Blood Diamond [Blu-ray]
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Movie Reviews of Blood Diamond [Blu-ray]
Movie Review: Blood Diamond (Blu-ray Disc) Review by Justin Sluss
Summary: 4 Stars
The Movie Itself received 5 Academy Award nominations, including best actor and best supporting actor. "Blood Diamond" was directed by Edward Zwick. The film itself is set in Sierra Leone Africa in 1999 during a civil war over "blood diamonds." These diamonds in the mines are found by the kidnapped boys that are forced to be made part of the rebel forces. Once found the diamonds then are smuggled out of the country and used basically to buy more weapons and just make the war even worse.
The film primarily stars Leonardo DiCaprio as "Danny Archer" (an ex-mercenary turned smuggler), Dijimon Honsou as "Solomon Vandy" (an African fisherman who's struggling against rebel forces to reunite with his family) and Jennifer Connelly as "Maddy Bowen" (an American journalist trying to expose the "Blood Diamond" ordeal going on in Africa).
The basic plot here to the film is that "Solomon Vandy" has been kidnapped by rebels who took his family and put his son "Dia Vandy" in the rebel army. "Soloman" is forced to work in the diamond mines and finds a huge pink diamond. After seeing that others who try to hide diamonds they find get executed by the commander of the rebel forces, "Soloman" still tries to hide this one in between his toes. He tells the foreman he needs to use the bathroom to try to make a smooth get away and hide the diamond but things don't go as planned. Long story short "Soloman" ends up in jail with "Danny Archer" who knows that he has hid the diamond. So "Archer" arranges for him to be released after he gets out himself and offers to help him get back his family in exchange for the diamond. Sounds simple enough, right?
I can now see why this film got the Academy Award nominations it that it did for best actor and best supporting actor. This is honestly a really good film.
Video Quality on this release is in VC-1 on a 50 gigabyte Dual-Layer Blu-ray Disc. The real problem here is consistency in the video quality. A majority of the time (especially the outdoors scenes) the picture is great but there are some rare occasions that (even other reviewers have noted) have some artifacts and pixilation problems. The real thing that tends to make this show is smoke in dark scenes. The black level is overall solid. Chances are by the time this film makes it's way to HD DVD I would say Warner Brothers will redo the video transfer. Considering like I said, this problem has been stated by others than just myself.
Overall though the video quality is good on this release and the rare problems in the consistency should not discourage the Blu-ray consumer from purchasing this release. If it does discourage you from purchasing this Blu-ray and you don't own a HD DVD player, you're totally going to be missing out on a really good film. If you do own a HD DVD player and are still a bit skeptic, my best advice for you is to wait until July when the film will be released on HD DVD.
Audio Quality on this release is in Uncompressed Linear PCM 5.1 @4.6Mbps as well as standard Dolby Digital 5.1. Like "The Departed" on Blu-ray Disc Warner Brothers decided to give this release a PCM 5.1 track. This is one of the few Warner releases on Blu-ray Disc to feature this and it's a shame because this really pays off to make for an amazing sound experience. The sounds of everything from crickets to gunfire to explosions to even the score sound absolutely awesome.
Bonus Materials on this release are in 16:9 (Widescreen) standard definition. First off is obviously an audio commentary by Director Edward Zwick. All of the bonus materials have subtitles to them here and pretty much describe what they are so I won't be going into a lot of detail unless it's noteworthy. There's "Focus Points: Featurettes and Production Diaries (46 minutes) which is pretty much the "making of" to this film. "Blood on the Stone: Follow a Diamond's Path from the Ground to the Store" (50 minutes) is a really in-depth look at the real "Blood Diamonds" out there. "Becoming Archer: Profiling Leonardo DiCaprio" (8 minutes) is just as it says, just a profile on Leo in this film. "Journalism on the Front Line: Jennifer Connelly on Women Journalists at War" (5 minutes) on the other hand is less about her and more about the actual women journalists that do cover these type of events. "Inside the Siege of Freetown: Edward Zwick on One of the Movie's Pivotal Sequences" (10 minutes) is really interesting and worth watching. Lastly there is the music video for "Shine on Em" by Nas. Overall this release has some pretty decent bonus materials but I have a feeling that an "In-Movie Experience" on HD DVD will be a tad better.
-- Review written by Justin Sluss of HighDefDiscNews.com
Movie Review: An outstanding action movie with a concurrent sentimentality
Summary: 4 Stars
Blood Diamond (2006) is an outstanding action movie, with a heavy
sentimental story running parallel, involving a mercenary and a
diamond smuggler formerly of the South African army (played by
Leonardo DiCaprio to perfection, including accent) with a variety of
individuals, initially apart, but eventually interconnected
considering the extent of their interaction and the length of the
actual movie.
In this particular case, David Harewood is entirely convincing as a
guerrilla commander, as is Jennifer Connelly playing a thin, single,
young American news reporter. Arnold Vosloo is the mercenary
commander, who is able to overthrow entire ruling governments of
sovereign nations on a moment's notice, from his brigade strength
military force comprising helicopters, modern weaponry and logistics
of all kinds, in between arms deals worldwide.
From a didactic point of view, the script is entirely successful, as
it brings into focus the monumental scale of refugee camps, family
powerlessness, homelessness, poverty, anarchy and chaos found in
civil wars in Africa.
A running theme, is that to survive in each and every situation, at
least 5 to 10 years of professional military service is necessary,
most of it seen in combat, deployment and action. Rocket launchers,
AK-47, mortar, IED's, sniper fire, pistol firefights are a constant,
as much in the downtown areas as in the country side and dense
jungles. It shows the ease of recruiting orphan children 10 years
of age into a guerrilla, through the usual military hazing and
indoctrination, socialization to bring about in them extreme values,
behaviors, and a trigger-happy mentality. The sheer number of troops
shooting to thrill with large caliber machine guns mounted on the
back of a pickup trucks never ceases to amaze, as are the number of
bloodbaths of innocent civilian men, women and children.
The diamond labor camp in and of itself is not entirely surprising
considering the reduimentary mining techniques also used in North
America 100 to 200 years ago. The disguises, bogus identities used
in Africa are also the norm, as nobody is ever really who they claim
to be, politicians being CIA undercover agents, journalists being
arms or gem smugglers, etc.
From an acting point of view, DiCaprio has honed his technique
immensely, never losing his grip on the character, accent and
ability in demonstrating the desperation of a smuggler who needs to
close his last, ultimate diamond deal, with a number of
international parties, laundering diamonds and gems as easily as
cash. Connolly's approach is also interesting, from an eagerness in
being sexier and more provocative than shy and reserved. The
quality and number of the supporting actors is also remarkable,
assisting in maintaining the suspense and viewers on the edge of
their seats.
From a soundtrack perspective, s fair bit is reminiscent of the
world music heard on Jean Luc Ponty's Tchokola, while the
cinematography is flawless, sharp, never dull or boring except for a
number of quieter moments, bringing into focus time and again the
beauty of various landscapes in Western Africa, appealing to the
sentimentality of viewers.
The picture deserved a perfect score, with the only difference that
it forgot that it was an entertainment vehicle in its final moments,
switching gears to a paternalistic, moralizing, and preaching tone,
erasing the right of viewers to independent thought and opinion,
suggesting they swallow the United Nations outlook hook, line and
sinker concerning diamonds and arms trade. Another weakness is the
oversimplification of the problems in the region, laying the blame
squarely on the doorstep of a diamond mania.
In sum, this is a remarkable and unique release, from the acting,
scenes, music and entertainment value, and the humanity of the
people that shines through despite the horrors of civil wars time
and again.
Movie Review: Liked the movie, but save the format war stuff for nerdy message board virgins
Summary: 4 Stars
The movie was good. Buy it, rent it, rip it, whatever you want to do - just watch the movie.
From what I understand, ALL the Warner Bros high def transfers are mastered for HD-DVD first and then ported to Blu-Ray, making the technology argument completely moot. It's mastered in HD-DVD format first because it's easier and more economical for the studio to do so. What have we learned today? To date (as far as I know), all WB high def titles are mastered for HD-DVD, even if it's on Blu-Ray.
I still think Leo DiCaprio should have been Oscar nominated and won for his role in The Departed. But he did well in Blood Diamond, too. If you are fortunate enough to have both HD-DVD and BR, spread the love and pick up The Departed in HD-DVD, since it'll look identical to the BR version ;-O
It really is a shame that one has to go to the standard def DVD page to find out if people liked the movie, rather than have a typing war on why one format is superior than the other. If the studios really were as smart as they think they are, they'd release the same titles on both formats, allowing the people to decide who wins. Plus, they'd make potloads of money by having their cake and eating it, too.
Just my two cents.
Movie Review: Blood Diamond
Summary: 4 Stars
'Blood Diamond' is one of DiCaprios better films and one that leaves you thinking about the issues it explores long after the credits have rolled. All the actors play their roles well and the locations make for some stunning scenery. The storyline is pretty shocking at times and it feels like it is half action movie and half political commentary. The issues around blood diamonds are explained pretty well and it'll make you think twice about those innocuous sparkly stones that we see everywhere. As other reviewers have noted, the film is excellent, but the sanitised, saccharine Hollywood ending spoils what is a powerful film, with an important message. Overall though, I'd say this film is well worth watching, it will keep you engaged the whole way through and is well shot and acted. A directors cut without the last five minutes would be great!
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Movie Review: Great Movie with a bit of Hollywoodesque
Summary: 4 Stars
Danny Archer is a Zimbabwean ex-pat who grew up up in South Africa and fought with the legendary SADF 32 Battalion in the Angolan War, as witnessed by the tattoo of a Buffalo head on his arm. Despite his Zimbabwean birth, Danny's accent is that of an English speaking Johannesburger, and his attitude and demeanor throughout the movie are decidedly South African. He's like a thousand other guys in the South African army and for this authentic portrayal alone he deserves an Oscar.
The movie itself is interesting enough and portrayals of the violence are about as accurate as can be, but the story is a little contrived in places. The attempts at a romantic involvement thrown in are a little off-balance with the movie, but it's generally a good watch.
The ending was almost expected but after the carnage and violence, it could have done with a little more upliftment.