Priceless Blu-ray

Priceless

 (2008)

Comedy



In the south of France, Jean, a shy young bartender, is mistaken for a millionaire by a beautiful, scheming opportunist named Irene. When Irene discovers his true identity, she abandons him, only to find that a love-struck Jean has no intention of letting her get away. Jean's comical attempts to gain her affections gradually evolve into setting himself up as a gigolo at a luxury hotel, until Irene finally starts to warm to her persistent, persuasive suitor.

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

Priceless Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Priceless arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of First Look Studios.

This fairly recent French comedy has received a lovely Blu-ray treatment – contrast is pleasing, clarity and detail exceptionally strong, and edge-enhancement not a major issue of concern. The color-scheme is also terrific. Yellows, reds, blues, greens, whites, and blacks look lush and well-saturated. They are also as impressive during the daylight scenes as they are during the nighttime scenes. Furthermore, detail is consistently strong, and there are more than a few scenes in Priceless that I definitely think will make an impression on those of you who like the marquee popping look newer films transferred in 1080p tend to reveal. I certainly did not detect any DNR-alterations to report here either, and, as far as I am concerned, the film looks as natural and uncompressed as I was hoping it would. This being said, I detected a bit of video noise during a few selected scenes but, again, Priceless looks very healthy, and I have absolutely no problem recommending it to you. For the record, I did not detect any disturbing specks, debris, or dirt. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release which you will be able to play on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Priceless Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and French Stereo 2.0. I opted for the French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track and did random comparisons with the French Stereo 2.0 track for the purpose of this review.

The difference in quality between the two tracks is enormous. Not only is the Dolby True HD 5.1 more active (the rear channels surprisingly get quite a bit of activity), but also more effective. Priceless isn’t a dialog-driven comedy and there are quite a few key scenes in this film that truly benefit from the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. Furthermore, balance isn’t an issue here either. Dialog and music are adequately mixed, and I certainly did not detect any serious problems to report here. On the contrary, I thought that it was tremendously easy to follow the crystal clear dialog (which shouldn’t be a surprise given that this is a relatively new film). Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or dropouts to report here. Switching quickly to the French Stereo 2.0 track, well, I don’t believe that there is a technical aspect of it that matches even partially what the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 delivers - depth is lacking, the music isn’t as immersive, and the dialog comes off the speakers in quite an ordinary fashion. To sum it all up, there really isn’t any need for you to consider the French Stereo 2.0 track. For the record, First Look Studios have provided optional English subtitles (they appear inside the image frame), but they do tend to be a bit too wild for my taste. The subtitles switch from the right side of the screen to the left side in a somewhat puzzling manner. Slightly smaller subtitles, placed towards the center-bottom of the image frame, would have been far more appealing.

Priceless Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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