Blackbeard Blu-ray features poor video and audio, but overall it's a disappointing Blu-ray release
In the Golden Age of Piracy, at the dawn of the 18th century, Blackbeard stood out among the
lawless rogues as the most fearsome and notorious seafarer of them all. He killed for the
reputation, and his reputation has become legend. Now, for the first time, comes the true story
of pirate Edward Teach, the man who terrorized the seas.
Blackbeard, the greatest pirate that ever lived, drunk to the gills or not.
Thank the massive success of Johhny Depp's Pirates trilogy,
particularly the first, for
Blackbeard. The 2006 Hallmark Channel two-part miniseries isn't a copycat movie,
though
it did see fit to copy Curse of the Black Pearl's cover art style for the purpose of this
Blu-ray
release (note there may be more than one cover art for this release). Still, no doubt the recent
interest in seafaring, scurvy pirates brought this film into
production, much the same way films like Armageddon, Jurassic Park, and other
box
office mega-hits spawned their own deluge of made-for-television goodness. Blackbeard
is a
subpar production, but that doesn't mean it doesn't serve its purpose as passable entertainment.
Considering a runtime that pushes three hours, the film never experiences too many slow
developing plot lines, and while the story is utterly predictable and features minimal production
values, it manages to entertain just enough to keep audiences interested in hanging around
through to the end.
Now what do you suppose that means?
The notorious pirate Edward Thatch, more commonly known as "Blackbeard" (Angus Macfadyen,
Braveheart), fresh
off a successful mutiny and now in command of the pirate vessel Queen Anne's Revenge,
sets out in search of booty known as Kidd's Treasure. Meanwhile, English Lieutenant
Robert Maynard (Mark Umbers) is ordered to secure the safety of the seas by stopping the
Queen Anne's
Revenge and her piracy, and to escort young Charlotte Ormand (Jessica Chastain) home to
New Providence
and to her father, the governor, Charles Eden (Richard Chamberlain). Maynard and Ormand
quickly fall in love. An attempt on Ormand's life leads Maynard to leave her side when he sees
one of the culprits at the governor's home, and a chance meeting leads him to service aboard the
Revenge and in search of the treasure. As Maynard learns more about his adversary, he
begins to unravel a plot that goes far deeper than simple piracy.
One can't blame the makers of Blackbeard for trying. In fact, it's a slightly
better-than-expected adventure, just without all that much in the way of actual, captivating
excitement. What action and adventure there is is mostly dull and uninspired, routine but not
cringe-worthy, which is the saving grace of a minimalist production such as this one. The sets
and
locations are sufficient, never really coming across as real, but they do look good for made for
television filmmaking. Where the movie truly suffers is through the cramped, tight shots that
populate the film. Whether in buildings, on the high seas, in a port city, or a jungle, there is no
sense of space or dimension; the film has no room to breathe, to spread out and allow audiences
to
take in the full scope of the action. Blackbeard also suffers from a few touches of lazy
filmmaking; watch for several recurring shots and plenty of characters "stabbed"
between the torso and arm. Also disappointing is a bland, tired, rushed score. To the film's
credit, particularly considering its origins as a Hallmark
Channel film, it never shies away from blood. While certainly no Saw III,
Blackbeard does feature a few splatters of blood, decaying corpses, and tortured natives.
Finally, the acting is surprisingly decent, particularly with regards to the film's leading men,
Blackbeard and Maynard, portrayed by Angus Macfadyen and Mark Umbers, respectively.
Unfortunately, the film's third primary character, Charlotte Ormand, does not fare quite as well;
Jessica Chastain delivers a wholly unmemorable performance as Maynard's love interest-turned
pirate captive.
Blackbeard sails onto Blu-ray with a dull 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. The image looks
hazy in many shots, and oftentimes appears only slightly better than standard definition material.
The image is never all that sharp, either, with the hazy scenes in particular standing out as
completely underwhelming. On the flip side, there are parts of the movie that are clear and bright,
sharp and eye-catching, and easily making for at least average high definition material. Colors are
to be seen aplenty, but never all that richly. Still, this is not a horrendous transfer, and several
shots do reveal nice detail; several jungle exterior shots, for example, showcase a few rare shots of
nice depth, with background detail at least average. Blacks are unimpressive, though flesh tones
are never overly problematic. Blackbeard resides near the bottom of the barrel in terms of
its high definition visual presentation.
Much like the video, the audio presentation accompanying Blackbeard is never all that
impressive. The disc includes two audio options, a PCM 2.0 track and a Dolby Digital 2.0 offering.
Screened with the PCM offering, listeners will find a completely unexciting sound mix, one that is
certainly disappointing considering the material. The film's action sequences play out both harshly
and undefined, a jumble of clanking, shouting, gunfire, and explosions that never really draw
listeners in or create even a decent sense of excitement or vitality. Many scenes screaming for
quality ambience fail to deliver. Several extended jungle sequences feature a bit of
atmosphere, but never anything that brings the scenes alive. Dialogue is harsh, crackling, and
sometimes accompanied by a slight hiss, and sometimes altering in pitch with almost every line. In
fact, a slight hiss accompanies much of the soundtrack. This is a soundtrack that is probably no
better than that accompanying the original television presentation.
There is no buried treasure here: Blackbeard arrives on Blu-ray with four
throwaway supplements. Richard Chamberlain Says Ahoy (480p, 1:55) features a brief
interview piece with Chamberlain, Umbers, and Macfadyen discussing the veteran actor's part in the
film. Yo Ho Ho and Shooting a Gun (480p, 1:18) features actress Jessica Chastain sharing
her memories of shooting weapons in the film. Raging Mad Sea Dog (480p, 1:05) is a
look at Angus Macfadyen's work in the film. Finally, Scally Wags (480p, 2:58) is a
compilation piece where cast and crew discuss the appeal of pirates.
All things considered, Blackbeard could have been a far worse miniseries, but its negatives
(questionable direction and cinematography, a generic score, lack of robust action) are mostly
canceled out by the positives (acceptable story, passable acting, decent pace). The best thing about
the program is that it doesn't really play out like a 169 minute marathon, even viewed
consecutively.
This disc does, however, feature a break in the middle (complete with the credits for the first
episode) for those who want to experience it over multiple viewings. Echo Bridge's Blu-ray release
of Blackbeard isn't all that impressive, but for the price, it's hard to complain. Both the
video and audio presentations are substandard, and the included supplements serve no purpose
other than to add a few bullet points onto the back of the case. Blackbeard and other
170-minute long miniseries-turned-Echo-Bridge-Blu-ray-releases
make for questionable additions to any Blu-ray library, though for the price, picking up a few just
might be the ticket for a cold day spent home sick from work or school, lying about the couch under
a warm blanket, and tuning into a Blu-ray that requires little attention and minimal effort.
Echo Bridge Home Entertainment has announced they are releasing six films from their catalog on April 1st. Included in the slate are '10.5 Apocalypse', 'Blackbeard', 'Category 7: The End of the World', 'The Curse of King Tut's Tomb', 'The Last Sentinel' and 'Artie ...
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