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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Mr. Woodcock

    Featured In Issue 129, March 2008

    Picture3.5
    SoundNR
    WSR Score3.5
    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):
    New Line Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    N36716
    (MPAA Rating):
    PG-13
    (Rating Reason):
    Crude and sexual content, thematic mateial, language and mild drup reference
    (Retail Price):
    $35.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    88
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A
    (Theatrical Year):
    2007
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    01/15/08
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Craig Gillespie
    (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):
    DTS HD Lossless 7.1
    (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):

    John Farley (Scott), a successful self-help author, returns to his hometown to find his mother (Sarandon) has fallen in love with his sadistic high school P.E. teacher, Mr. Woodcock (Thornton). John, a former chunky teenager, remembers in horror the mental and physical humiliation he suffered at the hands of the no-nonsense gym teacher. Vowing to do whatever it takes to derail his Mom's budding relationship, John soon finds himself locked in a battle of body and mind with his old nemesis. (Stacey Pendry)

    Special features include ten deleted/alternate scenes, the following two featurettes: The Making Of Mr. Woodcock (15 minutes) and P.E. Trauma Tales (12 minutes), the original theatrical trailer for this film, and previews.

    The anamorphically enhanced 2.40:1 DVD exhibits a generally bland picture, with desaturated colors and an overall dim appearance. Black levels are solid, though, and shadow delineation is fairly impressive. Contrast can be somewhat overblown with hot whites. Details are not captured incredibly well, and compression artifacts can be noticed from time to time. Edge enhancement is minor and does not pose much of a problem. The VC-1-encoded Blu-ray Disc shows a similar appearance, with desaturated colors and a relatively dim appearance. Whites are still somewhat overblown, and details aren't as well resolved as in the best high-definition releases. Black levels are solid and shadow delineation is good. (Danny Richelieu)

    The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack often sounds tinny and hollow, with somewhat unrefined fidelity. A high-pitched hissing can also be heard from time to time throughout the presentation, which can be a slight distraction. Shuffling distortion can be heard as well. The front stage is fairly wide, especially for music, but atmospheric effects are generally constrained. The surround channels can be ignored for much of the presentation, leaving the soundtrack sounding fairly one-dimensional. We can only decode the DTS® core stream from the DTS-HD Master Audio encoding found on the Blu-ray Disc, but it still features better fidelity than the DVD's encoding, with more natural-sounding dialogue and better dynamic range. A high-pitched ringing can be heard, but the shuffling distortion is lessened. (Danny Richelieu)

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