Saw III

Did you like Saw? How about Saw II? Well, this Saw is III times the fun, but with all the guts and gore as found on its predecessors. Jigsaw (Bell) is back, and with the help of his apprentice Amanda (Smith), plays the biggest game of all when he involves Dr. Lynn Denlon (Soomekh) and Jeff Reinhart (Macfadyen). (Tricia Spears)

Special features on the Blu-ray Disc are the same as on the DVD but with the addition of two featurettes: the seven-minute The Writing Of Saw III and the five-minute Amanda: The Evolution Of A Killer. The other supplements are: commentary with Director Darren Lynn Bousman, Writer/Executive Producer Leigh Whannell, Executive Producer Peter Block, and Executive Producer Jason Constantine; commentary with Producers Oren Koules and Mark Burg; commentary with Bousman, Editor Kevin Greutert, and Director Of Photography David A. Armstrong; The Traps Of Saw 3 nine-minute featurette; The Props Of Saw 3 eight-minute featurette, the nine-minute featurette Darren's Diary; 5-1/2 minutes of deleted scenes; the theatrical trailer; the theatrical teaser; additional trailers; and up-front ads.

Like the previous two titles in the series, the anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 DVD is shrouded by a grisly green tint that matches the storytelling well. While the majority of the movie is filmed in very dark environments, blacks are not as deep as they should be, which also hurts the shadow delineation. The image is still very overly contrasted, which, combined with the heavy film grain, makes for a very gritty image. The Blu-ray Disc release is much of the same, although the black levels are closer to where they need to be for this lurid movie. Contrast is still overblown, and the grittiness delivered by this and the heavy film grain is still recognizable. (Danny Richelieu)

The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack is impactful and enthralling, with each of the channels incorporated well to create a fully detailed soundfield. Phantom imaging around the room keeps the listening space engaged in a very realistic environment, and deep bass, which is delivered through each of the available channels, only adds to the tension. The Blu-ray Disc's lossy DTS-HD™ High Resolution Audio and Dolby Digital Surround EX™ 5.1-channel encodings are both a slight improvement over the DVD's Dolby Digital encoding, with the DTS-HD providing even better articulation in the deep bass and more fluidity. The addition of the matrix-derived center surround channel in the Surround EX encoding is welcome for creating a more seamless surroundfield, but, in a properly setup system, it does not add too much. (Danny Richelieu)