Domino Blu-ray

New Line Cinema | 2005 | 128 mins | Rated R | Jan 20, 2009

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Video Video codec: VC-1 Video resolution: 1080p Aspect ratio: 2.40:1 Audio English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX (less) Subtitles English, Spanish English, Spanish (less) Disc 25GB Blu-ray Disc Digital copy

Price List price: $28.99  Amazon: $15.99 (Save 45%) Third party: $11.94 (Save 59%) Usually ships in 24 hours Blu-ray rating Users 4.5 Reviewer 3.5 Overall 3.9 Based on 4 user ratings Playback Region free

Domino

Like the Blu-ray edition of Man on Fire, Domino features a visually arresting, technically proficient 1080p/VC-1 transfer that captures the many subtle (and not-so-subtle) nuances of Scott's film. The director pushes his palette to every extreme with over-saturated colors, skintones that bleed yellow and amber hues, and unforgiving blacks that practically pour over the image. It may not always be pretty (especially by traditional standards), but it's an extremely faithful representation of the director's intentions. Detail is exceptional throughout as well. Skin textures are insanely sharp and lifelike, the tinniest arm and facial hairs are perfectly rendered, and the smallest shards of shrapnel and splintering wood have been preserved with care. The heightened contrast does increase the visibility of the film's grain field, but the results never feel out of place or distracting. More importantly, I didn't catch any offending artifacts, noise, banding, or DNR.

I could have sworn I noticed slivers of lingering edge enhancement here and there, but it was never intrusive enough to warrant any serious investigation or concern. In fact, if I have any complaint it's that the darkest portions of the image often swallow too much on-screen detail. Of course, it's a fairly moot nitpick since Scott obviously enjoyed submerging his cast and sets in murky shadows and inky blacks. All things considered, Domino boasts an excellent video transfer that will easily please fans.

Domino Blu-ray, Audio Quality

Like the video transfer, Domino's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track offers fans a faithful presentation of the film's audio that exudes a high level of high-def polish. Low-end bass tones are robust and powerful, the rear speakers aggressively support blaring shootouts and the film's more subtle acoustics, and dialogue is crisp, clean, and well-prioritized (even during the most intense gunfights... of which there are many). I also continually found myself sinking into the film's immersive soundfield -- environmental ambience brings the various city streets to life, interior spaces sound realistic, and the film's gunshots and screams sound convincing. Better still, whizzing bullets sounds as good as they do because of several smooth and transparent pans, and crowded set-pieces sound quite believable since the track usually surrounds the listener with perfectly situated effects. There are times (particularly in the third act) where sound explodes from every channel, overwhelming the soundfield and forsaking the more precise directionality that dominates the majority of the film, but it's a minor issue that's most likely an intentional design decision.

While Domino's TrueHD mix falls short of the best reference-level lossless tracks on the market (due to its heavy-handed original sound design), it still comes pretty close to being an early 2009 audio standout.

Domino Blu-ray, News and Updates