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Serenity HD-DVD
What you can expect, if you want to get the HD-DVD. |
If you decide to get the HD-DVD of Serenity that's what you get:
The Movie:
You've got to give him credit for this: Joss Whedon does not take easily to failure. When his script for a movie titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer was mishandled by the studio and an incompetent director who turned it into a forgettable comedy spoof, Whedon resurrected the concept as an extremely popular and critically acclaimed TV series that ran for seven years and spawned an equally successful spin-off series. That kind of faith, determination, and yes love are rare and valuable traits in Hollywood. When he attempted to launch a new science fiction franchise under the title Firefly, he had nearly the opposite journey. Starting with a TV series that the Fox network ungraciously cancelled after just 11 episodes, most of them aired out of their proper order and context, Whedon's unbridled love for the project eventually brought it back to life as the feature film Serenity, a heavily-promoted big screen release from Universal Studios in the Fall of 2005. Unfortunately, despite strong reviews and fawning devotion from the TV show's small (very small) fan base, the movie was a tremendous box office flop. I doubt he's quite given up on it yet, but even Joss Whedon will have trouble turning this one around. Its financial failure shouldn't be taken as any sort of indication of the movie's quality. In fact, the tiny handful of people who actually saw it in the theater mostly liked it.
Picking up a few months after the point where the TV series ended (or just stopped, really, since there wasn't any sort of proper ending), the movie brings us back into the adventures of charming scoundrel Capt. Malcolm Reynolds and his ragtag band of rebels as they carouse through outer space like old fashioned Western outlaws, always on the run from the oppressive Alliance authorities. Still harboring the fugitive Dr. Simon Tam and his mysterious, mentally unbalanced sister River, the crew of the ship Serenity must now face a new threat, a relentless Alliance agent known only as The Operative, whose pursuit will finally drive them to discover the dark secrets held in River's scrambled brain.
The HD-DVD:
Serenity debuts on the HD-DVD format as the premiere launch title from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, a piece of trivia that may come in handy some day. To distinguish the new format from normal DVDs, HD-DVD discs come packaged in red plastic keepcases that are slightly shorter, wider, and thinner than typical DVD packaging. Universal has chosen to recycle the same DVD cover art (in Serenity's case a terribly cheesy Photoshop montage), partially obscured by ugly silver borders more than a bit reminiscent of Sony's Superbit DVD line. (The comparison photo in this review shows the Region 4 DVD release, which uses different cover art.)
Video:
In comparison to the DVD release of the same movie, the picture is quite clearly more detailed and pleasing. Close-up shots are eye-opening, while medium and long shots avoid the soft and filtered appearance typical of DVD transfers. Fine object details such as the pores on the actors' skin and the fabric weave of their clothes are resolved to a much greater degree than possible in Standard Definition. Shadow detail in dark parts of the frame is also better defined, as are subtle color gradients like variations in facial complexion.
Audio:
The audio is encoded in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 format. DD+ offers higher bit rates than available with traditional Dolby Digital audio found on DVD. In these early stages, the hardware requirements for HD-DVD's new sound formats are still under much scrutiny and debate, and to be honest I'm not sure that I'm getting the most out of the DD+ format yet. At the very least, I can say that the audio sounds just as good as the DVD's soundtrack.
Extras:
All of the bonus features on this HD-DVD launch title are recycled from the DVD edition and are presented in Standard Definition video. Future releases may offer more advanced features.
- audio comentary by Joss Whedon
- Outtakes
- nine deleted Szenen
- Featurettes: Future History: The Story of Earth that was
What's in a Firefly
Re-lighting the Firefly
Joss Whedon Introduction
No interactive features have been included.
Posted by Elle
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