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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Blades Of Glory

    Featured In Issue 125, November 2007

    Picture3.5
    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):
    Paramount Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    13094
    (MPAA Rating):
    PG-13
    (Rating Reason):
    For crude and sexual humor, language, a comic violent image, and some drug references
    (Retail Price):
    $39.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (HD-30)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    93
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    Not Indicated
    (Theatrical Year):
    2007
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    08/28/07
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Will Speck & Josh Gordon
    (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):

    In Blades Of Glory, arch rival male figure skaters Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) and Jimmy McElroy (Heder) tie in competition for the Gold Medal and resort to fisticuffs on the winner's podium, resulting in a lifetime ban in men's competitive figure skating, A loophole in the skating regulations allows the two avowed enemies to compete in the national championships in the pairs division. Chazz and Jimmy must decide if they want to win the gold enough to put their past differences aside and work together with the help of Jimmy's one-time coach (Nelson) to bring home the gold. (Stacey Pendry)

    Special features include the featurettes Return To Glory: The Making Of 'Blades' (15 minutes), Cooler Than Ice: The Super Sexy Costumes Of Skating (five minutes), Arnett & Poehler: A Family Affair (six minutes), 20 Questions With Scott Hamilton (five minutes), and Hector: Portrait Of A Psychofan (three minutes); "Blades Of Glory" music video by Bo Bice; a gag reel; eight minutes of Alternate Takes; Moviefone Unscripted With Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, And Will Arnett (10 minutes); three MTV Interstitials; a photo gallery; and previews.

    With well-balanced, naturally saturated colors the anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 DVD can look good, but details are not captured and delivered as well as in the best releases. Black levels are slightly milky, but shadow delineation is rendered well. Details in the white fields, like ice and snow, can be lost though, often looking like flat fields with no dimensionality. Pixilation and edge enhancement can also be noticed at times. Similarly, the H.264 AVC-encoded HD DVD shows the same problems, such as poor detail in the white fields and somewhat smeared details. Black levels and shadow delineation are well rendered, creating a fairly dimensional-looking image. (Danny Richelieu)

    The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack uses each of the available channels, but phantom imaging between loudspeakers is limited. The result is less of a field and more of five recognizable points in the room emitting sound, which can be a distraction. Deep bass is not very prevalent and the LFE channel is rarely used. Fidelity is adequate, but vocals can sound forward and thin, and effects can sound muffled. The HD DVD's Dolby Digital Plus encoding sounds very much the same as the DVD, although dynamic range seems to be improved ever so slightly. (Danny Richelieu)

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