BLU-RAY REVIEW

Inkheart

Featured In Issue 141, July/August 2009

Picture5
SoundNR
WSR Score3.5
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):
Warner Home Video
(Catalog Number):
1000045452
(MPAA Rating):
PG
(Rating Reason):
Fantasy adventure action, some scary moments and brief language
(Retail Price):
$39.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
106
(Color Type):
Color With B/W Sequences
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
Not Indicated
(Theatrical Year):
2009
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
06/23/09
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Iain Softley
(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 TrueHD 5.1, Dolby Digital 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):

Based on the book by Cornelia Funke, Inkheart is about a man named Mo Folchart (Fraser) who, when reading a story, makes the characters leap off the page. Literally. And that's a problem. Mo must somehow use his special powers to send the interlopers back to their world...and save ours. If ever a task was easier read than done, this is it. Mo and his daughter Meggie (Bennett), aided by friends real and fictional, plunge into a thrilling quest that pits them against diabolical villains, fantastic beasts, and dangers at every turn. (Gary Reber)

Special features include A Story From The Cast & Crew—while playing the game "Tell Me A Story" Novelist Cornelia Funke starts the cast and crew off on a wild adventure by giving the first line, "I discovered the hole under my bed on my thirteenth birthday..." (HD 06:36); From Imagination To The Page: How Writers Write—What goes on in the mind of a writer? How does an idea make it to the page? Novelist Funke and others explain how you know you have a good idea, the creation of characters, the choice of location, and the inspiration behind Inkheart (HD 10:38); nine deleted scenes (HD 13:36); Eliza Reads To Us—Actress Eliza Hope Bennett ("Meggie") shares one of her favorite passages from the book that did not end up in the movie, accompanied by Novelist Funke's illustrations of the story (HD 03:46); plus BD-Live interactivity.

The 1080p VC-1 picture is absolutely gorgeous! Colors are vibrant, with warm natural hues. Fleshtones are perfectly natural and accurate. Contrast is perfect, with excellent highlights and deep, solid blacks and finely delineated shadows, with superb depth. The imagery is impressively dimensional. Resolution is superb, with fine facial features and textures clearly defined. The picture is pristine throughout. This is a wonderful visual experience, with stunning scenes. The picture is reference quality. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby® TrueHD 5.1-channel soundtrack is fully engaging, with an aggressive directionalized holosonic® soundfield. The sound is dynamic with, at times, deep bass that extends below 25 Hz in the .1 LFE channel. Fidelity is superb throughout. Dialogue is perfectly intelligible and integrated spatially in most scenes, but in others, is a bit forward sounding. Foley effects and other sound effects are engaging spatially. The orchestral music score is well recorded, with a wide and deep soundstage that extends deep into the surrounds. This is a wonderfully energized soundtrack, with impressive soundfield delineation. (Gary Reber)