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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Secret, The

    Featured In Issue 135, October 2008

    Picture4
    SoundNR
    WSR Score4
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    Image Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    EUR50798BD
    (MPAA Rating):
    R
    (Rating Reason):
    Language using some sexual references and drug and alcohol use involving teens.
    (Retail Price):
    $35.98
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    92
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A
    (Theatrical Year):
    2006
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    08/12/08
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Vincent Perez
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer):
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor):
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
    (Principal Photography):
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
    (Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
    (Disc Soundtrack):
    Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS HD Lossless 5.1
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (French Language):
    (Spanish Language):
    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
    (Japanese Language):
    (Italian Language):
    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    When a traffic accident kills Ben Marris' (Duchovny) wife and soul mate Hannah (Taylor), sparing his 16-year-old daughter Sam (Thirlby), he feels as if his world is coming to an end. When the girl wakes up in the intensive care unit after the accident, she is not Sam at all—instead her deceased mom's spirit has taken over her body. Not knowing what else to do, Hannah begins her life as her teenage daughter, until she can figure out how to reunite her daughter's soul with its rightful body. When Sam's return to her body is eminent, both Ben and Hannah are not sure how they will tell Sam of The Secret possession of her body. Based on the novel Himitsu by Keigo Higashino. (Stacey Pendry)

    Special features include an eight-minute behind-the-scenes featurette; interviews with Lili Taylor (12 minutes), David Duchovny (ten minutes), and Olivia Thirlby (eight minutes); and the original theatrical trailer.

    The anamorphically enhanced 2.32:1 DVD is dominated by hues of brown and green, with a slight desaturation of colors across the board. Black levels are generally solid, but there are times when darker scenes are washed out. Resolution is slightly soft, but there are scenes that are resolved quite well. Shadow delineation is good. Contrast is balanced well, but fleshtones appear garish. Edge enhancement is not a problem, compression artifacts are rare, and source artifacts are very rare. The H.264 AVC-encoded Blu-ray Disc also has slightly soft resolution, but black levels and shadow delineation are nicely rendered, and the image can have an agreeable sense of depth. (Danny Richelieu)

    The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack provides some surround envelopment, but the star of the mix is the front stage. Music and effects are mixed well across the stage, with good imaging between the loudspeakers. Phantom imaging around the rest of the room is limited, though. Dialogue sounds articulate and natural, but fidelity in general is slightly lacking. Dynamic range is good, and there is a palpable sense of dimension in the front stage. There is little in the way of sub-50 Hz bass, but what is there is well defined. The Blu-ray Disc's DTS-HD Master Audio™ encoding improves fidelity across the board, with even more natural-sounding dialogue and improved imaging across the front stage. Dynamic range is also improved, and subtleties in the soundtrack are nicely captured. (Danny Richelieu)

    Reason #112 Why Readers Love Widescreen Review:

    The first thing that grabbed my interest was the DVD reviews. But after I purchased that first issue and read the reviews, I got hooked on all of the other information contained in each issue. I had adopted the DVD format fairly early on, and I have had a strong preference for widescreen, dating back to my VHS days. The technical information is a godsend. I feel that I have saved so much money by avoiding inferior quality DVDs. I was very ignorant about the technology out there for home theatre and was not aware of the resources I had that were really going to waste. (5.1 in my movie collection) I read and read and read and finally updated my antiquated system. It is such a wonderful joy to turn down the lights, turn up the sound, and enjoy movies more than I ever could at a theatre. I knew it was worth it even more when my wife said, “Cool” as we watched The Others with true surround sound. Widescreen Review has actually helped improve my quality of life!

    James Thompson
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