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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Hollywoodland

    Featured In Issue 119, April 2007

    Picture4
    SoundNR
    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):
    62100030
    (MPAA Rating):
    R
    (Rating Reason):
    For language, some violence, and sexual content
    (Retail Price):
    $39.98
    (Disc Type):
    Dual Side/Dual Layer (HD DVD30/DVD9)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    126
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    1
    (Theatrical Year):
    2006
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    02/06/07
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Allen Coulter
    (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):

    Under the signature cape and tights of the 1950's icon, Superman, was a second-rate Hollywood(land) actor, George Reeves (Affleck). His mysterious death on June 16, 1959, by a gunshot wound to the head in his Los Angeles home, was ruled a suicide, but his unbelieving mother (Smith) hired private eye Louis Simo (Brody) to find the truth. And the further Simo dug, the more he found himself surrounded by deception and adultery, and too many who wanted the death of Mr. Reeves to be just a memory. (Jack Kelley)

    Special features include audio commentary with Director Allen Coulter, five minutes of deleted scenes, and three featurettes: Re-Creating Old Hollywood, Behind The Headlines, and Hollywood Then & Now. Plus up-front previews.

    The anamorphically enhanced 1.85:1 DVD exhibits deep blacks and good shadow delineation, with well-captured details. The combination creates a dimensional image that is very pleasing. The color scheme is truncated to earthy, desaturated tones, keeping the time frame of the story fresh in the audience's mind. While the transfer is generally impressive and artifacts are rare, details are slightly soft throughout. The HD DVD's VC-1-encoded picture is a strong improvement, with even greater improvement to the depth of field. The color scheme is much the same, and while details are captured fairly well, they are not as impressive as on the best high-definition releases. (Danny Richelieu)

    The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack is generally limited to the front three screen channels, but when the surrounds are used, they do their part in creating a nicely detailed soundfield. Dialogue sounds good, but it doesn't have the level of articulation of the best recordings. The LFE channel is not used much at all, and, in general, bass doesn't reach the deepest octaves. The HD DVD's Dolby Digital Plus encoding provides tighter bass and slightly improved fidelity. (Danny Richelieu)

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