Seven Pounds Blu-ray

Seven Pounds

 (2008)

Drama



Academy Award nominee Will Smith stars in this drama, re-teaming with the director and producers of The Pursuit of Happyness for the emotional story of a man who will change the lives of seven strangers.

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

Seven Pounds Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


The video is the highpoint of the film and of the blu-ray. It has a good balance of contrast, color, clarity and composition. Black levels are deep and there is supple film grain visible, which makes me feel like I am in a theater with a projector rather than spinning an optical disc. Watch the scene after Thomas' dinner with Posa. After the dance sequence, an artful still life is pictured in the dark showing the two wine glasses on the table. It is gorgeously filmed and framed with the window in the background, revealing good grayscale depth and delineation, as well as stunning detail and contrast. Overall, the solid MPEG-4 encode contributes to the good definition.

As with many modern films, the colors vary in saturation and intensity. In the case of Seven Pounds, the yellows and blues seem artificially pumped up, which makes for a somewhat clinical look. Skin color appears cold, but finely textured. It isn't the most naturl color palette, but no matter. Even when skin tones or earth tones appear unnatural, I am continually impressed by cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd's sense of composition. Even when more than half the screen is taken up by the back of an actor's head and the main subject of the scene has only a small piece of the frame, the effect is visually pleasing. Likewise when Thomas and the dog are playing in the field with Posa watching, the colors are unnatural, but the symmetry and balance of elements in the composition is disarming. The depth and detail only help.

Seven Pounds Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


The 24-bit 48-kHz Dolby TrueHD track is impressive, but I still miss the days when Sony was delivering PCM tracks. The film's score by Angelo Milli is lush, whether spotlighting massed strings or the piano, and the non-orchestral music is spot-on as well. These songs include Feeling Good, One of These Things First, I Don't Know, Que Sera Sera (Whatever Will Be Will Be), How Insensitive and I'm into Something Good. Guitars and vocals feature rich and detailed midrange, and extended highs that allow the drums and other percussive sounds to appear natural. The instrumentation and dialog has good presence over the entire dynamic range. Rear channels are used only for outdoor sequences, resulting in good presence for ambient sounds. But overall, the track is heavily weighted toward the center, as one would expect for a non-action drama such as Seven Pounds. The dialog is balanced well with the score and other elements of the mix.

Seven Pounds Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Seven Pounds Coming this March - January 5, 2009

Seven Pounds Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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