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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Brave One, The

    Featured In Issue 129, March 2008

    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):
    Warner Home Video
    (Catalog Number):
    3000014850
    (MPAA Rating):
    R
    (Rating Reason):
    Strong violence, language amd some sexuality
    (Retail Price):
    $35.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    122
    (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):
    02/05/08
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Neil Jordan
    (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 TrueHD 5.1, 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):

    After the murder of her fiancé in a random, violent attack that nearly cost her her life as well, New York radio host Erica Bain (Foster) finds herself at rock bottom, terrified of the outside world. Tired of being a victim, Erica soon discovers the pistol-toting stranger within herself. Now no longer the victim, The Brave One decides to take back the streets of New York, one thug at a time. (Stacey Pendry)

    Special features include the featurette I Walk The City (21 minutes) and seven minutes of deleted scenes.

    The anamorphically enhanced 2.36:1 DVD exhibits a solid picture, with deep blacks and good shadow delineation helping give it a believably three-dimensional appearance. Colors are nicely rendered, as is contrast. Fleshtones have a natural appearance, with good distinction between different shades. Details are also captured nicely, and the image shows good resolution. Occasionally, the image can have a digitized look with pixilation noticeable, and "jaggies" can be seen on fine lines. Edge enhancement is rarely obtrusive. The HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc both include the same VC-1 encoding, which provides sharp details and a good sense of depth. Black levels can be inconsistent, and occasionally the image can look somewhat hazy. Long shots aren't as well defined as in many high-definition releases, but the picture is still good. (Danny Richelieu)

    The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack can sound very good, but dialogue can have a harshness that removes from its realism. The front stage is mixed well, with impressive imaging and a good sense of extension beyond the physical loudspeaker locations. The surround channels are used frequently with varying levels of effectiveness, but pans across the stage can be quite realistic. Dynamic range is fairly good, with low-level effects delivered well, and the noise floor is low. Music is mixed very well, helping build suspense nicely. The soundtrack isn't perfect, but it is enjoyable. Both the Blu-ray Disc and the HD DVD include lossless Dolby TrueHD encodings, which provide a subtle improvement in overall fidelity and dynamic range over the lossy encodings on both discs (Dolby Digital on Blu-ray Disc, Dolby Digital Plus on HD DVD). Differences between the two lossy formats are minimal. (Danny Richelieu)

    Reason #114 Why Readers Love Widescreen Review:

    I appreciate the technical nature of your DVD reviews; that is, the way you rate the sound and picture quality of newly released DVDs. The reviews in most other magazines are concerned not with how good the DVD is, but with just the film itself: quality of the script, actors' performances, etc., all of which are subject to the critic's personal tastes, which may be wildly different from my own.

    Paul Mulik
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