7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.6 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.6 |
In the Underworld, Vampires are a secret clan of modern aristocratic sophisticates whose mortal enemies are the Lycans (werewolves), a shrewd gang of street thugs who prowl the city's underbelly. No one knows the origin of their bitter blood feud, but the balance of power between them turns even bloodier when a beautiful young Vampire warrior and a newly-turned Lycan with a mysterious past fall in love. Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman star in this modern-day, action-packed tale of ruthless intrigue and forbidden passion all set against the dazzling backdrop of a timeless, Gothic metropolis.
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Michael Sheen, Shane Brolly, Bill NighyAction | 100% |
Thriller | 60% |
Fantasy | 43% |
Horror | 17% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Italian
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
A modern gothic tale of forbidden love and betrayal, told through the setting of a centuries-old
war
between Vampires and Lycans (werewolves), Underworld could in many ways be seen as an
updating of Shakespeare’s tragedies. It doesn’t ever reach the level of high literature we have
come to expect from the great bard himself, but it still succeeds on many levels.
Admittedly, when I first saw Underworld, I was quite skeptical that it would be much more than
another blood and gore horror flick with the central protagonist - in this case Kate Beckinsale as
“Selene”, a “Death Dealer” – laying down some major whoop-ass. I was wrong, very wrong. Yes,
it
has the action, and the gore, and the Vampire/Werewolf lore, but at its heart, Underworld’s
themes
of forbidden love, honor, betrayal, revenge, and social segregation are universal themes that
anyone can understand, and help to take this film beyond your typical Hollywood horror flick.
Presented in a 2.37:1 aspect ratio, Underworld Unrated Extended Cut is another in an
increasingly
huge list of superb AVC encodings from Sony.
Originally shot in Super-35 and then scanned at 2k to a digital intermediate where it was
manipulated from then on entirely in the digital realm before going back out to print, the film is
darkly lit and has an intentionally de-saturated color palette, which was then colored with a blue
tint. This is captured accurately throughout. Blacks, blues, grays, and whites
look superb. In the few scenes where some natural flesh tones can be seen - in the hospital
where Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman) works - flesh tones were presented
accurately.
Fine grain is captured in detail, giving the presentation an incredibly sharp, detailed, and film-like
look throughout. From the smallest objects in the background to the closest shots, detail was
accurate and nearly three-dimensional.
This AVC encoding from Sony obsoletes the previous DVD release in picture quality without
question.
Sony continues to impress in the audio department on this release. If you thought the Dolby
Digital 5.1 soundtrack on the 2-disc unrated extended cut release sounded really good, then
prepare to be amazed. The English uncompressed PCM 5.1 soundtrack is nothing less than
breathtaking.
The mix is perfect, and the mastering superb. Right from the beginning, the moody score sets
the tone and never lets up, but character dialogue is never lost, and special effects sound
smooth, natural, and realistic. There is a beautiful ambience to everything that adds to the
drama, and EQ'ing is easy on the ears. This is an audiophile delight.
Everything sounds warm, full, round, and correct. Overall tonality blended perfectly with the look
and feel of the film itself, aiding the moodiness and gloom. The mid-range sounded perfect, solid
and well balanced. There was ample use of the surrounds, and the LFE channel was used to good
effect, never becoming cumbersome. As I was listening, I thought, "this is the sound of blue" -
awesome, in a word.
Also included on this Blu-ray release, are an Italian uncompressed PCM 5.1 soundtrack, and
English, French, and Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks, making use of the superior disc
capacity and bandwidth available on the BD-50 disc.
All of the extras included in the 2-disc unrated extended cut DVD release - minus the 48 page
Underworld comic book, 16 page production sketchbook, and TV spots - are included in this Blu-
ray disc edition. All extras are in standard definition, 4:3.
The highlights of the extras included are the Fang vs. Fiction documentary,
which veers
off more into the realm of Science Fiction, though claiming to be based on science, and the three
Featurettes: Visual Effects of Underworld, Designing Underworld
, and
The Look of Underworld which offer a decent level of introspection and detail
for
anyone interested in the process of filmmaking.
Subtitles
English, English SDH, French, Italian
Special Features
Audio commentary with director Len Wiseman, Kate Beckinsale, and Scott Speedman
Outtakes -The outtakes are really a gag reel, and not bonus scenes, as one might expect.
Fang vs. Fiction - A documentary exploring the mythology and lore of vampires and werewolves
throughout history.
Storyboard Comparison – a side-by-side comparison of a few key scenes with their original
storyboard sketches.
Music video: Finch: "Worms of the Earth"
Featurettes
Making of Underworld
Visual Effects of Underworld
Creature Effects
Stunts
Designing Underworld – explores the production design of the film.
The Look of Underworld – explores the cinematography of Underworld.
Sights & Sounds – another behind the scenes gag reel of sorts.
Universal themes that can be applied to the real world, and a stellar performance by Kate Beckinsale help move this film out of the realm of other Hollywood horror flicks while Sony's superb AVC video encoding and awesome uncompressed PCM 5.1 soundtrack make this a must buy Blu- ray disc release.
plus Unrated Cut on Standard Blu-ray
2003
Unrated Extended Cut
2003
2003
plus Unrated Cut on Standard Blu-ray | PS5 4K Movie Essentials
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