BLU-RAY REVIEW

Break-Up, The

Featured In Issue 115, December 2006

Picture4
Sound3
WSR Score3
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):
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
31973
(MPAA Rating):
PG13
(Rating Reason):
For sexual content, some nudity, and language
(Retail Price):
$39.98
(Disc Type):
Dual Side/Dual Layer (HD DVD30/DVD9)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
106
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
Not Indicated
(Theatrical Year):
2006
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
10/17/06
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Peyton Reed
(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):

Do you like to argue constantly with your significant other? If so, The Break-Up is the perfect movie for you. Gary Grobowski (Vaughn) and Brooke Meyers (Aniston) started out as the perfect couple, but after buying a condo and moving in together, they discovered that the only thing they could agree on was to disagree. (Tricia Spears)

First of all, when you pop the DVD in your player, you are given a choice of watching "his" version or "hers." Since I am a her, I chose that side. On further investigation, though, besides the color of the background on the menu, I couldn't see any difference in the two. There is an alternate ending (that I thought was actually better than the ending in the film) with optional commentary by Vince Vaughn and another optional commentary track by Director Peyton Reed; six deleted scenes; three extended scenes; seven outtakes; a 21-minute improv of a scene with Vaughn and Jon Favreau with optional commentary; the six-minute In Perfect Harmony: The Tone Rangers featurette; a 15-minute making-of featurette; an interactive Three Brothers: A Tour Of Chicago; feature commentary with Actors Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston; feature commentary with Reed; and up-front ads. The HD DVD also adds U-Control with Picture In Picture and Production Photographs.

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 DVD picture exhibits adequate fleshtones, although the entire image is slightly washed out. Shadow delineation is mediocre, with detail in the shadows looking flat. The image almost looks as if it is out of focus because of the poorly rendered details. The VC-1-encoded HD DVD picture looks much better, with more finely resolved details and better color balance. Shadow delineation is also improved, although it is not at the level of the best transfers. (Danny Richelieu)

The DVD's Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel is generally relegated to the center channel, with atmospheric effects in the corner channels all but forgotten for much of the presentation. Fidelity is adequate, although dialogue does have a slightly muddy presence. The HD DVD's Dolby Digital Plus encoding improves fidelity, as dialogue sounds much more natural and articulate. DR