BLU-RAY REVIEW

Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay

Featured In Issue 134, September 2008

Picture3.5
Sound4
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):
1000040366
(MPAA Rating):
Unrated
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$35.99
(Disc Type):
Two Disc Set: BD-50 & BD-25
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
107
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
2008
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
07/29/08
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg
(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 3.0, 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):

Having successfully procured the world's best sliders at White Castle, Harold (Cho) and Kumar (Penn) race back to their apartment just in time to pack their bags for their upcoming holiday in Amsterdam, where Harold hopes to win the heart of his unrequited love, Maria (Paula Garcés). Whilst in transit to Amsterdam, Kumar is mistaken for a terrorist when his bong is mistaken as a bomb, and the plane is diverted to Guantanamo Bay, where the two are detained as suspects. Now Harold & Kumar must find a way to Escape From Guantanamo Bay so they can get on with their trip and win the affection of Harold's fantasy girl. (Stacey Pendry)

Special features on Disc One of this two-disc set include two audio commentary tracks by cast and crew, Dude Change The Movie—an interactive feature that allows you to control some content while watching the movie, and previews. On Disc Two there is a 22-minute Inside The World Of Harold And Kumar featurette, 18 deleted scenes, nine extra scenes, a two-minute "Bush PSA," a theatrical teaser and trailers for this movie, and a digital copy for PC or Mac.

The anamorphically enhanced 1.84:1 DVD shows adequate resolution to resolve all but the finest details, but relatively poor compression leads to a digitized, harsh appearance. Black levels are elevated, but shadows are delineated well. The color palette seems natural with good saturation. Fleshtones, however, appear slightly too pink. Contrast is also low, with images looking washed-out at times. Edge enhancement can be noticed, especially on high-contrast transitions. The VC-1-encoded Blu-ray Disc shows good resolution and deeper blacks, but the black levels are inconsistent, with some scenes looking grayed out. The image doesn't have the level of depth-of-field that the better high-definition releases possess, and fleshtones still appear pink. Contrast is better balanced, but whites bloom at times. (Danny Richelieu)

The DVD's Dolby® Digital Surround EX™ 5.1-channel soundtrack integrates the surround channels well at times, but the mix generally favors the front stage. The LFE channel is incorporated well when needed for music and effects, with solid bass definition. Phantom imaging is audible on the front stage, but is limited elsewhere around the room. The noise floor is commendably low, and dynamic range is broad. Fidelity is generally good, but there are times when the dialogue can sound flat and muffled. The Blu-ray Disc's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel encoding improves fidelity across the board, although there are still times when dialogue has issues. Bass is tighter and more impactful as well. (Danny Richelieu)