Light Between Oceans, The

Based on the novel by M.L. Stedman, The Light Between Oceans is a story about Tom Sherbourne (Fassbender), a young combat veteran and lighthouse keeper on a remote island off the coast of Western Australia, and Isabel Graysmark (Vikander), the beautiful and spirited daughter of the school headmaster on the mainland of Partageuse. The other characters are Hannah Roennfeld (Weisz), a resident of Partageuse who is desperately hoping to find her husband and baby lost at sea, Septimus Potts (Brown), Hannah's wealthy, influential father, and Ralph (Thompson), a salty, sea-faring skipper. This is a story of fate, love, moral dilemmas, and the lengths one couple will go to see their hard-fought dreams realized. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary between Director Derek Clanfrance and his film studies Professor Phil Solomon, the featurettes Bringing The Light To Life (HD 16:47) and Lighthouse Keeper (HD 05:40), upfront previews, and a digital copy.

The 2.40:1 1080p AVC picture quality is excellent overall. The color palette is naturally hued with earthy tones that exhibit realism throughout, from the varying colors of the sea, the house, and lighthouse on the island, and the oil-lit lighting, which provides image richness. The exterior greenery is natural throughout. Fleshtones appear natural as well. Contrast is excellent, though, blacks are a bit weak, but shadow delineation is nicely rendered. Resolution is excellent, with exteriors and textures nicely detailed, as well as clothing and interior objects. Every aspect of the imagery is sharp and detailed, especially during close-ups. This is a wonderful visual experience that is effectively cinematic and pleasing throughout. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is wonderfully expansive, nicely filling the soundfield with realistic atmospherics such as ocean currents, intense storms, and various interior sonics, as well as environmental ambiances such as birds and wind. An intense, fierce storm blows throughout the soundfield and fully energizes every channel with strong winds and smashing rain. This and Alexandre Desplat's beautiful orchestral/choral score provides aggressive soundfield envelopment. Deep bass is intense during the storm with sub-25 Hz .1 LFE energy. The music is well recorded with a wide and deep soundstage that extends aggressively to the four surrounds. Dialogue is mostly intelligible throughout, though, at times it is a bit muffed and spatial integration is wanting, with the dialogue quite forward sounding. This is a terrific soundtrack with moments of holosonic® intensity that fully energizes the soundfield, providing reference-quality sound.GR WSR (Gary Reber)