Spectre

In Spectre, a cryptic message from the past sends James Bond (Craig) on a rogue mission to Mexico City and eventually Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Bellucci), the beautiful and forbidden widow of an infamous criminal. Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the sinister organization known as SPECTRE. Meanwhile back in London, Max Denbigh (Scott), the new head of the Centre for National Security, questions Bond's actions and challenges the relevance of MI6, led by M (Fiennes). Bond covertly enlists Moneypenny (Harris) and Q (Whishaw) to help him seek out Madeleine Swann (Seydoux), the daughter of his old nemesis Mr. White (Christensen), who may hold the clue to untangling the web of SPECTRE. As the daughter of an assassin, she understands Bond in a way most others cannot. As Bond ventures toward the heart of SPECTRE, he learns of a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks (Waltz). (Gary Reber)

Special features include the featurette Spectre: Bond's Opening Sequence (HD 20:12); the following video blogs: Director—Sam Mendes (HD 01:29), Supercars (HD 01:41), Introducing Léa Seydoux And Monica Bellucci (HD 01:42), Action (HD 01:37), Music (HD 01:50), and Guinness World Record (HD 01:18); a gallery; theatrical trailers; and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 2.38:1 1080p AVC picture was filmed in Panavision®. The imagery is fully cinematic with well-balanced contrast and excellent color fidelity. Blacks are deep and solid, and shadow delineation is nicely rendered. Contrast differences are nicely executed during the numerous and varied locations, such as in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead celebration, Rome, Tangier, and snow-covered Austria. The color palette paints a natural appearance with rich and warm hues that are never exaggerated. Fleshtones are naturally hued and appear realistic under varied lighting. Resolution is excellent, with fine detail exhibited throughout, with closeups nicely resolved to reveal nuanced facial features, hair, clothing, and objects. Throughout, the imagery is pristine. This is a beautifully diverse visual experience that is engaging throughout and reference quality. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is exceptionally dynamic and aggressively holosonic® with an immersive soundfield excited with deep, powerful .1 LFE bass energy that extends to sub-25 Hz. The excitement is adrenaline producing with all eight channels energized, creating a hue soundfield with impressive dimensionality. The surrounds are directionalized with effective panning and sonic positioning. Atmospherics and sound effects are perfectly executed and enhance the suspension of disbelief, a true feat considering this is a Bond experience. Car rumblings, screeches, and roar on pavement, as well as gunfire, explosions, vehicles, helicopters and small planes all add to the excitement and action. Nuances also provide references to locational realism. Foley is precise and perfectly in step with the proceedings. Thomas Newman's orchestral music score is dynamic and dimensional, with a wide and deep soundstage that extends aggressively to the four surrounds. Dialogue is consistently intelligible and effectively integrated spatially for the most part, but ADR does play a prominent role with less-than-desirable integration. This is a wonderful sonic experience with superb dimensional envelopment and fidelity—reference quality throughout. (Gary Reber)