BLU-RAY REVIEW

Star Trek: Insurrection

Featured In Issue 183, January 2014

Picture5
SoundNR
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):
Paramount Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
7914006
(MPAA Rating):
PG
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$119.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
103
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
Not Indicated
(Theatrical Year):
1998
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
09/10/13
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
(Director):
Jonathan Frakes
(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 TrueHD 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):

Star Trek Insurrection features the cast of the television show Star Trek: Next Generation on a mission to the planet Ba'ku that has fountain-of-youth-like powers. Captain Picard (Stewart) has been ordered to remove the 600 residents of the amazing planet in order to use its beneficial properties for the greater good. Knowing that the Federation's Prime Directive mandates that no Starfleet expedition may interfere with the natural development of other civilizations, the Captain is faced with a difficult moral decision. (Tricia Spears)

Special features include commentary by Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis; and a Library Computer interactive experience that allows you to access information about people, technology, locations, and more at the moment each appears in the film. The following featurettes can be found under Production: It Takes A Village (SD 16:41), Location, Location, Location (SD 19:56), The Art Of Insurrection (SD 14:53), Anatomy Of A Stunt (SD 06:33), The Story (SD 17:19), Making Star Trek: Insurrection (SD 25:07), and Director's Notebook (SD 18:56). The Star Trek Universe includes Westmore's Aliens (SD 17:43), Westmore's Legacy (HD 12:45), Star Trek's Beautiful Alien Women (SD 12:40), Marina Sirtis The Counselor Is In (HD 08:26), Brent Spiner Data And Beyond Part 3 (HD 08:17), Trek Roundtable Insurrection (HD 10:50), and Starfleet Academy Scisec Brief 009 The Origins Of The Ba'ku And Son'a (HD 03:00); and Creating The Illusion offers Shuttle Chase (SD 09:36), Drones (SD 04:43), and Duck Blind (SD 04:38). There are also seven deleted scenes, storyboards, and a photo gallery under Archives; the teaser trailer; the theatrical trailer; an original promotional featurette (SD 05:02); BD-Live interactivity; and upfront ads.

The 2.39:1 1080p AVC encoding shows richly saturated reds, vibrant blues, and deep blacks (now a trademark of the series); giving it a bold picture quality. Color fidelity is superb, with hues that appear vibrant and natural, especially when contrasted by the deepest blacks. Fleshtones are also nicely balanced and natural, with good definition. The picture is impressively sharp and detailed, revealing satisfying textures and clarity, particularly in close-ups of facial features, hair, clothing, and object textures. The source element is consistently revealing and pristine throughout. Contrast is defined nicely with deep, solid blacks, and near-black shadows are delineated well. The combination provides a dimensional-looking image that works to enhance the realism. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby® TrueHD 5.1-channel encoding exhibits an excellently layered soundtrack that delivers an engaging three-dimensional holosonic® soundfield. The sound design envelops the soundfield with aggressive surround and dynamic energy and deep satisfying natural bass. Fidelity is superb, as this mix is another one of the best remasterings regarding the film franchise of Star Trek. Deep bass is tight, powerful, and impactful with, at times, powerful low frequencies in the sub-25 Hz range. Atmospherics and sound effects nicely define the spatial dimensionality, giving the listener a more immersive surround envelopment experience, with effectively crafted pans. The orchestral music score is expansive, with a wide and deep soundstage presence that extends to the surrounds. Dialogue spatial integration is excellent. This is yet another great soundtrack that won't disappoint. (Gary Reber)