Fame Blu-ray

Fame

 (2009)

Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical | Romance



A reinvention of the original 1980 hit film, 'Fame' follows a talented group of dancers, singers, actors, and artists over four years at the New York City High School of Performing Arts, a diverse, creative powerhouse where students from all walks of life are given a chance to live out their dreams and achieve real and lasting fame...the kind that comes only from talent, dedication, and hard work. In an incredibly competitive atmosphere, plagued by self-doubt, each student's passion will be put to the test. In addition to their artistic goals, they have to deal with everything else that goes along with high school, a tumultuous time full of schoolwork, deep friendships, budding romance, and self-discovery. As each student strives for his or her moment in the spotlight, they'll discover who among them has the innate talent and necessary discipline to succeed. With the love and support of their friends and fellow artists, they'll find out who amongst them will achieve fame..

For more details about Fame on Blu-ray, see the Fame Blu-ray Review

Starring: Kevin Tancharoen, Kay Panabaker, Naturi Naughton

Fame Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Fame may not have what it takes as a film, but this Blu-ray release’s technical presentation brings its A-game. First up is a strong but not quite perfect 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. Really, my sole complaint about the look of the film is that the handheld camerawork frequently results in a soft image, as the focus isn’t always exact. For example, there’s a scene where we see Kelsey Grammer sitting at his desk; the mug full of pencils in front of him is in crisp focus, but his face is ever so slightly blurred. This happens quite often, but when the image is in focus, there’s lots of sharpness and clarity to be had, particularly in facial and clothing textures, where fine detail is easily apparent. Background detail isn’t really a concern, as the film often only keeps the foreground in focus, throwing the rest of the image into silky shallow depth of field. Colors are consistently strong and weighty, and a faint yellowish cast adds some warmth to the image’s highlights. Blacks levels are similarly deep, and though detail is sometimes crushed in inky chiaroscuro shadows, this is wholly intentional and part of the film’s hyper-vivid appearance. Finally, the print is clean, the film’s grain structure rarely gets too heavy, and there are no overt compression or transfer-related issues.

Fame Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


Even better is the film’s DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, which supplies a level of immersion and a dynamic breadth that’s usually reserved for sound effect-heavy action films. You’ll notice from the very first song that the music sounds excellent. Bass is extremely potent, with the LFE channel pumping out thick, room-filling tones. This is never to the detriment of high and mid- range fidelity, though, as each dulcet piano note, dishy hi-hat strike, and quivering cello string is reproduced with crystalline clarity. More so, the music makes use of every channel, giving each instrument a distinct place in the mix. And even when no music is playing, the track puts you right in the middle of the film with almost non-stop, highly-detailed ambience, from the putter and roar of New York City traffic to the tennis shoe squeaks, rustling clothing, and enveloping chatter of a busy school hallway. There are a few brief moments when vocals seem a bit low in the mix, but dialogue is always easily understood and subject to appropriate acoustics, like the slight reverb on the principal’s voice when she speaks to the students in the auditorium. It’s hard to wrangle up any complaints for this brilliant mix, but you will notice that lip-syncing seems obvious at times, as if the singing that’s coming out of the actors’ mouths sounds a little too clean and processed. Otherwise, the small overlap between Fame fans and hardcore audiophiles should be duly impressed.

Fame Blu-ray, News and Updates

• MGM Details Fame Blu-ray - December 8, 2009


• Fame Remake Announced on Blu-ray - November 29, 2009

Fame Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

Topic

Replies

Last post