Walk the Line Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Walk the Line Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 24, 2009

James Mangold's award-winning "Walk the Line" (2005) arrives on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom courtesy of 20th Century Fox. Similar to the French Blu-ray release, this disc contains the extended cut of the film, running at approximately 153 minutes. Furthermore, all of the supplemental features found on the French release have been ported on this release. Please note that this is also a 2BD set. With optional English SDH, French, French SDH, German, German SDH, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish and Dutch subtitles. Region-Free.

In the Air Force

I don’t know if James Mangold’s Walk the Line tells everything there is to tell about legendary singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, but it sure gives one a good idea about what the man was all about. A terrible tragedy, nasty drug addiction, difficult love affair, trouble with the law – Cash had a lot going in his life. He wasn’t always a good man – and while he was around, he was always upfront about it – but people loved him. They knew that Cash was real, and that was enough.

There are four key events from Cash’s (Joaquin Phoenix, Gladiator) life, which Walk the Line focuses on. The first one is the tragic death of his older brother, Jack (Lucas Till). It takes a long time for Cash to get used to living without him. His father, Ray (Robert Patrick, Terminator 2: Judgment Day), blames him for the loss.

The second one is Cash’s decision to join the U.S. Air Force. He leaves Arkansas and goes to Germany. There, he buys his first guitar and attempts to write his first song. Life at the Air Force, however, does not appeal to Cash and he goes back to the States where he marries his sweetheart, Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin, Love Come To The Executioner). Shortly after, Cash gets a deal with Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts, 3:10 to Yuma) of Sun Records in Memphis, and “Cry, Cry, Cry” becomes his first hit.

The third one is Cash’s encounter with Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Payne, Crazy), Elvis Presley (Tyler Hilton, Charlie Bartlett), and the lovely June Carter (Reese Witherspoon, Best Laid Plans). Cash immediately falls for June, but it takes awhile before the two become a couple. They begin touring together, which causes plenty of problems with Vivian back home. Around this time, Cash begins taking drugs.

The fourth and final one has to do with Cash’s drug addiction. His numerous, unsuccessful attempts to get closer to June have an utterly destructive effect on him, as well as his career. The two finally marry on March 1, 1968 in Franklin, Kentucky.

Walk the Line is based on two Cash autobiographies – “Man in Black” and “Cash: The Autobiography” – and a script by Gill Dennis and James Mangold. According to a number of online articles, Cash picked Phoenix to play him in the film after he saw him in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator.

If this is indeed true, it was certainly a great pick. Phoenix is electrifying in front of the camera – particularly during the second half of the film, when Cash struggles to keep his life in order - and his Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in 2006 is undoubtedly well deserved.

The real gem in Walk the Line, however, is Witherspoon; she literally becomes June. How for years she drives Cash crazy, and then ends up in his arms – how the entire progression of their relationship is captured, from the moment Cash first sees June to the moment where they officially become a couple – is a big part of why this film has resonated so incredibly well with a number of different viewers, even those who prior to seeing it knew very little about Cash’s personal life and music. In 2006, Witherspoon won a well deserved Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.

Phoenix and Witherspoon performed all of the songs in Walk the Line. Phoenix also learned to play the guitar, and Witherspoon the auto-harp.

Walk the Line Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, James Mangold's Walk the Line arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox-UK. Please note that similar to the French release, the disc contains the extended cut of the film running at approximately 153 min. Also, please note that unlike what many online UK vendors claim, including Amazon.UK - that this is a single-disc - Walk the Line is actually a 2BD set.

This transfer looks practically identical to the one Fox Pathe used in France for their local release of James Mangold's film. Detail is excellent, contrast very good and clarity strong throughout the entire film. As I noted in my review for the French BD release, many of the outdoor scenes look fabulous. The color-scheme is also very convincing - greens, blues, browns, yellows, reds, blacks and whites are rich and well saturated. Furthermore, macroblocking, edge-enhancement and excessive filtering are not an issue of concern. There are no disturbing stability issues to report either. Finally, there are no disturbing scratches, debris, or stains plaguing the transfer. All in all, this is a fabulous presentation that, in my opinion, does this wonderful film justice. (Note: This is a Region-Free disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. Please note that there is no PAL content preceding the main menu).

Walk the Line Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Once again, as it was the case with the French release, there are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French DTS 5.1 and German DTS 5.1. The disc also contains the same subtitles options: English HOH, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, French, French HOH, German, German HOH, Norwegian and Swedish.

Again, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is identical to the one heard on the French release. Dynamically, it is very aggressive, particularly during the numerous live performances (two songs I pay close attention to are Elvis Presley's "That's Alright Mama" and Johnny and June's singing "Time's a-Wastin"). On the other hand, the dialog is crisp, clear and very easy to follow. There are absolutely no disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings that I detected with it either. There are also no balance issues to report.

Walk the Line Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features from the French release have been ported to this UK release. Disc 1 arrives with optional English HOH, French, German, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish and Dutch subtitles. The supplemental features on Disc 2 arrive with optional English HOH, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese, Thai, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Korean subtitles.

Disc 1:

Commentary - a wonderful and truly informative audio commentary by co-writer and director James Mangold. There is plenty of detailed information about specific scenes, songs and characters as well as certain technical difficulties the cast and crew had to overcome during the shooting process.

Search Content - an interesting feature that allows one to search the entire film - and skip to specific scenes - by selecting key words, such as "music", "guitar", etc.

Websites - links to different FOX sites.

Disc 2:

Johnny Cash Jukebox: Extended Musical Sequences - the collection includes the following songs (with optional introductions): "Lewis Boogie" Waylon Payne as Jerry Lee Lewis; "Get Rhythm" Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash; "You're My Baby" Johnathan Rice as Roy Orbison; "Jukebox Blues" Reese Witherspoon as June Carter; "Rock and Roll Ruby" Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash; "That's Alright Mama" Tyler Hilton as Elvis Presley; "Jackson" Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash, Reese Witherspoon as June Carter; "Cocaine Blues" Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash. (All songs are in 1080p; all introductions are in 480/60i).

More Man In Black - two deleted scenes, "Memphis Streets" and "At the Bank" with optional commentary by co-writer James Mangold. (1080p).

Sun Records & The Johnny Cash Sound - different musicians and industry people talk about the city of Memphis, its music scene, and Johnny Cash. (12 min, 480/60i).

The Cash Legacy - a short piece on Johnny Cash and his iconic status. (16 min, 480/60i).

Becoming Cash/Becoming Carter - Director/co-Screenwriter James Mangold, Producers Cathy Konrad and Gill Dennis talk about how they decided that Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon were the right actors to play Johnny Cash and June Carter. Johnny Cash's son and cast members also share their thoughts on the job the two actors did in the film. (11 min, 480/60i).

Folsom: Cash & The Comeback - a short summation of Cash's social life. (12 min, 480/60i).

Ring of Fire: The Passion of Johnny & June - a look at the couple's history. (12 min, 480/60i).

Cash and his Faith - Cash's sister and son, as well as friends, talk about his music and beliefs. (12 min, 480/60i).

Celebrating The Man In Black - a standard featurette focusing on Cash's legacy. (22 min, 480/60i).

Theatrical Trailer - (2 min, 1080p).

Walk the Line Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I find it rather amusing that the U.S. will be one of the very last major markets to see James Mangold's terrific film released on Blu-ray, but, it is what it is. In any event, those of you who don't want to wait for the U.S. release would be delighted to know that, similar to the French release, the UK release herein reviewed is Region-Free and loaded with terrific supplemental features. It also contains the extended cut of the film found on the French release. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.