Spider-Man: The High Definition Trilogy Blu-ray delivers truly amazing video and audio in this absolutely must-own Blu-ray release
Orphaned at an early age, Peter Parker lives in Queens, New York with his beloved Aunt May
and Uncle Ben. Peter leads the life of a normal student, working as a photographer at the
school paper, pining after the beautiful Mary Jane Watson and hanging out with buddy Harry
Osborn. On a school trip, during which Peter and his classmates are given a science
demonstration on arachnids, Peter is bitten by a genetically-altered spider. Soon after, he
discovers that he has unusual powers: he is endowed with the strength and agility of a
spider along with a keen, ESP-like "spider-sense." He vows to dedicate his life to
fighting crime, taking to heart the words of his beloved Uncle Ben: "With great power comes
great responsibility."
Blu-ray Essentials
Sony Pictures | 2002 | 121 min | Rated PG-13 | Region free
| Nov 16, 2010
Orphaned at an early age, Peter Parker lives in Queens, New York with his beloved Aunt May
and Uncle Ben. Peter leads the life of a normal student, working as a photographer at the
school paper, pining after the beautiful...
Blu-ray Essentials
Sony Pictures | 2004 | 127 min | Rated PG-13 | Region free
| Nov 16, 2010
Includes Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 2.1
Two years have passed since the mild-mannered Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) walked away
from his longtime love Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and decided to take the road to...
Sony Pictures | 2007 | 139 min | Rated PG-13 | Region A (locked) | Oct 30, 2007
Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero.
But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his...
"No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, the ones I love will always be the ones who pay."
Thus marks a defining moment in the Spider-man trilogy, the reining comic book triumvirate to
come to the silver screen and now to Blu-ray. After high school senior Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire)
is bitten by a genetically engineered spider, his DNA mutates to give him superhuman abilities.
His reflexes are lightning fast. He navigates the concrete jungle of Manhattan swinging from webs
shot from his wrists. He uses phenomenal strength and dexterity to fight the city's criminals.
In Spider-man 3, after being infected by with an extraterrestrial substance that darkens his spidey
suit and hardens
his heart, Spider-man becomes more ruthless than ever in fighting his enemies.
When he is first learning his powers, Peter allows a petty criminal to escape, and that criminal's
partner murders Peter's uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson). As he faces the pain of that loss, Peter
realizes that all his actions--and inaction--will have profound consequences for the world around
him. He learns that there is no room for ego in being a superhero or, for that matter, an
upstanding citizen. Meanwhile, the girl he loves, Mary
Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) begins dating his best friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco), who is
struggling to gain the respect of his disapproving father--none other than the arch-villian Green
Goblin (Willem Dafoe). The goblin arises from a failed project to develop a power serum for the
military. To defeat the goblin, Peter must not only overcome the physical and technological
powers, but
moral and emotional ones, too. As he acknowledges, "With great power comes great
responsibility. This is my gift. My curse."
But the Spider-man saga does not try to get too heavy for itself. Comic relief is in constant
supply and one
of Maguire's great gifts as an actor is that he can be self-effacing and nerdy while still
maintaining enough
strength and character to be a believable super-hero. His portrayal of Parker and Spidey is
both sensitive and strong, and littered with moments that are simultaneously humorous and
painful.
The second film in the trilogy focuses on a new villian, Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), who maneuvers
using four high-tech appendages that emerge from his spinal cord and are showcased brilliantly
by the special effects. Doc Ock pursues the development of a renewable energy source that
threatens to destroy New York City. Again, Peter must navigate not just the dangerous
atmosphere created by the villain, but the emotional turmoil of complex relationships with Mary
Jane and Harry. Peter grows weary of having the weight of immense responsibility on his
shoulders. He even gives up his superhero job to focus on his scholarly pursuits, and his
superhuman skills begin to atrophy. But Doc Ock forces Peter's hand when he kidnap's Mary
Jane, and Spider-man returns to save his sweetheart and the city. His friendship with Harry is
ultimately strained to the breaking point as Harry learns the true identity of the Green Goblin
and suddenly follows in his father's evil footsteps.
Spider-Man 3 picks up where the previous film leaves off, with Peter and Mary Jane finally in a
strong relationship and the city of New York showing Spider-man the long-overdue appreciation
he deserves. But problems quickly crop up. Harry seeks revenge for the death of his father by
attacking Peter using all the tricks of the Green Goblin. Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), the
criminal who murdered Ben Parker, escapes from jail and develops superhuman capabilities when
his body's molecules merge with sand in a particle accelerator. An organic substance from space
falls to earth on a meteor, attaches itself to Peter's spidey suit and starts to eat away at his
selflessness until he becomes egocentric and vengeful. Peter finally shakes this manifestation of
revenge in the bell tower of a church, but the black substance then infects Eddie Brock (Topher
Grace) turning him into the criminal, Venom.
The thrird installment covers the most ground and takes the most chances, not just with the
effects but with the complex emotional ties of the characters and the wild humor that keeps
Spider-man 3 from taking itself too seriously. The scope of Spider-man 3 is perhaps too
ambitious, as it addresses three villains and touches on many profound issues such as
vengeance, faith and forgiveness, each one of which could have been expanded to fill an entire
film itself. The result is that Spider-man 3 feels a bit cramped, and the writing is not quite up to
par with the focused screenplay of the first two.
Nevertheless, Spider-man 3 has its moments that surpass anything seen in its predecessors.
One of the highlights of the trilogy for me was seeing the "egocentric" Peter strut around
Manhattan while James Brown's "People Get Up and Drive that Funky Soul" played. Peter then
shows up in a jazz club where Mary Jane works. In a farcical cabaret
performance, he shows off his skills on piano and his dance moves. But the humor is strong
throughout all three films. Coupled with the outstanding special effects--especially those of the
Doc Ock and the Sandman--the Spider-man trilogy comes very close to perfect entertainment.
The first film is presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio while the subsequent two are framed in 2.40:1.
Action movies rely heavily on dynamic video, and the 1080p presentation of the Spider-man
trilogy is essential to view the special effects, stylized colors and costumes. DVD simply cannot do
justice to these films. The level of detail and depth on Blu-ray is extraordinary, with tremendous
definition in the cityscapes and sets. Even microdetail in skin and clothing is extraordinary. For
example, in the scene in the laboratory where Parker is bitten by the spider, Mary Jane's mottled
green sweater shows remarkable definition in the weave and the color variation of the fabric. But
everywhere in the picture, the detail is apparent.
Watch the way Parker swings through Manhattan like a modern day Tarzan. Every pixel is
rendered convincingly to show the detail, speed and power that bursts from the screen during
these action sequences. The camera follows Parker closely as buildings, traffic and streets far
below sail past with lightning speed. Every bit of the 1080p resolution is required to convincingly
pull off this effect. And what a stunning effect it is. I can think of few other scenes on Blu-ray
disc to show off the quality of the format as effectively. Usually, CGI-stylized scenes are lacking
in depth and other cues of visual realism, but not here.
Scenes with less motion are equally detailed, but the small grain is highly visible, especially in
light areas. This was a welcome sight for me. I was afraid some type of digital noise reduction
would be used to wipe the video clean. That approach would remove the grain, but also take
away some life from the picture. Not so. The video is dynamic, with such definition that facial
expressions yield tremendous detail. Watch the scene where Willem Dafoe has the conversation
with himself in the mirror. His expressions are priceless, and the 1080p allows us to see the full
range of Dafoe's emotions during his transition into the Green Goblin.
Initially, Sony was including PCM on their newer releases but has since stopped doing that. Yes, I know that Dolby
TrueHD is "theoretically" the same as lossless PCM. But in my experience with audio, theory and reality are not best
friends. The Spidey PCM tracks are significantly better than most TrueHD tracks I have heard. The soundstage is strong
and cohesive with
instrumentation, voices and sound effects rendered gorgeously and with heart-stopping
dynamics that can go from a whisper to a tremendous crescendo that rocks the floorboards and
windows. The spotlighting on certain strings in the orchestral arrangements sounds solid and
sweet in the midrange, especially in the more dramatic scenes where the music really is layed on
thick. The surround channels and subwoofer are used to very dramatic effect.
Perhaps the greatest feature of the audio is the soundstaging of the 5.1 mix. All sounds have
very precise imaging and provide a convincing illusion of the action taking place all around.
Within this soundstage, individual voices and sound effects have good tonal characteristics. The
original engineering--microphone placement and recording of both voices and other sounds--goes
beyond the quality of most films. Voices have a distinct charm and resonance to them. Listen to
the timbre of Ben Parker's voice. It exudes a warmth and richness that helps define his character
and makes his words more authorative.
Sam Raimi uses the score very effectively--from sweeping choral and orchestral passages to
"Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" performed by B. J. Thomas (in Spider-man 2) to the
aforementioned James Brown track (in Spider-man 3) that features one of the beafiest horn
arrangements ever recorded. Throughout the trilogy, the audio, as much as the actors, sets the
mood and complements the drama of each scene. Bottom line: the audio is warm, dynamic and
open. Best of all, it images with pinpoint accuracy.
The first two films are presented on BD-50 discs with no bonus material except the Spider-man
2.1 option that will not be accessible to all viewers without the appropriate firmware. However,
Spider-Man 3 is a two-disc set that has the same bonus features as the DVD. One of the more
worthwhile features are in the film commentary itself on Disc 1. I'm not referring to the mostly
mindless banter with James Franco, Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Thomas Hayden Church and
Bryce Dallas Howard. Instead listen to the filmmaker's track with producers Avi Arad, Grant
Curtis, Laura Ziskin, visual effects supervisor Scott Stokdyk and editor Bob Murawski. Many
interesting anecdotes and observations are given to provide some insight into how the film was
made. I highly recommend it. Disc 1 of Spider-man 3 also includes a Snow Patrol music video.
But the most entertaining feature is a blooper reel. If you need a good laugh, check it out--
Maguire is hilarious. Rounding out the extras on Disc 1 are photo galleries and two video game
previews.
The meaty featurettes are on Disc 2, including 11 behind-the-scenes features. "Grains of Sand:
Building Sandman" is perhaps the most interesting due to the eye-candy of the villain's special
effects. The feature focuses on Stan Lee and shows many instructive behind-the-scenes shots
and interviews with effects technicians. A feature on the Green Goblin delivers insight into the
goblin's most fearsome weapon, the armband with several retractable, menacing blades. The
third villain in Spider-Man 3, Venom, is the focus of "Covered in Black: Creating Venom", which
covers the CGI effect of the black substance that first covers Spidey. Yet another worthwhile
feature, "Hanging on: Gwen Stacy and the Collapsing Floor", demonstrates the use of specially
designed hydraulics to give the effect of a quick drop. It also shows how rubber life-sized
furniture models are used to give the illusion of dangerous falling objects.
Other features include "Inside the Editing Room", "The Science of Sound", "Tangled Web: The
Love Triangle of Spider-Man 3", "Wall of Water" and a documentary on each of the two shooting
locations: New York City and Cleveland. These featurettes provide important insights into
budgetary and feasibility factors that are rarely considered by an audience. But it's actually
intuitive to realize that location shots will have challenging problems associated with them. The
cast and crew describes how they dealt with those challenges, including problematic crowds.
The Spider-man High Definition Trilogy delivers reference-quality picture and sound, and each film
can be regarded among the most entertaining titles to come to Blu-ray. While the first two have
more focus and a better screenplay, the third takes special effects and outlandish character
development to new heights...and precipitous falls. Throughout it all, Raimi, Maguire and the
talented cast of costars and effects wizards offer up nonstop entertainment and good stories that
are brought to life in 1080p.
Sony Pictures Entertainment has released the teaser trailer for their 2012 blockbuster The Amazing Spider-Man. Director Marc Webb's new film is a reboot of the franchise. Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) now stars as Spider-Man, and Emma Stone (Easy A) will ...
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced Spider-Man and Spider-Man for Blu-ray release on November 16. Until now, the first two Spidey movies were only available as part of the box set Spider-Man: The High Definition Trilogy, released in October 2007. Update: ...
Amazon has an interesting BD-related "lightning deal" going on now: for a
very limited time, you can buy 'Spider-Man: The High-Definition Trilogy' for only
$44.95 (51% off MSRP). This offer expires today at 10 a.m. PDT, or when
stock runs out.
Scott Hettrick (HiHD) has revealed the specs for the upcoming two-disc Blu-ray release of 'Spider-Man 3', as well as some additional info about the upcoming 'Spider-Man High Definition Trilogy'. 'Spider-Man 3' will feature all the extras from the 2-disc DVD release, ...
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