BLU-RAY REVIEW

Ides Of March, The

Featured In Issue 164, February 2012

Picture5
Sound5
WSR Score5
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):
39236
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
Pervasive language
(Retail Price):
$35.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
101
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
2011
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
01/17/12
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
George Clooney
(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):

In The Ides Of March, idealistic campaign worker Stephen Myers (Gosling) has sworn to give all for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney), a wild card presidential candidate whose groundbreaking ideas could change the political landscape. However, a brutal Ohio primary threatens to test Morris' integrity. Stephen gets trapped in the down-and-dirty battle, discovering himself caught up in a scandal where the only path to survival is to play both sides. Based on the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon. (Gary Reber)

Special features included commentary with George Clooney and Grant Heslov; four featurettes: Believe: George Clooney (HD 06:19), On The Campaign: The Cast (HD 05:49), Developing The Campaign: The Origin (HD 07:08), and What Does A Political Consultant Do? (HD 07:29); up-front previews; BD-Live functionality; and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 1080p AVC picture is beautifully photographed, with a perfectly natural appearance. Contrast is well balanced, with deep, natural blacks and revealing shadow delineation. The color palette exhibits accurate hues with warm and rich tones. Fleshtones are natural throughout, even under various lighting conditions. Resolution is impressively revealing in terms of facial features, hair, clothing, and object textures. This is a wonderful visual experience that is impressively natural in appearance and resolution. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is nicely produced, with a beautifully recorded orchestral music score that sweeps across the soundstage and into the surrounds, for an enveloping holosonic® experience. Individual instruments are clearly distinctive, and low-frequency percussion is perfectly natural sounding. Bass enhancement is supported with non-overpowering .1 LFE energy. Dialogue sounds natural, with generally excellent spatial integration. While mostly frontal focused, atmospherics and sound effects are judiciously used. This is a terrific soundtrack performance that is reference quality throughout. (Gary Reber)