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Braveheart
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Easily one of the most anticipated DVD releases out there, Paramount has finally brought "Braveheart" to the table, and the DVD is a feast for fans of the film, who will enjoy the work that they've done to make it look as good as possible. But of course, more on that later in the review.
As for the movie, "Braveheart" is certainly a fantastic film and more than that, both a great display of acting and directing talent from Mel Gibson. Not only has Gibson entertained audiences with films like "Lethal Weapon", but it's truly impressive here how well he directs this epic-length tale of battle. He stars as William Wallace, a commoner who decides to fight for Scottish freedom from the English, who are lead by King Edward I(Patrick McGoohan).
> "Braveheart" is most frequently known for its amazing battle sequences, and this is an element worthy of much praise. As he comments in the commentary track on this DVD, a main goal of Gibson's was to keep the battle scenes from becoming murky, and he does so here quite successfully, with these scenes never suffering from any traffic problems; we get a clear sense of what's going on and who's where.
Not all of the details are known about Gibson's character, but the details that he has added in feel respectably honest and true; no specific detail takes the viewer out of the movie. Gibson's portrayal of Wallace is particularly solid, as well. He plays the character as a serious leader, but is not above letting a couple of doses of slight humor enter into a scene once or twice. There's something about Gibson's personality that always makes him Mel Gibson, never quite sinking into a character, but he gets closest here to really becoming the role.
Some of the supporting cast are kind of thinly detailed, but the performers do the best they can with what they're given. Also fairing well are McGoohan and Sophie Marceau, as the princess. It's sort of fascinating to watch Marceau's graceful presence here, and to see her now appearing on cable in the recent David Spade comedy flop "Lost and Found". I'd never realized that "Braveheart" didn't do that well in theaters; it only made $3m more than it's 72 million budget. I think it's a film that gained an audience after the inital theatrical release, and still seems to be gaining strength as time goes on. Still, with a few minimal faults, "Braveheart" still is quite entertaining and is paced quite well, with its nearly three hour running time flying by quickly.
The DVD
VIDEO: Paramount has done a new master for "Braveheart", and the results on this anamorphic transfer are nothing short of wonderful, giving ace cinematographer John Toll's outstanding cinematography (also check out his work in "The Thin Red Line") fresh new life. The film is offered in it's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and the scenery and camerawork on this film is frequently breathtaking; thankfully, the presentation is a nearly perfect offering of all of the stunning imagery.
Sharpness is perfect; images have a very natural, smooth quality to them that feels not overly sharp, but never soft, either. Detail is excellent as well, even in the darker scenes of the film. Even in some of the hazy moments, clarity never suffered and the image never showed any signs of problems. In fact, the only real problem that I did notice with the picture quality was the occasional, but very minor, print flaw. These appeared as some slight speckles and one or two minor marks. With a movie as engaging and strong as this one, a couple of minor blemishes really didn't distract me. I didn't notice any moments of pixelation or shimmering, and the lack of these two faults makes for a very natural looking image that also sports a "film-like" look, with nice depth to the image.
Colors are not extremely bold (not exactly a cheery film, though), but there are occasional moments where brighter colors do enter, and they look solid and nicely saturated. Even the colors in general; the greens of the grass; the skies; etc, they all still do look pleasing in the package of John Toll("Legends Of The Fall", "The Rainmaker")'s magnificent cinematography. Beyond it all, I must say that Toll creates images here that not only are beautiful, but are well-composed and draw in the viewer. I have to say that the only film where I wasn't amazed by Toll's work was in the recent "Simpatico", but I didn't like much about that particular film.
I'm going off the track here, though. Let me just say that those who have been anticipating "Braveheart"'s release on DVD (myself included) will be extremely pleased with Paramount's work on this title, it's one of their very best efforts.
SOUND: "Braveheart" was, if I'm not mistaken, nominated for best sound at the Oscars in 1996, and for good reason. Although much of the film is not exactly as agressive as some action movies, the sound creates a convincing and enveloping environment. Even in the quieter moments, the fantastic James Horner score comes into the scene, and it's warm, rich quality makes it a particularly pleasing inclusion when it arrives.
Surrounds are used very realistically to create an environment; their use is never overdone, but I never felt it was lacking, either. In many of the less intense sequences, they offer some ambient sounds and background details. Sound effects are very clear and natural, as well. The element that I still was most impressed with was the James Horner score, which rises up with a clarity and strength that's fairly stunning; this is a very well-recorded and beautiful score that adds to the film greatly.
Bass is also appropriately deep and thunderous at times, especially during the more intense action scenes. Last, but not least, dialogue is very clean and clear, always easily heard.
MENUS:: Basic non-animated menus offering film-themed images in the background. It would have been nice if Horner's score played in the menus, as well.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary by actor/director Mel Gibson. A few things before I talk more about the commentary; let me just say that I appreciate that Gibson has done a commentary track; It's his first commentary track as well, so the pauses on occasion can easily be forgiven. I think that maybe it would have been nice if Gibson had been paired with another member of the cast or crew to open up the discussion and have less pauses, but my overall opinion on this commentary is still very good. It presents both sides of the story, and offers opinions from Gibson the director and Gibson the actor.
The tone is relaxed, and Gibson is able to chat about both the history of the story and also the experience of having to act and direct in the film. His chatting about some of the bigger sequences is fascinating to listen to as he talks about the amount of extras and planning and materials that had to be brought together to achieve these kind of sequences. Also, how to keep the bigger battle scenes organized provides some very interesting comments about the preparation involved.
Again, there are some areas of silence where Gibson doesn't have anything to say, but overall, he does fairly well for a movie that lasts nearly three hours. During the silent moments, we can hear what's going on in the film. There are a few more pauses as the film goes on. It's a very good commentary track that is informative both about the history of the tale and what it took to get this production to the screen. Don't expect a full track of comments, but when he does speak, Gibson's comments are good enough and interesting enough to make it worth going through the silent moments to get there.
A Filmmakers Passion: The Making Of Braveheart: This is a 28 minute promotional documentary that visually takes the audience into not only the story, but also what it took for Gibson to mount a picture like this that he not only had to star in, but direct. The documentary is made of behind-the-scenes footage, clips from the movie and interviews. As for the interviews, many of the cast and crew are highlighted, but Gibson's comments are, of course, take up the majority of the interview period. What Gibson has to say here and on the commentary track is quite interesting, and the behind-the-scenes footage takes a look at the production in action. It's nice that the documentary as a whole does offer information over promotion, illustrated by not having an overly huge amount of clips from the movie, keeping the focus on the behind-the-scenes action and interviews.
Trailers: 2 trailers for the film, both letterboxed at 1.85:1 and in Dolby 2.0
Final Thoughts: I think that Paramount has done a fine job in all aspects with the DVD of "Braveheart"; a good commentary with Gibson, an entertaining documentary and the trailers. Audio and video quality are both first-rate and most importantly, it's an excellent, entertaining film that I enjoyed. Highly recommended.
Easily one of the most anticipated DVD releases out there, Paramount has finally brought "Braveheart" to the table, and the DVD is a feast for fans of the film, who will enjoy the work that they've done to make it look as good as possible. But of course, more on that later in the review.
As for the movie, "Braveheart" is certainly a fantastic film and more than that, both a great display of acting and directing talent from Mel Gibson. Not only has Gibson entertained audiences with films like "Lethal Weapon", but it's truly impressive here how well he directs this epic-length tale of battle. He stars as William Wallace, a commoner who decides to fight for Scottish freedom from the English, who are lead by King Edward I(Patrick McGoohan).
> "Braveheart" is most frequently known for its amazing battle sequences, and this is an element worthy of much praise. As he comments in the commentary track on this DVD, a main goal of Gibson's was to keep the battle scenes from becoming murky, and he does so here quite successfully, with these scenes never suffering from any traffic problems; we get a clear sense of what's going on and who's where.
Not all of the details are known about Gibson's character, but the details that he has added in feel respectably honest and true; no specific detail takes the viewer out of the movie. Gibson's portrayal of Wallace is particularly solid, as well. He plays the character as a serious leader, but is not above letting a couple of doses of slight humor enter into a scene once or twice. There's something about Gibson's personality that always makes him Mel Gibson, never quite sinking into a character, but he gets closest here to really becoming the role.
Some of the supporting cast are kind of thinly detailed, but the performers do the best they can with what they're given. Also fairing well are McGoohan and Sophie Marceau, as the princess. It's sort of fascinating to watch Marceau's graceful presence here, and to see her now appearing on cable in the recent David Spade comedy flop "Lost and Found". I'd never realized that "Braveheart" didn't do that well in theaters; it only made $3m more than it's 72 million budget. I think it's a film that gained an audience after the inital theatrical release, and still seems to be gaining strength as time goes on. Still, with a few minimal faults, "Braveheart" still is quite entertaining and is paced quite well, with its nearly three hour running time flying by quickly.
The DVD
VIDEO: Paramount has done a new master for "Braveheart", and the results on this anamorphic transfer are nothing short of wonderful, giving ace cinematographer John Toll's outstanding cinematography (also check out his work in "The Thin Red Line") fresh new life. The film is offered in it's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and the scenery and camerawork on this film is frequently breathtaking; thankfully, the presentation is a nearly perfect offering of all of the stunning imagery.
Sharpness is perfect; images have a very natural, smooth quality to them that feels not overly sharp, but never soft, either. Detail is excellent as well, even in the darker scenes of the film. Even in some of the hazy moments, clarity never suffered and the image never showed any signs of problems. In fact, the only real problem that I did notice with the picture quality was the occasional, but very minor, print flaw. These appeared as some slight speckles and one or two minor marks. With a movie as engaging and strong as this one, a couple of minor blemishes really didn't distract me. I didn't notice any moments of pixelation or shimmering, and the lack of these two faults makes for a very natural looking image that also sports a "film-like" look, with nice depth to the image.
Colors are not extremely bold (not exactly a cheery film, though), but there are occasional moments where brighter colors do enter, and they look solid and nicely saturated. Even the colors in general; the greens of the grass; the skies; etc, they all still do look pleasing in the package of John Toll("Legends Of The Fall", "The Rainmaker")'s magnificent cinematography. Beyond it all, I must say that Toll creates images here that not only are beautiful, but are well-composed and draw in the viewer. I have to say that the only film where I wasn't amazed by Toll's work was in the recent "Simpatico", but I didn't like much about that particular film.
I'm going off the track here, though. Let me just say that those who have been anticipating "Braveheart"'s release on DVD (myself included) will be extremely pleased with Paramount's work on this title, it's one of their very best efforts.
SOUND: "Braveheart" was, if I'm not mistaken, nominated for best sound at the Oscars in 1996, and for good reason. Although much of the film is not exactly as agressive as some action movies, the sound creates a convincing and enveloping environment. Even in the quieter moments, the fantastic James Horner score comes into the scene, and it's warm, rich quality makes it a particularly pleasing inclusion when it arrives.
Surrounds are used very realistically to create an environment; their use is never overdone, but I never felt it was lacking, either. In many of the less intense sequences, they offer some ambient sounds and background details. Sound effects are very clear and natural, as well. The element that I still was most impressed with was the James Horner score, which rises up with a clarity and strength that's fairly stunning; this is a very well-recorded and beautiful score that adds to the film greatly.
Bass is also appropriately deep and thunderous at times, especially during the more intense action scenes. Last, but not least, dialogue is very clean and clear, always easily heard.
MENUS:: Basic non-animated menus offering film-themed images in the background. It would have been nice if Horner's score played in the menus, as well.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary by actor/director Mel Gibson. A few things before I talk more about the commentary; let me just say that I appreciate that Gibson has done a commentary track; It's his first commentary track as well, so the pauses on occasion can easily be forgiven. I think that maybe it would have been nice if Gibson had been paired with another member of the cast or crew to open up the discussion and have less pauses, but my overall opinion on this commentary is still very good. It presents both sides of the story, and offers opinions from Gibson the director and Gibson the actor.
The tone is relaxed, and Gibson is able to chat about both the history of the story and also the experience of having to act and direct in the film. His chatting about some of the bigger sequences is fascinating to listen to as he talks about the amount of extras and planning and materials that had to be brought together to achieve these kind of sequences. Also, how to keep the bigger battle scenes organized provides some very interesting comments about the preparation involved.
Again, there are some areas of silence where Gibson doesn't have anything to say, but overall, he does fairly well for a movie that lasts nearly three hours. During the silent moments, we can hear what's going on in the film. There are a few more pauses as the film goes on. It's a very good commentary track that is informative both about the history of the tale and what it took to get this production to the screen. Don't expect a full track of comments, but when he does speak, Gibson's comments are good enough and interesting enough to make it worth going through the silent moments to get there.
A Filmmakers Passion: The Making Of Braveheart: This is a 28 minute promotional documentary that visually takes the audience into not only the story, but also what it took for Gibson to mount a picture like this that he not only had to star in, but direct. The documentary is made of behind-the-scenes footage, clips from the movie and interviews. As for the interviews, many of the cast and crew are highlighted, but Gibson's comments are, of course, take up the majority of the interview period. What Gibson has to say here and on the commentary track is quite interesting, and the behind-the-scenes footage takes a look at the production in action. It's nice that the documentary as a whole does offer information over promotion, illustrated by not having an overly huge amount of clips from the movie, keeping the focus on the behind-the-scenes action and interviews.
Trailers: 2 trailers for the film, both letterboxed at 1.85:1 and in Dolby 2.0
Final Thoughts: I think that Paramount has done a fine job in all aspects with the DVD of "Braveheart"; a good commentary with Gibson, an entertaining documentary and the trailers. Audio and video quality are both first-rate and most importantly, it's an excellent, entertaining film that I enjoyed. Highly recommended.
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