 |
Speed [Blu-ray] by Jan De Bont
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
DVD Cover InformationActor: Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels, Joe Morton, Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock Director: Jan De Bont Brand: REEVES,KEANU Blu-ray: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), DTS 5.1; French (Original Language) Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Subtitled Picture Format: 2.35:1 Running Time: 116 minutes Blu-ray Release Date: 2006-11-14 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Speed [Blu-ray]Movie Review: Blu-ray edition is superb value Summary: 5 Stars
Blu-rays are about picture and sound quality. A review of Blu-ray edition of an old 1994 movie should be addressing the issue of added entertainment value when upgrading to the Blu-ray edition, not the story itself, which we are all familiar with.
A dvd of this movie cost a bomb back in the day. It has been shown countless times on free to air TV. I saw this movie in a theatre way back in 1994. Nostalgia made me buy Blu-rays of this movie along with Blu-ray Black Hawk Down, both at the same price. Naturally, I saw Black Hawk Down first, reserving Speed for later.
I totally underestimated SPEED. With the Blu-ray, (I hook up my TV to Bose 901 speakers) I was transported back to the cinema hall. The sound from the Blu-ray was awesome. Every explosion, collision, aeroplane, helicopter had a deep and tight bass sensurround sound. The bass on my speakers were truly put to the test. The deep rumblings of the bus and the sound of the crashing of the bus were true to life. Sounds were moving to and fro Left and Right speakers positioning the bus, helicopters and gunshots correctly. This made the Blu-ray worth every cent. The dialogue was crisp. I switched off the sub-titles and just enjoyed the whole Blu-ray performance, even though I had seen this movie on Full Screen TV free so many times before. With Blu-ray, this appeared to be a different movie altogether.
I cannot complain about the picture quality, although others might expect a better transfer. I can see every wrinkle on Dennis Hopper's face and the individual hairs on every actor's head in close-ups. For a 1994 movie, that is good enough for me. Colour saturation was good. The picture quality surpasses that of many Blu-rays which cost a lot more, and which are of more recent vintage.
Probably one of the most well spent $12.99 (price at the time of this review). The Blu-ray release surpasses expectations. Black Hawk Down has a more sombre theme, but somehow, the gunfire and helicopter crashes sound muted compared to SPEED. I expected better from Blu-ray Black Hawk Down and for value added by the Blu-ray edition. Blu-ray Black Hawk Down was better than the dvd, but it did not have the massive improvement Blu-ray brought to SPEED. The acoustics in SPEED sounded better than the recent Fast and Furious series of Blu-rays, to me anyway.
I am not in the position to comment about technical specifications, but for a person who has been disappointed by a lot of Blu-ray upgrades, SPEED added so much more enjoyment for such a small investment.
If Blu-rays reviews ignored the content and were rated according to "How much more did the Blu-ray edition add to your enjoyment of the movie compared to the dvd version", I would say SPEED BD would rank in the top few. Gladiator Blu-ray, on the other hand, would rank in the bottom few (if you ignored the 5 star contents).
And if you do not have a copy of SPEED, go straight for the affordable Blu-ray version of SPEED. I experienced a ressurection of a movie I once wrote off as "old". Excellent value for money.
Summary of Speed [Blu-ray]Hold on tight for a rush of pulse-pounding thrills, breathtaking stunts and unexpected romance in a film you'll want to see again and again. Keanu Reeves stars as Jack Traven, an L.A.P.D. SWAT team specialist who is sent to diffuse a bomb that a revenge-driven extortionist (Dennis Hopper) has planted on a bus. But until he does, Jack and passenger Sandra Bullock must keep the bus speeding through the streets of Los Angeles at more than 50 miles per hour - or the bomb will explode. A high-octane chase of suspense, non-stop action and surprise twists, Speed is a joyride sure to keep everyone on the edge of their seats. Everything clicked in this 1994 action hit, from the premise (a city bus has to keep moving at 50 mph or blow up) to the two leads (the usually inscrutable Keanu Reeves and the cute-as-a-button Sandra Bullock) to the villain (Dennis Hopper in psycho mode) to the director (Jan De Bont, who made this film hit the ground running with an edge-of-your-seat opening sequence on a broken elevator). This is the sort of movie that becomes a prototype for a thousand lesser films (including De Bont's lousy sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control), but Speed really is a one-of-a-kind experience almost anyone can enjoy. --Tom Keogh
|
 |
|
|
The Fugitive [Blu-ray]Warner Brothers; Release date: 2006-09-26; Published: 2006-09-01; Blu-rayBest price: $7.20Price in other shops: $14.98
Con Air [Blu-ray]Buena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2008-01-08; Blu-rayBest price: $8.82Price in other shops: $15.99
Dante's Peak [Blu-ray]Universal; Release date: 2011-07-26; Blu-rayBest price: $9.49Price in other shops: $19.98
The Rock [Blu-ray]Buena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2008-01-08; Blu-rayBest price: $12.76Price in other shops: $20.00
Chain Reaction [Blu-ray]Fox; Release date: 2007-02-13; Blu-rayBest price: $6.96Price in other shops: $16.99
Air Force One [Blu-ray]Sony; Release date: 2009-06-02; Blu-rayBest price: $8.44Price in other shops: $19.99
Broken Arrow [Blu-ray]Fox; Release date: 2007-02-13; Blu-rayBest price: $8.58Price in other shops: $16.99
Twister [Blu-ray]Warner Brothers; Release date: 2011-01-01; Blu-rayBest price: $8.75Price in other shops: $19.98
Speed 2 - Cruise ControlFOX Home Entertainment; Release date: 2002-07-23; DVDBest price: $4.97Price in other shops: $14.98
Face/ Off [Blu-ray]PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2008-06-03; Blu-rayBest price: $7.54Price in other shops: $22.99
|