Quarantine Blu-ray

Quarantine

 (2008)

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller



Television reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman (Steve Harris) are assigned to spend the night shift with a Los Angeles Fire Station. After a routine 911 call takes them to a small apartment building, they find police officers already on the scene in response to blood curdling screams coming from one of the apartment units. They soon learn that a woman living in the building has been viciously attacked by something unknown. After a few of the residents are also attacked, they try to escape with the news crew in tow, only to find that the CDC has quarantined the building. Phones, internet, televisions and cell phone access have been cut-off, and officials are not relaying information to those locked inside. When the quarantine is finally lifted, the only evidence of what took place is the news crew's videotape.

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

Quarantine Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Sony delivers Quarantine to Blu-ray with a 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer. The film was shot on high definition video, and as was the case with Cloverfield and 28 Days Later, the image is less-than-spectacular in terms of visual pizzazz and high definition eye candy, and as such will find itself in the crossfire of those who deem the transfer "good" for replicating its intended look and those who find it unacceptable because it fails to deliver the same visual standards of something like Saawariya. Because the transfer does indeed replicate the director-intended look and feel of the picture, a look and feel that both adds to the tone of the film and helps create the sense of urgency and first-person perspective of the action, this review will judge it not against slicker, fancier transfers but simply based on its own merits as it reflects the natural appearance of the film. In the context of its intended look, Quarantine boasts a fine video transfer. The film features a drab look that doesn't allow what few bright colors there are to truly stand out, and it also obscures some finer details. It still allows some to shine through; the bright yellow L.A. firefighter's jackets stand out nicely against the numerous dark and black backdrops present in the film, and the outer brick façade or the tile flooring inside the fire station, for example, reveal acceptable levels of detail for this sort of transfer. Blacks are deep and dark, appearing true in most scenes, perhaps showing a hint of gray here and there, and most of the noticeable noise over the image occurs over the darkest corners of the screen. Some of the darkest recesses of the image seem to show some signs of blocking, but it's never a hindrance to the overall presentation. On the whole, Quarantine won't be a go-to demo disc on showroom floors, but it's another in a growing list of transfers that show off Blu-ray at its best, namely its ability to more faithfully replicate the intended look of a motion picture better than any format before it.

Quarantine Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


Quarantine sports a healthy and active Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This audio track is nice and robust, featuring both subtle and aggressive use of the entire soundstage that, like the video, never fails in placing the listener square in the middle of the action. Ambient sound is seemingly ever-present, and perhaps more than any other aspect of the soundtrack is its best asset. An early scene featuring a brief interview in the fire station's mess hall features the clanking of silverware and voices emanating from all over the room, offering an excellent example of the more subtle strengths of the track. Likewise, the sounds of a handball court reverberate throughout the soundstage; the squeaking of the tennis shoes and the thump of the ball off the racket and wall is another one of the more subtle examples of the track's ability to almost literally place listeners in the midst of any situation. The rumbling of an idle fire engine right before the firefighters roll towards the apartment building, followed by the ride over that offers screaming sirens and rattling gear is, again, fantastic. Once the action gets going, the track picks up in intensity and maintains the wonderful sense of immersion it hinted at in the early goings. Inside the building, ambient noise surrounds the listener; helicopters fly around the outside of the building on a regular basis, and a parade of sirens and motor vehicle traffic seems to surround the listener at every turn. The sounds of violence, the many screams in particular, are so convincing that they just might send a shiver up the spine. Dialogue reproduction is also uniformly fine, though not perfect. In the context of the movie, it's been recorded primarily from on-the-scene television broadcast microphones, and at times sounds muffled and faded, in stark contrast to the bass-heavy, impressive ambience of the rest of the track, which all sounds clear, sharp, and exciting. Still, Quarantine simply delivers a first-rate surround sound extravaganza.

Quarantine Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Sony Announces Gandhi, Quarantine for Blu-ray - December 8, 2008

Quarantine Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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