Fred Claus Blu-ray

Fred Claus

 (2007)

Comedy | Family | Fantasy



Fred Claus has lived his entire life in his brother's very large shadow. Fred tried, but could hardly live up to the example set by the younger Nicholas, who was just a perfect, well, saint. True to form, Nicholas grew up to be the model of giving, while Fred became the polar opposite: a fast-talking repo man who's run out of luck and money. Over Mrs. Claus' objections, Nicholas agrees to help his brother on one condition: that he come to the North Pole and earn the money he needs by working in Santa's Toy Shop. The trouble is that Fred isn't exactly elf material and, with Christmas fast approaching, Fred could jeopardize the jolliest holiday of the year.

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

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, John Michael Higgins, Miranda Richardson, Rachel Weisz
Director: David Dobkin

Fred Claus Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Fred Claus sleds onto the Bluray format with a strong 1080p/VC-1 encode framed at a wide 2:40:1 that is very dimensional, natural looking, and overall pleasing to watch. Colors really pop on this disc, not just the reds (this is a Santa movie), but almost all of the primary colors. Images were generally very sharp and clean, but on occasional got soft on some scenes. Background detail was very good, as was fine detail in the foreground which gave long shots a nice sense of depth and perspective. Grain was noticeable, fine textured, but also inconsistent, as some shots had more visible grain than others. Flesh tones looked natural within their environment, very natural in Chicago shots, and rosy red at the North Pole which is just what you would see in cold weather. The picture sometimes looked unnatural during effect shots that required overlays of one object over another, such as DJ Donnie’s character. Overall I found the picture quality quite pleasing (issues aside), and at times very fine HD material.

Fred Claus Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


Unfortunately Warner only thought to include a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack encoded at a constant bit rate of 640kbps. While other studio use the lossless codecs exclusively on their titles, Warner has yet to fully embrace and support lossless for all of its releases. However addressing the audio at hand, this mix is not all that bad. First, this movie is mostly dialog, and it was always clean and clear, locked firmly in the center channel, and never stepped on by the sound effects or music. The surrounds are used to effectively to enhance the frontal hemisphere, with some panning from rear to front, and visa versa. Dynamics were generally good, and fit each moment appropriately. The LFE is used to support the sound effects and on screen action, so its use is quite conservative. The music in the film is so subtle, that it almost blended into the background, becoming a mere afterthought in the sonic picture. This mix is so conservative, I am not sure including a lossless track would have really added anything, but one never knows until it is actually used, and you have something to compare.

Fred Claus Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Warner Brings Fred Claus to Blu-ray - August 12, 2008

Fred Claus Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

Topic

Replies

Last post