Rent Blu-ray delivers stunningly beautiful video and solid audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
Set in New York City's gritty East Village, the revolutionary rock opera Rent tells the story of a group of bohemians struggling to live and pay their rent. "Measuring their lives in love," these starving artists strive for success and acceptance while enduring the obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic. Rent is based on Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer and Tony Award winning musical, one of the longest running shows on Broadway. The raw and riveting musical stars Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp and Tracie Thoms and is directed by Chris Columbus.
For more about Rent and the Rent Blu-ray release, see the Rent Blu-ray Review
There is no denying the power of the Broadway musical. I've never seen one live, and I must admit
that outside of a cursory curiosity, I don't feel the need to attend one, either. Live theater has
never been my cup of tea, but I certainly respect its power as a force in the entertainment world.
Shows like Cats and Phantom of the Opera are fixtures, as is Rent.
There's been a rash of studio produced theatrical versions of these shows in recent years. Chicago, Phantom of the Opera,
and Hairspray have
all seen recent releases, and Mamma Mia! is coming soon to a theater near you. One of
the biggest Broadway hits, The Lion King is unique in that it began as a famous movie and
evolved into one of the top stage shows in history. One of the latest shows-turned-film is
Rent, a gritty look at the lives of people struggling to get by financially,
physically, and emotionally in 1990s New York.
The cast of 'Rent' admires how good their film looks on Blu-ray.
Rent chronicles the lives of eight friends in New York City over the span of 525,600
minutes. This eclectic group is tight knit, and perhaps the best word to describe them on the
whole
is "family." The film is a celebration of diversity and represents a world where everyone,
regardless
of race, gender, or sexual preference lives mostly in harmony, struggling together, sharing the
joys
and downfalls of life together, and helping one another along the way with a wide array of
personal
and public issues that plague the group as a whole when one individual is afflicted. I'm not sure
the
best way to summarize Rent is to provide the basic plot points of the first act or so of the
film, as is my norm in writing these reviews. Even though I didn't particularly enjoy the film, this
is
one that can be emotionally disturbing, especially to people who may have lived a more sheltered
life outside of metropolises such as New York City. Needless to say, the film deals with drug
addiction, AIDS, homosexual relationships, the homeless, and the hopelessness of living in the
city
with no money to get along. However, the film counters each issue with song and dance,
showcasing how the most different of us can band together to face any crisis, and that it's the
whole rather than the individual that makes us who we are, especially in the face of the ugliness
of
reality in the world.
Rent is certainly a well-acted, well-directed, and overall well-made film. This film seems
to be a departure for director Chris Columbus, who has helmed such projects as Home
Alone, Only the Lonely, Mrs. Doubtfire, and
Harry Potter and Sorcerer's
Stone. With Rent, he's moved beyond his mostly family-friendly reputation to
tackle a film that many may consider adult-only, dealing with subject material that many adults
in middle
America may not completely understand, let alone children. Nevertheless, Rent struck
me as a rather pretentious film. While it may have been noble in the effort
to portray the world as it is and the reality of life in the big city, the writers and filmmakers gloss
over obvious facets of life, such as blood relations and religion, in the search for answers to the
many questions and situations posed throughout the film. Indeed, many viewers may be
turned off, if not offended, by the subject material at hand. Nevertheless, much of Rent
shows us the reality of what most of us only know as thirty-second sound bites from the evening
newscast and showcases the harsh reality that is life in the big city, but also demonstrates how
those stuck in the middle of it all relate, depending on the uderstanding and love of their city
family to get them through the 525,600 minutes per year.
Sony sends in Rent with a rock-solid, 1080p high definition transfer. Presented in its
original
2.40:1 image, nothing about this image looks anything less than flawless. Black levels are deep and
pure; each scene where they are present showcases an inky perfection. While the film offers up a
slightly drab and muted color palette, there is still an abundance of colors that are vibrant and rich,
especially in brighter scenes, notably those taking place outdoors. There is no softness in any scene
that I noted, and every detail is naturally sharp with a lifelike look and feel. Every scene is filled
with lusciously reproduced, highly detailed scenery. Even the many drab locales look amazing. The
loft where several characters reside is raised to the level of a minor role with the amount of detail
seen in every shot, speaking to us as if it were a character in the film. Everything else, from close-
ups of the cast to the clothing they wear to the streets on which they live couldn't be any more real
save for a trip to the set in person. Sony has once again released a disc with a stunning image, and
fans of Rent will want to add this to their collection immediately.
Sony presents Rent with a rare choice between two high definition soundtracks.
Provided is an uncompressed PCM 5.1 soundtrack as well as a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix. I screened
the entirety of the film with the PCM track. The two seemed transparent to me in the few scenes
in which I sampled them back-to-back, as they should be. One complaint I have with this mix is
also one I had with another musical I've reviewed, High School Musical
2. The vocals of the numbers in both films clearly sound as if they have been recorded
in the studio rather than being performed "live" during the shooting of the movie. Certainly, I
don't expect them to be, but the effect is very obvious and distracting, though it's much less
obvious in Rent than it is in Disney's pre-teen musical sensation which has "studio"
written all over it. Nevertheless, part of the reason I could never get into this film was the clearly
re-mixed and processed sounding vocals, a problem I've never noticed in the classics of the
musical genre from bygone eras. One other nagging problem is that the film frequently mixes
music, oftentimes modern rock numbers, with dialogue, and the spoken words seem to get lost
underneath the loud instrumentation. Other than these two issues which are more nagging
than serious, the track sounded just fine. There is a good bit of ambience to be heard as the
sounds of the city permeate the entirety of the soundstage. Dialogue reproduction is excellent,
again notwithstanding the sometimes hard-to-hear words underneath blaring guitar riffs. All in
all, this is a solid mix and one that is sure to be a crowd pleaser for fans of the film.
Sony has included supplements that are few in number but large in length, and both primary
features should please fans of the film. Leading off is a commentary track with director Chris
Columbus from San Francisco, and Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal from New York. The three
participants are quite engaging, much more so than the film itself. All three come across as
highly
intelligent, discussing many aspects of the filmmaking process, including the placement of the
opening song in the film contrasted to where it appears in the musical, technical challenges in
bringing a stage play to the big screen, and cuts made to keep the film with a PG-13 rating.
Following the commentary track is an impressive documentary entitled No Day But
Today (480p, 1:52:12). This documentary focus on the creator of Rent, the late
Jonathan Larson. There is a major focus on Larson and his life, showcasing him from childhood
to death. Also discussed are the influences on Larson both in theater and in life, notably life in
New
York and AIDS. There is also a bit of the making of the film here, but the focus is clearly on the
fascinating life of Jonathan Larson. Four deleted scenes and an alternate ending with optional
commentary by director Christopher Columbus (480p, 12:03) and 1080p trailers for Across the Universe,
Stomp the Yard, and
a 1080p Blu-ray montage are also available. Finally, two public service announcements for the
Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation (480p, 5:53) and the National Marfan Foundation
(480p, 1:02) conclude the supplements.
Rent is a film with good intentions, but I found the end product to be a bit too preachy and
rebellious for my tastes. It's hard to find sympathy for all the characters, especially when they
come out at the beginning of the film singing against "the establishment," and refusing to pay their
rent last year, this year, or next year as they toss burning debris off their balcony and
onto the street. Rent is sure to be a polarizing film and is not one that a whole lot of people
will
completely understand. Fans of the film and the story should be more than pleased with the video
quality on display. It's one of the best to date. The audio suffers a bit, but on the whole it is
certainly sufficient. Supplements are a bit lacking in number but are of high quality and depth
nevertheless, and one extra that would have been
really cool, though understandably difficult at best and impossible at worst to get on this disc
would have been a showing of the musical itself, but that will have to wait for another day and
another disc. Because of the controversial nature of the film, I cannot recommend Rent as
a blind purchase. If you have never seen the film and think you might like it, I'd suggest, um,
"renting" Rent before buying.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced plans to bring 'The Legend
of Zorro' and 'Rent' to Blu-ray on December 11th. No specs or special features
have been announced at this for either release. 'Rent' has been out in Japan
for quite some time, but ...
