BLU-RAY REVIEW

Extraordinary Measures

Featured In Issue 149, July/August/September 2010

Picture4
Sound3.5
WSR Score4.5
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):
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
35131
(MPAA Rating):
PG
(Rating Reason):
Thematic material, language and a mild suggestive moment
(Retail Price):
$34.95
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
106
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A, B & C
(Theatrical Year):
2010
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
05/18/10
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Tom Vaughan
(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):
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):

"Extraordinary Measures" is based on the book "The Cure" by Geeta Anand—the true story about the power of love and faith against impossible odds. Fate and determination push idealistic father John Crowley (Fraser) into joining forces with reclusive medical researcher Dr. Robert Stonehill (Ford). Together, this unlikely pair faces impossible odds as they battle the entire medical establishment and time itself to find a cure before it's too late. (Gary Reber)

Special features include two featurettes: "The Power To Overcome" (HD 10:43) and "Meet John Crowley" (HD 04:35), eight deleted scenes (HD 09:22), BD-Live functionality, and up-front previews.

The 1080p AVC picture delivers a perfectly natural visual experience, with a pure color color palette rich in warm hues. Contrast is well balanced, with deep blacks and nicely realized shadow delineation. Resolution is revealing of fine facial features and object textures, with otherwise sharp imagery. Fleshtones are generally natural in hue and tone. The picture is cinematic in visual response, and the imagery is absent of noise, for an impressive pristine experience. The picture is expressive of an excellent theatrical experience. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is quietly effective with a warm and expansive orchestral music score that expands well into the surrounds. The score is contrasted with the rough gritty sound of classic rock. As a drama that is dialogue driven, the soundtrack favors a frontal soundstage, with production and ADR dialogue, which generally sound spatially integrated but not always. Sound effects atmospheric soundscapes are limited in the sense of aggressive surround envelopment. Thus, except for the music, surround envelopment is limited. Still, the soundtrack works within the context of the storytelling. (Gary Reber)