BLU-RAY REVIEW

Eight Below—Inspired By A True Story

Featured In Issue 114, November 2006

Picture3
SoundNR
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):
Walt Disney Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
52754
(MPAA Rating):
PG
(Rating Reason):
For some peril and brief mild language
(Retail Price):
$34.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
120
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
2005
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
09/19/06
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Frank Marshall
(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):
Dolby Digital 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):

Jerry Shepard (Walker), a guide at the National Science Foundation Research Base, has a pretty good life, spending his days with his best friend, cartographer Charlie Cooper (Jason Biggs), playing poker, and exploring the Antarctic wilderness with his sled dogs—Old Jack, Maya, Max, Shadow, Buck, Truman, Dewey, and Shorty. But the arrival of a UCLA geologist and subsequent exploration finds them fleeing a sudden storm and narrowly escaping death, thanks to the actions of his heroic dogs. And it's this same storm that forces them to evacuate the base, leaving the dogs behind. Will Jerry make it back in time to save his canine companions? (It's a Disney film, you figure it out.) (Jack Kelley)

Special features include audio commentary, the Blu-Scape Ice film, a movie showcase, and up-front ads.

The cold, blue MPEG-2-encoded 2.40:1 Blu-ray Disc picture does not have the pixel breakup problems of the DVD, but its hazy, blown-out appearance can add to what can generally be described as a slightly smeared image. (Danny Richelieu)

The uncompressed linear PCM soundtrack's increased fidelity helps create a more believable soundstage, especially with all the subtle atmospheric effects, although imaging between loudspeaker pairs is still limited. (Danny Richelieu)