Moon

Sam Bell (Rockwell) is nearing the completion of his three-year-long contract with Lunar Industries, mining Earth's primary source of energy on the dark side of the Moon. Along with only the base's vigilant computer Gerty (voiced by Spacey) as his sole companion, Bell's extended isolation has taken its toll. His only link to the outside world comes via satellite messages from his wife and young daughter. He longs to return home, but a terrible accident on the lunar surface leads to a disturbing discovery that contributes to his growing sense of paranoia and dislocation so many miles away from home. (Tricia Spears)

Special features include commentary with Writer/ Director Duncan Jones, Director Of Photography Gary Shaw, Concept Designer Gavin Rothery, and Production Designer Tony Noble; commentary with Jones and Producer Stuart Fenegan; Whistle, a short film by Duncan Jones (SD 28:46); the featurettes The Making Of Moon (SD 16:18) and Creating The Visual Effects (SD 11:09); a Science Center Q&A With Jones (HD 20:48); a Filmmaker's Q&A At The Sundance Film Festival (HD 11:15); the theatrical trailer; previews; BD-Live interactivity; and up-front ads.

The 1080p 2.40:1 AVC picture is generally sterile visually, as most scenes take place in a lunar control laboratory or "base" on the moon's surface. The interior is stark, laden with stainless steel and cream-colored walls bolstered with tech machinery and controls and a robot hinged to a ceiling track. Personal human objects break up the otherwise-bland interior. Resolution has a smooth appearance, with an overall soft edge, with occasional detail revealed in facial and object texture close-ups. The lunar surface detail is nicely rendered and reveals the uneven terrain's textures, consisting of craters and the scattering of the moon's surface in the form of pebbles and debris, resulting from the mining operation. Contrast is well balanced, and blacks are deep and solid, with revealing shadow delineation. Fleshtones appear natural, if a bit pale, within the reflective interior environment. Overall, this is a visually drab presentation but perfectly suited to the isolation endured by Bell. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is frontal focused and dialogue centric, yet effectively supported with surround. At times the soundfield sounds dimensional and holosonic®, even in the interior base scenes, with machinery, power hums, and noises heard at low levels in the background and within the surround hemisphere. Sound effects are strong during segments on the moon's surface outside the base, enhanced with deep, solid bass that extends at times below 25 Hz in the .1 LFE channel. The music score is haunting throughout and creates suspense and tension. The music and synthesized sounds are enveloping in the surrounds, adding dimension to the imagery. Much of the sound is delivered at extremely low levels, but the lossless DTS® encoding nicely reproduces this ambiance that is almost constant. Sound effects occasionally blurt out to effectively call attention to the moment in the storytelling. Dialogue sounds intelligible and natural, with convincing spatially. Overall, the sound design effectively enhances the sense of close quarters, isolation, and the haunting lunar environment, and makes for an engaging soundtrack experience. (Gary Reber)