BLU-RAY REVIEW

Double, The

Featured In Issue 164, February 2012

Picture5
Sound5
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):
Image Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
(MPAA Rating):
PG-13
(Rating Reason):
Intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images and language
(Retail Price):
$29.97
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
98
(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):
01/31/12
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Michael Brandt
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
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(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
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(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 Double, the mysterious murder of a United States Senator bears the distinctive trademark of a legendary Cold War-era Soviet assassin, code-named "Cassius." With targets becoming increasingly sporadic and ballistic reports inconclusive, panic is silently growing at the highest levels. There are only two men capable of finding this seemingly uncatchable killer: retired CIA operative Paul Sheperdson (Gere) and young, hotshot FBI agent Ben Geary (Grace). Paul has engaged in an obsessive hunt for Cassius for the better part of his life, studying the killer's every move. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the featurette The Journey Of the Journey (HD 30:57), the trailer, and up-front previews.

The 1080p AVC picture is superb, with perfectly natural and realistic imagery. Contrast is excellent, with deep, solid blacks and revealing shadow delineation. The color palette is rendered with natural, unexaggerated hues. Fleshtones are absolutely accurate. Resolution is superb, with fine detail exhibited in facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture. Jeffrey Kimball's cinematography is visually engaging throughout, with a crisp, yet fine-grained filmic appearance, both in present time and during the flashback sequences. Dimensionality also is quite good. This is a solid visual experience that is reference quality. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is excellent. Fidelity is superb, and the sound is dynamic with aggressive .1 LFE energy directed to support the action and dramatic sequences. Fine nuances are nicely produced, with effective atmospherics and sound effects that heighten the realism, including extremely impressive dynamics and spatialization. The heavy music score with a deep bass foundation is spread widely and deeply across the soundstage and expands impressively into the surrounds. Soundfield directionality is effectively engaging with both subtle and dramatic sonics, such as the car chase scene near the end. Dialogue is generally well integrated spatially. This is a really good holosonic® soundtrack experience that is impressively engaging. (Gary Reber)