Only part of the criteria for these Best Transfers honors lies in the quality of the movie itself. More important is the success in achieving the "movie theater in your home" feel. No matter what anyone says, the most important part of any home video release is how good it looks. Yes, looks are everything.
The most influential thing a movie could have going for it in this category is a great cinematographer. All the supplements and bells and whistles and figurines and lunch boxes in the world cannot make a lousy transfer look good. Today we're tackling the best transfers on New Release titles from last year. More "Best Blu Transfers" will come tomorrow.
Frozen River
Shot on a Panasonic Varicam in 720p DVC HD, Frozen River benefitted from having the company that invented the Blu-ray format blow it up to 1080p. As immigration dramas have seen a resurgence of late, it's nice to see one of them actually available on Blu-ray, let alone looking this good. The transfer still has that "Digital Video" feel to it due to the recording device, but much like Public Enemies, I like the raw, unvarnished look presented here.
Star Trek
In addition to ranking high on the Overall Value list, JJ Abrams' reboot is among the most crisp and delicious new release transfers on the format. Paramount really did everything necessary to make sure they didn't screw this one up. I wrongly didn't spend any time talking about the transfer in my original, first-on-the-net writeup.
Let the Right One In
As I said in my review many moons ago in March (back when I killed myself to synopsize the movie), it's really quite good. It does have its faults:
"If possible, the transfer looks cleaner than I remember the print looking last fall. If you want a great disc to test your contrast settings with, this is the one. That said, they used a single layer BD-25.
"There's a great deal of stark black & white mixed with a muted color palette that could have benefitted from the other 25GB of space. This is especially noticeable in scenes that feature lots of black. Detail is great, but the deep, deep black levels the format is capable of aren't absolutely perfect. We're not likely to see a double dip, so it would have been nice to have the second layer of data, especially since the extras are pretty minimal."
It should say something that a transfer that leaves a little to be desired is still one of the best new release transfers of the year. My extremely high standards may be a bit stringent, but when this is the third or fourth time many will theoretically re-buy the same catalog titles on home video, I want the first try to be done right.
Valkyrie
A thought ahead of its time from my original review:
"You mean the Tom Cruise as a Nazi movie?"
"He's in the German armed forces, but he isn't a Nazi."
"But...weren't they all Nazis?"
"No, actually. What were you planning to go see this weekend?"
"Night at the Museum 2, I heard Amy Adams' ass looks great in tho--"
"Go rent this and catch the other one when someone rents it at Thanksgiving, you'll thank me."
My first viewing of Valkyrie was digitally projected in 4K at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar (early during BNAT X). The color and contrast in the transfer on the Blu-ray does not in any way seem like a jump down in clarity. A better movie than anyone gave it credit for being.
Gran Torino
The transfer of DP Tom Stern's work is thick with color depth and fine contrast. Warner Bros. didn't put a whole ton of extras on this, but the movie really speaks for itself just fine. I'm not surprised by the number of critics who soullessly decried Eastwood's use of amateur non-actors. Those "non-artists", along with the photography, added a real-world credibility and grit that few (if any) other 2008 releases even came close to touching.
Inglourious Basterds
Gorgeous period-appropriate locations and lovely tones of gold, red, and black adorn various sequences in Tarantino's popular and critical hit. Robert Richardson's photography is paid proper service by its representation here. I'm glad they didn't cram so much supplemental material on here that it cramped the space afforded to the 2.5-hour feature's video. The Nation's Pride premiere is the show-off sequence.
The Hangover
Lawrence Sher's work on this title doesn't get as much credit as the movie does for being hilarious and re-watchable as hell when drinking. Do you remember the last studio comedy, whether franchise or not, that looked this good?
Revolutionary Road
A stunning transfer of Roger Deakins' work is always a good reason to watch a movie that you (and most of the moviegoing public) missed. For more from the same shooter, see also: Doubt (definitely), The Reader (if you have nothing better to do).
Adventureland
One of the best reasons to use Adventureland to judge other recent HD transfers is the wide variety of lighting conditions and light sources used. Day, morning, dusk, night, midday, and everything in-between make an appearance (so far as I remember). Terry Stacey also shot the sublime In Her Shoes for Curtus Hanson.
Sugar
A good, old-fashioned 35mm indie shot on the cheap, Sugar sure as hell doesn't show its budget on Sony's immaculate-as-usual Blu-ray. Rich color, lovely depth of contrast, you know the drill. An excellent movie made all the better by the fact it looks outstanding. Sony Style stores should have this playing on a loop.
District 9
The true test of a movie with lots of effects is whether the big screen or the small screen shows the seams in the effects. I was surprised that the economically-challenged budget of this non-franchise, non-adaptation managed a more seamless presentation in both media than movies with five times the money. One of the most subtly surprising RED camera transfers I've seen thus far (along with Che).
The Girlfriend Experience
Steven Soderbergh's 2009 release beat his 2008 one to Blu-ray (by half a year!) and belongs in the same pantheon of reference-quality REDcode transfers along with District 9. Unlike D9, it's devoid of digital effects, but has art film aesthetics and techniques in spades: uneven/low lighting, intentionally blown out sequences, and lingering, contemplative takes.
Objectified
This one made the list not because director Gary Hustwit worked wonders with visual data in a way never before seen, but because he put his home video process together himself rather than letting a studio get its hands on it. Instead, he leveraged the might of Plexifilm, a distributor he created that focuses on quality of design (the theme that his film focuses on the most). This is the only title I've put on the proper list that I haven't watched on Blu-ray. I realize that I committed to putting only transfers I've laid my eyes on in the proper "best of" lists, but for every rule there must be a single exception.
Objectified is on here as a statement of my faith in the filmmaker and the same crew that put together a marvelous Helvetica Blu-ray. If you want a model for self-managing your home video distribution as an indie, take notes on what Hustwit is doing. The movie is also available for rent on iTunes just today, as a matter of coincidence.
(500) Days of Summer
[Added due to careless omission, mea culpa. 01.05.2010 @4:42pm]
From my just-posted review:
"The transfer on the Blu-ray is crisp and consistent throughout, and the audio gladly reminds that the days of hiss and sound artifacts on new releases are thankfully behind us."
The choices made in production and costume design really pop in HD resolution. None of the shades of blue or brown used ever get muddy thanks to rich contrast levels. One of the few movies that makes Los Angeles look beautiful, like a place I'd actually like to visit some day (yes, I've never been).
The Highly-Regarded But Unseen: Public Enemies, A Christmas Tale, Gomorrah
Discs of the Year is a look back at the year in disc releases and trends, from the best to the worst.