BLU-RAY REVIEW

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter 3D

Featured In Issue 172, December 2012

3D Picture4.5
Picture5
Sound5
WSR Score4
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):
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
2277359
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
Violence throughout and brief sexuality
(Retail Price):
$49.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
105
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
Not Indicated
(Theatrical Year):
2012
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
10/23/12
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Timur Bekmambetov
(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, DTS HD Lossless 7.1
(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):

"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" explores the secret life of Abraham Lincoln before he became President, and the untold story that shaped our nation. Based on The New York Times Best Seller novel, Lincoln (Walker) becomes history's greatest hunter of the undead as he sets out to pulverize the bloodthirsty killers one by one in an epic fight for vengeance and survival. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary witih Writer Seth Grahame-Smith, the featurettes "The Great Calamity Graphic Novel" (HD 07:43) and a making-of (HD 75:21), the "Powerless" music video by Linkin Park, the theatrical trailer, upfront previews, and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 1080p MVC 3D picture exhibits a stylized, filtered depiction of the 1800's with a sepia-toned cast throughout to impart age. Browns and golden hues dominate, with an overall desatuated color pallet, except for specific objects to draw attention. Blacks are deep and solid, with murky shadow delineation. The dim lighting design enhances the grimly horrific dark one of the presentation. Some daylight scenes are brightly presented but contrasty for dramatic effect. Resolution is excellent with nicely detailed object textures, clothing, hair, and facial nuances. The picture feels cinematic throughout and hauntingly artistic. The 3D rendering is an excellent 2D-to-3D conversion performed by Stereo D. This is a superb 3D conversion with an engaging visual presence that enhances the storytelling with visual and dimensional intensity. If one had not known that the film was not produced in native 3D there is no clue otherwise to suggest otherwise. This is a tribute to the creative and artistic skills of the artisans at Stereo D, the conversion house responsible for crafting this release. Never mind that this is a conversion, the 3D presentation is stunningly spectacular! The atmospheric backdrop to the storytelling is effectively enhanced with the added depth. The sense of natural depth and perspective is impressively conveyed. Dimensional realism is perfectly scaled to portray a realistic proportional sense of size and shape. This is an impressive 3D experience throughout with at times absolutely unbelievable dimension. Never through the viewing was crosstalk ghosting evident, for a virtual artifact-free viewing experience. This is yet another conversion that works extremely well to enhance the illusion of realism. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD 7.1-channel soundtrack is intensely terrific, with a dramatic dynamic presence propelled by a sweepingly aggressively enveloping orchestra music score. The sound is well recorded with a soundstage presence that extends wide and deep as well as dimensional throughout the soundfield. Atmospherics and sound effects heighten the dynamic character with punctuated sonics enhanced with deep, solid, below-25 Hz bass energy in the .1 LFE channel. Such sonics are panned and directionalized with pinpoint positioning and effectively enhanced with the two additional channels that conform to the theatrical standard. Dialogue sounds natural and nicely integrated spatially. This is a wonderful holosonic® soundtrack experience that projects excitement and dynamic impact. (Gary Reber)