Black Hawk Down [Blu-ray] by Ridley Scott, starring Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, William Fichtner: DVDNear.com

Black Hawk Down [Blu-ray]

Black Hawk Down [Blu-ray]
by Ridley Scott

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Josh Hartnett, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner
Director: Ridley Scott
Brand: Black Hawk
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: Chinese (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Korean (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); French (Dubbed)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.40:1
Running Time: 144 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2006-11-14
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Product features:

Condition: New
Format: Blu-ray
Anamorphic; Color; Dolby; Subtitled; Widescreen

Movie Reviews of Black Hawk Down [Blu-ray]

Movie Review: Black Hawk Down (Blu-ray)
Summary: 5 Stars

Movie - 4.5

When I first saw this movie some years ago, I admit I didn't like it. I was against the general concept of military establishments because of the violence and brutality that incurred within the endless cycle of human existence and didn't see the point in continuing it via the implementation and intervention by the U.S., U.N., and other nations. Since then, I've come to realize that the world is so f'ed up and misconstrued politically, religiously, and socially that the military is just one of those by-products that has now become a necessity to the way the world works. Prior to this subsequent viewing, a few other films have helped in changing my impression about the military: Tears of the Sun, Rambo (2009), and Body of Lies. In viewing these movies, I've discovered two major themes that have ultimately given me a new perspective on the military and a third that enables me to empathize for those who serve. First is the power to make a difference, as in the power for the strong or able to potentially change things in the course of life, be them for better or worse. Seeing this has helped me understand some of the motivations that drive the ideology of military force and the sort of mindset one could be taking into such a scenario. The second theme is the comradery shared between soldiers. They've obviously sacrificed a great deal to put their duty before all else already, but in doing so gain this kind of trust and friendship with their fellow comrades-in-arms, essentially becoming the one absolute they can depend on. It's almost bittersweet in a way, but just goes to show that despite how ingrained they may become within the machinations of the military, they are in fact, still real people with real feelings. And finally, the last theme concerns the inconsistent, jaded, and near-incompetent ability of power hierarchies to effectively run the military. The intentions from higher up may be helpful, but there often turns out being lapses in judgment accompanied by bad decision-making that ultimately end up unfolding into events like the one shown in Black Hawk Down. This movie itself is a testament to many variations of these issues and I have a new respect for such depictions which, given space constraints, I will just leave at that. Kudos to Sir Ridley Scott for a fine adaptation, expression, and enlightenment of these aspects.

Video - 4.0

Sony presents Black Hawk Down in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 via the now-outdated MPEG-2 codec. Surprisingly enough it doesn't look too bad at all. The muted color palette of the movie carries over very well, as do the deep blacks and varying levels of contrast. Skin tones are immaculately realistic, even with all the dirt and grime on the soldiers' faces. The fine layer of grain does the film's gritty and harsh atmosphere justice and never appears intrusive. Overall detail is also pretty sharp, though probably could've been much better or near-perfect had it utilized today's MPEG-4 codec. But with that being said, the only other minor hiccup is the presence of artifacts here and there, so minus another half point for that. As popular and successful as the movie has been, one can only hope Sony might consider a double-dip to possibly improve an already great video presentation and make it guaranteed reference-quality someday. The excellent cinematography would definitely benefit from such a boost.

Audio - 5.0

While the video could use re-encoding and just a tad more restoration for artifact removal, the LPCM 5.1 track at 4.6Mbps is definitely fine the way it is (save for maybe a re-encode to DTS-HD to save disc space for video and extras, perhaps). As expected, war movies will obviously come with a lot of sound effects including gunshots, explosions, vehicles, citizen, by-stander, and background noise, Black Hawk helicopters (duh), and a good deal of radio static, dialogue, and other discrete sounds. All are represented perfectly, further showcasing the benefits of a lossless audio track and practically putting you right in the middle of all the action. Dynamics have great variation between the kinds of objects on screen ranging from the size of bullets fired to the kinds of grenades used. Separation of the sound effects and yet another commendable Hans Zimmer score is spot-on as well. Directionality is also flawless with placement of sound effects being put where you'd see them on or off camera. LFEs vary from subtle to booming, with the Black Hawk choppers being the most dominant element in presenting these. But most notable is that even amongst all the action, dialogue levels remain clear and coherent all the time. Black Hawk Down won an Oscar for sound, and rightfully so. Consider this another piece of reference material.

Extras - 4.5

I've not experienced the 3-disc DVD edition, but for what's on here, I found the extras to be quite poignant and very detailed in their explanations. In addition to commentaries from Sir Scott and the veterans of this event, there are about two and a half hours of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast, crew, and all the people involved in both the making of this movie and the true story behind it. With my newly-found respect for the military and its deserving personnel, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the work and research that went into this film. Culturally speaking, history has normally been passed down the generations using more typical methods like books and education. But if there was ever one of the many movies to choose from to chronicle something as controversial, yet thought-provoking as war, I think the overall presentation of Black Hawk Down itself with these great special features should be one of them. There's a lot of information here that will definitely provide for some interesting perspective.

Overall - 4.5

With this sudden interest and intrigue I'm now starting to develop for war movies, I can't wait to delve into the library of other greats like Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, and Saving Private Ryan. In addition to what I've seen most recently and to this followup viewing of Black Hawk Down, I've learned to appreciate the efforts and sacrifice put forth by the men and women in the military establishments all around the world. It's a sad fact that we, as a people, have indeed resorted to using war as a means of operation, but it's a fact, nonetheless. And Sir Ridley Scott with his great director's prowess continues to create captivating tales and interpretations that manage, not only to entertain, but to often get a message across that there is more to something than we may think. Black Hawk Down is another one of his movies that effectively shows us the sheer brutality, and yet melancholy necessity of what war is. While just short of an up-to-date video presentation, the Blu-ray version of Black Hawk Down still possesses reference audio and a good amount of extras that make this film highly recommended until a possible double-dip.

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Summary of Black Hawk Down [Blu-ray]

From acclaimed director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Hannibal) and renowned producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pearl Harbor, Armageddon) comes a gripping true story about bravery, camaradarie and the complex reality of war. Black Hawk Down stars an exceptional cast including Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor), Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge!), Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan), Eric Bana (Chopper), William Fichtner (The Perfect Storm), Ewen Bremner (Snatch) and Sam Shepard (All The Pretty Horses). In 1993, an elite group of American Rangers and Delta Force soldiers are sent to Somalia on a critical mission to capture a violent warlord whose corrupt regime has lead to the starvation of hundreds of thousands of Somalis. When the mission goes terribly wrong, the men find themselves outnumbered and literally fighting for their lives.

Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down conveys the raw, chaotic urgency of ground-force battle in a worst-case scenario. With exacting detail, the film re-creates the American siege of the Somalian city of Mogadishu in October 1993, when a 45-minute mission turned into a 16-hour ordeal of bloody urban warfare. Helicopter-borne U.S. Rangers were assigned to capture key lieutenants of Somali warlord Muhammad Farrah Aidid, but when two Black Hawk choppers were felled by rocket-propelled grenades, the U.S. soldiers were forced to fend for themselves in the battle-torn streets of Mogadishu, attacked from all sides by armed Aidid supporters. Based on author Mark Bowden's bestselling account of the battle, Scott's riveting, action-packed film follows a sharp ensemble cast in some of the most authentic battle sequences ever filmed. The loss of 18 soldiers turned American opinion against further involvement in Somalia, but Black Hawk Down makes it clear that the men involved were undeniably heroic. --Jeff Shannon

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Black Hawk Down [Blu-ray]