BLU-RAY REVIEW

Pursuit Of Happyness, The

Featured In Issue 120, May 2007

Picture4
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):
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
17696
(MPAA Rating):
PG13
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$38.96
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
117
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
2006
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
03/27/07
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Gabriele Muccino
(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, PCM 16/48 6.1
(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):

After salesman Chris Gardner (Will Smith) earns an unpaid internship at Dean Witter, his life begins to spiral out of control. In The Pursuit Of Happyness, Chris is determined to protect and keep his young son Christopher (Jaden Smith) safe at any cost, even as he finds himself homeless and living on the streets of San Francisco. Inspired by a true story. (Tricia Spears)

Special features are the same as on the DVD reviewed in Issue 119 and include commentary with Director Gabriele Muccino, a 17-1/2-minute high-definition "Making Pursuit: An Italian Take On The American Dream" featurette with the film's foreign director, and a seven-minute high-definition featurette "Father And Son—On Screen And Off" about the obvious chemistry between the real-life father and son actors of the film. The "Man Behind The Movie: A Conversation With Chris Gardner" is a 13-minute tribute to the man depicted in the movie, and "Inside The Rubik's® Cube" is a seven-minute look at the famous puzzle. Additionally, there is the "I Can" musical performance that was not included in the theatrical release of the film, and previews.

The 2.40:1 Blu-ray Disc features bright, vibrant colors, deep blacks, and good shadow delineation, but contrast seems to be slightly too high. Details are not as finely resolved as on the best releases, but they are not bad. (Danny Richelieu)

The uncompressed linear PCM 5.1-channel soundtrack's dialogue is recorded and delivered very well, with a pristine fidelity that is very natural sounding. Dynamic range is also impressive, bringing out a lot of the more quiescent effects. (Danny Richelieu)