Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Unbroken Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 18, 2015

The saga of Western prisoners in Japanese prison camps during World War II is no stranger to cinema. From Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence to Empire of the Sun, from Bridge on the River Kwai to The Railway Man, the difficult labors, emotional struggles, physical pains, and unending uncertainties have been projected onto the screen with class, grace, and beautiful craftsmanship and with unflinching authority and command of the harsh realities but ofttimes high spirits that stood tall against physical and emotional oppression. So few sub genres have produced so many wonderful films as this one. Add another to the small but storied list with Director Angelina Jolie's (In the Land of Blood and Honey) Unbroken, the true story of an American Olympian's struggle to survive and his refusal to use his fame to satisfy the demands of his enemies. The film, based on the book of the same name by Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit), is graceful and uplifting, a testament to not only hero Louis Zamperini but to the human spirit and its ability to withstand anything in the face of that which would tear it down.

Unrelenting.

Olympic runner Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) has answered the call of duty, leaving behind his running shoes for a seat inside a bomber. Once known as wayward adolescent who matured into the fastest high school athlete in the country and proudly nicknamed "The Torrance Tornado," Louis found himself overseas as part of the U.S. Olympic contingent in Berlin for the 1936 games. But nothing in his life could prepare him for the hardships to follow. After his bomber barely makes it back to base after a trying run, he and a makeshift crew are sent on a rescue mission in a plane that's barely fit for duty. Somewhere over the Pacific, its engines fail. Louis survives the crash, as do two of his crew mates. They're stranded, without much in the way of drinkable water and forced to live off the raw flesh of whatever fish they happen to catch, for 47 days. Little did he know a potentially worse fate could await him when he's pulled from the water and transferred to a Japanese detention facility under the command of the harsh Mutsuhiro Watanabe (Takamasa Ishihara) whom the men have nicknamed "The Bird."

The film's most important moment comes early on, well before Louis finds himself adrift in the Pacific or interned in a Japanese camp, long before, even, his rise as a formidable runner and entry into the Olympic games. He's sitting in church and overhears a sermon on forgiveness, about forgiving the sin, smiling on the sinner, the contrasts of night and day as a metaphor for good and evil, and the importance of loving, rather than hating, an enemy. While the film largely leaves behind the factor of faith in Zamperini's story, its current runs deeply throughout. Rarely does the film overtly examine Zamperini in that light beyond those opening minutes and in a text addendum at film's end. Yet one can see how those notions of forgiveness and love drive him in how he stands tall against Bird on numerous occasions, whether accepting punishment for his refusal to cooperate with Japanese propaganda or, later, when he stands up under enormous physical and emotional burdens in the film's triumphant denouement. While it's a shame the movie doesn't dig a little deeper or take the time to depict Zamperini's life, spirituality, and endeavors after the war, that unmistakable air of triumphant spirituality does hang over the film, meshing with its beautiful core story of strength and determination against the most challenging odds.

That still leaves the movie with quite a bit of room to explore, and it does so to positive, uplifting effect, though certainly not crossing any emotional territory that hasn't been well traversed before it. The film works extraordinarily well in a rather straightforward manner, relying on the power of the story and the stature of the man, yes, but also depending on general narrative flow and basic human spirit to carry it through to fruition. To claim that there's anything emotionally new in Unbroken would be to hold it higher than it deserves, but the film does manage to get everything right, even if that means it only exists in a comfort zone of classic cinema tragedy-turned-triumph where odds are overcome, burdens are bested, and spirits soar. Angeline Jolie has done everything right -- and that makes Unbroken a powerful experience -- but it doesn't break through to uncharted territory, either. Audiences expecting a classic narrative in mostly new clothes -- the core story details, not the broader generalities -- will find the movie a major success. Those hoping that it somehow reinvents the wheel will be left disappointed.

Angelina Jolie's latest turn behind the camera proves a significantly more fluid, richer one than her work on the aforementioned In the Land of Blood and Honey, that a film that certainly payed with the feel that it was crafted by someone with skill but not total confidence in constructing a complicated narrative. That's changed in Unbroken. While this film's tone is assuredly different, Jolie's command of it is certain. The film speaks freely and flows effortlessly with an intimacy and attention to detail that places it in an elite status of comfortably complete moviemaking. As with the narrative, though, Jolie doesn't break new ground in her approach to the material, letting the story speak for itself rather than allow it to be devoured by a needless bit of added fluff from the other side of the camera. Jack O'Connell's turn as the Olympian-turned-airman-turned-survialist-turned-detainee is a triumph of spirit. O'Connell, like Jolie, relies a bit more heavily on tone and story detail and implied character growth and exploration rather than overt and unnecessary clutter getting in the way of the performance. It's a simple yet remarkably effective effort that shines through a simple grasp of a complex life whereby the ups and down and the endless determination do the heavy lifting -- figuratively, even, by the end -- and define the character better than endless streams of verbal sentimentality ever could.

Unbroken Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Unbroken features a triumphant 1080p transfer. The image is squeaky clean but never takes on that aggressively flat digital sheen. Its colors favor earthy yellows and tans that dominate but still give way to spots of other color -- the red on the Japanese flag or green foliage -- while contrast is tuned to favor that earthy and mild sepia look. Details are striking. Image clarity is unflappable, and the result is a picture with a constant bombardment of perfectly defined textures: gravel, grass, brick, and wood in flashbacks and caked-on dirt and mud, frayed clothes, pinpoint Japanese uniform textures, facial lines and stubble, general grime, and other bits in the camp. Much of the best textural details are seen on the bomber where little bits of wear, metallic surfaces, and instrument clusters are astonishingly rich and true-to-life. Flesh tones favor that slightly washed out, lightly pale appearance. Black levels, on the other hand, are deep and accurate, evident most predominantly in those scenes in which Louis is housed in a small shelter when he's first taken prisoner. The image shows very light banding around bright light sources on several occasions, but it doesn't distract to the level of knocking the score of an otherwise perfect 1080p Blu-ray presentation.

Unbroken Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unbroken arrives on Blu-ray with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, sampled for the purpose of this review as a core Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack. Even without the added overhead speakers and other details found within the Atmos track, the basic 7.1 configuration offers a well defined and ofttimes fully immersive listening experience. The track handles a good variety of heavier elements with commendable clarity and ease. Whether machine gun fire, explosions, crashes, hefty waves, or other chaotic beats, the track finds a sturdiness and attention to detail under even the heaviest of sonic burdens. The low end is deep and potent but never overbearing, while the 7.1 track allows the sound to flow with a notable effortlessness as the sounds of war and chaos maneuver through the stage, right down to the smallest little rattles and details inside the bomber. Lighter ambient effects -- falling rain pelting the raft, light choppy or rolling waters in calmer moments, crowd cheers at a race, the general background din of a prisoner worksite -- are also presented with precise, natural placement and envelopment. Music is balanced and true, perhaps a little less than fully aggressive and sometimes falling a hair toward the shallow side but nevertheless offering a mostly full and detailed musical experience. Dialogue is effortlessly delivered and presented with a healthy and clear center-focus placement with light reverberation evident in a couple of key scenes.

Unbroken Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unbroken contains a handful of deleted scenes and several featurettes. Inside the Blu-ray case, buyers will find a DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Dad Comes Home (0:50), Light and Darkness (2:23), Victory Kiss (0:55), Cecy (1:24), Bird Plays "Sakura Sakura" on Shamisen (2:09), Bird Plays "Cherry Blossom Song" on Shamisen (0:59), Bird Hits Fitzgerald (4:08), Louie Taken to Barracks After Beating (0:58), Family Photo (0:35), and What a Deal (1:33).
• Inside Unbroken (1080p): A three-part feature. Fifty Years in the Making (5:33) offers a look at the story's long wait to come to the screen, Hillenbrand's work on her novel, Jolie's attachment to the project, and Louis Zamperini's involvement in the project and his hope for the story. The Fight of a Storyteller Director Angelina Jolie (11:45) features a look at practical and digital effects, crafting the aerial footage, shooting the sequences on the open ocean, filming the POW sequences and the emotional realities thereof, making the film's emotional climax, and folding the entire Zamperini story into a single film. Finally, The Hardiest Generation (10:13) briefly looks at the importance of getting the story right and the realities and dangers of World War II aviators but focuses primarily on supporting characters.
• The Real Louis Zamperini (1080p, 29:47): A detailed look back at Zamperini's life, including his early years, relationship with his family, his running career and fame, competition in the Olympic games, his career as a bombardier, life on the raft following the plane crash, transfer to "Execution Island," refusal to partake in propaganda, his relationship with "The Bird," his return home, his celebrity, emotional turmoil, his spiritual awakening, forgiving his captors, work with troubled youth, his charity, and his death.
• Cast and Crew Concert Featuring Miyavi (1080p, 7:42): Angelina Jolie introduces a performance from Miyavi.
• Prison Camp Theater: Cinderella (1080p, 6:29): A fuller version of the performance glimpsed in the film. With bookend interviews.
• Louis' Path to Forgiveness (1080p, 6:43): A closer look at Zamperini's spiritual salvation, the details of which mostly repeat from the supplement entitled The Real Louis Zamperini.

Unbroken Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Unbroken is living proof that the best stories are those that soar, that exemplify the best man has to offer even in the face of his worst. It's also proof that good cinema need not be fully original. Unbroken is a largely interchangeable picture that explores the same sort of themes as many before it -- within it sub genre and elsewhere alike -- that only replaces details and superficial elements, leaving intact that uplifting, positive core. And even as it's hardly novel, it's still a terrific experience, a moving and relevant tribute to a hero and a demonstration that cinema can stand up to an absence of originality when its heart is firmly fixed in the right place. Universal's Blu-ray release of Unbroken features tremendous video, superb audio, and a healthy assortment of extras. Highly recommended.