detail. Mild environmental fill, like blowing wind and rustling leaves, do well enough to draw the listener into the film's varied environments. Dialogue is quieter than anticipated at reference volume but is suitably intelligible and centered. Prioritization is never poor, but there are moments of struggle thanks to the quieter nature of the spoken word.

Tin Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Tin Man contains all of the supplemental content from the Vivendi Visual Entertainment release. Per Jeff's review, all of the runtimes are identical, but a few of the names have been slightly altered, generally to add more to the title. See below for a rundown of everything that's included and please click here for full supplemental content reviews. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• Beyond the Yellow Brick Road: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Creating a Masterpiece! (480i, 1.78:1, 21:55).
• On the Set with the Director: Travel Further Down the Road with Director Nick Willing (480i, 1.78:1, 6:02).
• Wizard Tricks - Hilarious Gag Reel (480i, 1.78:1, 9:21).
• The Brain, Heart and Courage of the Movie: Interviews with the Cast and Crew (480i, 1.78:1):
  
  
  • Director Nick Willing (24:15).
  • Alan Cumming (11:23).
  • Neal McDonough (9:35).
  • Zooey Deschanel (14:48).
  • Kathleen Robertson (10:26).
• Tin Man Original Trailer (480i, 1.78:1, 2:21).
• Raw and Uncut -- A Sit Down with Raoul Trujillo (480i, 1.78:1, 15:40).
• Making the Mystic Man with Dichard Dreyfuss and Director Nick Willing (480i, 1.78:1, 36:36).

Tin Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One of the supplements labels Tin Man as a "masterpiece!" I would certainly go nowhere close to that word, but it is a solid enough mini series with just enough in the way of novelty amidst familiarity, not to mention well drawn and acted characters, to draw in audiences and hold them for the duration. It's not a masterpiece at all, but definitely more than serviceable entertainment. Mill Creek's Blu-ray is feature packed. Video is adequate, as is the lossy audio. The Vivendi version looks to offer the better purchase, but this is fine as a bargain alternative.