Eight Below Blu-ray delivers great video and audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
'Eight Below' is the thrilling tale of friendship between eight amazing sled dogs and their
guide Jerry. Stranded in Antarctica during the most unforgiving winter on the planet, Jerry's
beloved sled dogs must learn to survive together until Jerry — who will stop at nothing —
rescues them. Driven by unwavering bonds of friendship, enormous belief in one another and
tremendous courage, Jerry and the dogs make an incredible journey to reunite in this
triumphant and inspiring action-adventure the whole family will treasure.
What's important is finding that one thing that will truly put your heart at rest.
Leave it to Disney to craft a top-tier feel-good movie. The studio, better known for its rich history
of
animated films and, more recently, its tween-centric pop-star icons and their many on- and
off-stage
exploits, returns to the days of Old
Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson with a live-action picture suitable for the whole
family.
2006's Eight Below is an uplifting adventure, one that is wrought with danger and raw
emotion but also engendering through the trials and tribulations of its characters both human and
canine an unwavering
spirit of honesty, perseverance, and traditional values that, despite its recent vintage, allows it to
fit
right in with similarly-themed family classics of yore. Though the picture does explore some
mature
themes, features a bit of violence, and offers at least one honest-to-goodness jump scare,
Eight Below is a movie that's appropriate for young audiences who, if nothing else, will
come away
from the experience with an idea of the unbreakable bonds of love and friendship and the courage
to
fight for and do what is right, even in the face of the most challenging of odds and desperate of
situations.
Eight in frame.
Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker, The Fast and the
Furious) is a sled dog team leader at the National Science Foundation's research base in
Antarctica. Arriving at the base is a UCLA professor named Davis McClaren (Bruce Greenwood, Star Trek) who needs
Jerry and his team to take him to a remote location so he may collect a rare rock sample believed
to be from the planet Mercury. Despite the potential dangers of the trip, Jerry, Mr. McClaren, and
the dogs -- Max, Maya, Shadow, Dewey, Truman, Old Jack, Buck, and Shorty -- make the
perilous trek; the mission proves a success, but on the return trip home, Dr. McClaren breaks his
leg and nearly dies from hypothermia, and Jerry suffers severe frostbite to his hands. The dogs
get them back to base, but the animals are left to fend for themselves when Jerry, Dr. McClaren,
and the
remaining humans are forced to abandon the station ahead of an approaching winter front so that
they may get the wounded the immediate medical attention they need. A fully-recovered Jerry is
unable to return to Antarctica to retrieve his dogs; they're stranded, alone and hungry, and left to
fend for themselves. As one day alone becomes four, as four
becomes 15, as 15 becomes 50, as 50 becomes 133, as 133 becomes many more, the dogs find
themselves in
a desperate fight to survive the elements, while Jerry, back in the United States, lobbies several
government agencies and even Dr. McClaren in hopes of finding some way to get back to his dogs
before it's too late.
What makes Eight Below a standout film is its ability to be so many things at any given
point throughout. Though at its center a good family film with a purposefully honest message and
a pure heart, the picture demonstrates an amazing ability to be poignant and, sometimes, even,
demoralizing, but also uplifting and sincere with every development. This is a movie about love
and friendship first, but it's also about persistence, persistence to survive and persistence to carry
on and
never give up on those things that mean the most, even when they've been taken away with
seemingly no way of getting them back. Even at its most hopeless, Eight Below exudes
an aura of confidence that even in the darkest of hours, light will once again shine on those that
choose to continue the struggle to live, fulfill promises, and maintain hope. Eight Below
looks at persistence from two vastly different perspectives in two vastly different environments
and through two vastly different sets of struggles along the way. The picture effortlessly entwines
two tales, one of survival and one of perseverance, switching between the struggling animals and
a dejected but never completely demoralized human who never gives up hope that somehow,
someway, he will again be reunited with his sled dogs, even after months have past and there
seems little chance that they could have survived the harsh Antarctic winter. Although the movie
seems
destined for a storybook happy ending, it heads in that direction with an appreciable honesty;
there are consequences, fears, and
trials that try
and threaten to break the spirit of all those involved, but its the triumph over the odds in a
heart-wrenching but sincere way that makes Eight Below a special film.
Eight Below proves to be as technically proficient as it is thematically relevant. Of note is
the way that Director Frank Marshall handles the frigid landscapes and makes the environment
into a character both beautiful and dangerous. He demonstrated similarly great success with
another film, 1993's Alive, a picture about plane crash survivors struggling to live in a
frigid, inhospitable environment. Eight Below is certainly not as grim and unforgiving as
Alive, but the similarity in elements and the director's prior experience do lend a degree of
credence and technical proficiency that only helps Eight Below from both a visual and
dramatic perspective. Also of note are the performances of Paul Walker and Bruce Greenwood; the
veteran Greenwood handles his part professionally and admirably, but Walker proves himself to be
a solid actor when working with good material. He does a wonderful job conveying the raw
emotion of what is almost akin to a father figure struggling to hold himself together as he longs to
find his missing children. Walker is convincing and relatable throughout the movie, finding the
right balance between tough and sensitive, externally strong but internally frightened, his
character and performance not particularly memorable but certainly bordering on the outstanding
given this style of movie. Of course, the film's true stars are its animal heroes. They don't have a
voice, per se, in a traditional sense and they don't communicate in voiced-over English as one
might expect of a Disney animal adventure, but they've been remarkably trained to demonstrate a
level of physical and emotional communication that's truly a marvel to behold. They show fear,
support, love, and respect in the way they look, walk, tend to a fallen comrade's wound, or share
with those less fortunate among them whatever morsels of food they happen to come upon. The
audience
always knows what each animal is thinking and feeling, a testament not only to the trainers and
the directors, but the quality of animal working in the film. Most importantly, they lend
credence to their uplifting tale of survival and kinship in the most difficult of circumstances.
Eight Below pulls onto Blu-ray with an above-average 1080p, 2.40:1-framed transfer.
Though an early release from Disney, this disc yields a good image, one that is nicely detailed, crisp,
and
enjoyably film-like in texture. The picture is often saturated in shades of white and gray; however,
colors can be vibrant at times, particularly as brightly-colored jackets contrast against the many
white snow-covered landscapes and gray overcast skies that compose the Antarctic landscape.
Additionally, the transfer excels in adding layers of visual realism to the barren landscapes;
snow-covered
and generally solid-white land and rock formations often enjoy excellent texturing. Snow rarely looks
like a massive and undefined white glob, save for some scenes such as one in chapter five during a
blowing
snowstorm where whiteout conditions and bleak, textureless formations are to be expected.
Additionally, the image offers fine detailing on heavy winter clothing -- particularly woven caps and fur
collars -- and human faces, whether Paul Walker's slightly scruffy facial hair or Bruce Greenwood's
wrinkly mug. Shadow detail is nicely realized and black levels prove deep and true throughout. Skin
tones also take on a neutral appearance, influenced sometimes by frigid conditions but remaining as
one would expect given the various environmental hardships encountered throughout the film.
Disney's print is in
fine shape, exhibiting only the odd speckle, and a light coating of grain covers what is a very good, but
not quite exceptional, Blu-ray transfer.
Disney provides Eight Below with a high quality PCM 5.1 uncompressed soundtrack. The
track consistently incorporates the back channels for both musical support and atmospheric effects.
As to the music, this PCM offering delivers each note crisply and with a full presence that makes fine
use of the entire soundstage. Whether more subtle notes or amped-up action-oriented pieces, such
as that heard in chapter 10, the track presents each segment of the score with a clarity that brings
the film to life and
draws the listener into the Eight Below experience. The track also implements some
environmental atmospherics, and to
fine effect. In several scenes, cold winds blow harshly about the listening area and almost seem to
bring with them a palpable chill, the effect filling the entire soundstage and making for a very
strongly-realized environmental support element. Additionally, several chunks of shifting ice crack and
maneuver about each speaker in the configuration, with an added bonus of some potent bass.
Dialogue reproduction is crisp and natural throughout, completing a track that's not the most
aggressive or natural out there, but one that's certainly a strongly-realized companion to a solid film.
Eight Below gives buyers the cold shoulder, offering but a few scattered extras. Chief among
this paltry collection of supplements is an audio commentary track with Director Frank Marshall,
Cinematographer Don Burgess (The Book of Eli), and
Actor Paul Walker. The track proves steady and well-spoken, with the participants sharing a good
chemistry. It's easy, informative, but not too heavy, touching on the challenges of making the film,
the work of the animals and the difficulties of riding with the sled dogs, shooting in the frigid locales,
the quality of Mark Isham's (The Crazies) score,
some nuts-and-bolts technical observations, and much more. Each participant proves affable and
happy to be sharing with their listeners the experience of making Eight Below; this is a
worthwhile commentary. Also included is Blu-Scape -- 'Ice' (1080p, 5:16), a short film by
Louie Schwartzberg, and Movie Showcase (1080p, 2:49), a collection of three scenes from
the film that demonstrate the quality of the Blu-ray release.
Eight Below is heartwarming tale of friendship, courage, and survival, of never letting go of all
that's most precious in life, namely love and life itself. It's a movie of danger and heroism and of
bonds
that neither time, distance, nor hardships can break. A family Adventure in the classic Disney spirit,
Eight Below is a film suitable for the whole family, even if it does delve into some slightly
complex themes that the youngest of viewers may find difficult to grasp. Still, the picture's many
positive elements, uplifting messages, fine photography, and first-rate characters both man and
animal alike make this one a winner. Disney released Eight Below in the early days of the
Blu-ray
format, and while the disc lacks a more thorough selection of bonus features, fans will be pleased with
the technical presentation. Unfortunately, the disc is currently priced far too high to recommend a
purchase, but should it drop below $15 in the future, this would make for an excellent addition to the
Blu-ray library. Until then, Eight Below is best enjoyed as a rental.
