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Starring |
Johnny Depp
,
Benicio Del Toro
,
Tobey Maguire
,
Ellen Barkin
,
Gary Busey
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Directed By |
Terry Gilliam
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Audio
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DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
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Visuals
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2.35:1 Widescreen
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Running Time |
118 mins
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UK Release Date |
February 22, 2010
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Genre |
Drama, Comedy
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Our Rating |
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User Rating |
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Gilliam’s nauseating, nightmare trip into depravity is as close as you can get to taking acid without, err, taking acid, and the psychedelic adventure proves even more intoxicating in hi-def.
Johnny Depp plays journalist Raoul Duke, who is ordered to make a trip to Las Vegas for his latest assignment. Accompanied by his attorney and spaced-out side-kick, Dr. Gonzo (Del Toro), Duke heads out to ‘Sin City’ armed with a suitcase full of mind-bending pharmaceuticals, and their intoxicated adventure soon goes way beyond a standard business trip.
Receiving mixed reviews upon its initial release but finding a healthy fanbase nonetheless, Gilliam’s cold, incoherent journey into a whacky wonderland manages to evoke the gonzo spirit of Hunter S. Thompon’s work with some ingenious special effects and bizarre visual flourishes, and certainly, it’s a movie that was always destined to look the part on Blu-ray.
Sure enough, the film looks great. The garish, multi-coloured spectacle of Vegas and the bright, wide-open planes of the desert are vibrant and pop from the screen. Texture and detail have also been improved, and while there’s still plenty of dirt and blemishes throughout, fans of the film should certainly be happy with the Blu-ray upgrade.
The audio is a little more disappointing. While the sound effects are loud and clear, and the dialogue is perfectly discernable, the 5.1 mix doesn’t quite provide the heady surround experience that you’d expect, providing a slightly two-dimensional, front speaker-heavy soundtrack.
Similar to other recent Universal Blu-ray releases, the lack of special features lets the side down significantly. With only a short ‘making of’ featurette and a selection of grubby deleted scenes included, one hopes that a ‘Special Edition’ Blu-ray will be on the cards at some point soon.
Overall Verdict: Great picture quality, but the soundtrack and lack of special features let the side down.
Special Features:
‘My Scenes’ Option
‘D Box’ Option
‘Spotlight On Location’ Featurette
Deleted Scenes
BD Live
Reviewer: Lee Griffiths
