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The Lovely Bones Blu-ray
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Paramount Pictures | 2009 | 135 min | Rated PG-13 | Apr 20, 2010
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Video
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 French: Dolby Digital 5.1 Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (less)
Subtitles
English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese (less)
Discs
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
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Price
List price: $48.99
Amazon: $20.99 (Save 57%)
Third party: $17.99 (Save 63%)
Usually ships in 24 hours
Blu-ray review
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Movie
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4.0 |
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Video
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5.0 |
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Audio
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4.5 |
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Extras
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4.5 |
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Overall
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4.5
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Playback
Region free
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The Lovely Bones Blu-ray Review
"Lovely" describes the quality of Paramount's transfer, too.
Reviewed by Martin Liebman, April 6, 2010
I wasn't looking beyond yet; I was still looking back.
It's amazing to watch how the career paths of some Hollywood's elite directors evolve. Who
knew that Steven Spielberg, after his little made-for-TV movie Duel, would go on to helm
some of the most cherished films in history -- E.T., Raiders of the Lost
Ark, Schindler's List, and Saving Private Ryan
-- or that high school dropout and video store clerk Quentin Tarantino would rise to the top to
become one
of the finest Writers and Directors in generations? Then there's the story of New Zealand-born
Peter
Jackson, who enjoyed a cult following as the director of several grotesque B-level Horror movies
like Bad Taste and Dead Alive in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He entered
the mainstream with the well-received The Frighteners in 1996, and managed to several
years later
find himself behind the camera for a little movie called The Fellowship of the Ring based
on some old book by a guy named J.R.R.
Tolkien. Indeed, his work on The Lord of the
Rings trilogy propelled him to the top faster than he could say, "my precious," and he
followed up that series with the grossly underrated King Kong, that film
one of the finest and most convincing period pieces ever made, not to mention a
hallmark of special effects and serving as the very definition of "epic spectacle." That brings the
Peter Jackson timeline pretty much up-to-date; his latest picture is The Lovely Bones, a
departure of sorts from the director's recent string of excessively long and epic films, but at the
same time it stays true to his panache for delivering a mystical and grand feel to the proceedings
while also intermixing plenty of deeper undertones for audiences to ponder amidst the striking
visuals.

Susie searches for her place in the afterlife in 'The Lovely Bones.'
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Young Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan, Atonement) leads a
normal life in 1973 Pennsylvania. She comes from a loving home, enjoys spending time with her
friends, has her eyes set on her schoolmate Ray Singh (Reece
Ritchie), and has aspirations of growing up to be a famous wildlife photographer. It seems that
nothing can keep her down, until she's murdered. Returning home from school one day, Susie is
lured to her death by her uncouth oddball neighbor George Harvey (Stanley Tucci, Julie & Julia).
Following her death, Susie finds herself in "the in-between," an area between Heaven and Earth
where she can watch over a world she can't yet let go of -- the world she's left behind -- even
though
Heaven and all its majesty await her arrival, which must be scheduled on her own
timeframe. Back on Earth, Susie's parents, Jack (Mark Wahlberg, Shooter) and Abigail
(Rachel Weisz, The Mummy), face
the pain of their loss in different ways. Meanwhile, George attempts to conceal
his guilt and the evidence of the crime from a suspicious Jack and a local police detective (Michael
Imperioli, " The Sopranos"), but he can't
hide from what Susie is able to learn about him in "the in-between," information that might allow
Susie to put
her death behind her while in some way allowing her family to return to a sense of normalcy.
What to make of The Lovely Bones? The picture is oddly -- and
uniquely -- intoxicating, but it's also something of a downer in many ways while also treading into
borderline oddball territory; Peter Jackson gives the picture an appropriately mystical and
dreamlike
feel that reinforces both the themes of the story and the juxtaposition of light and dark that plays
so prominently in the film. Also related to its visual style, The Lovely Bones remains a
fairly captivating
journey through the world of cinematic manipulation, Jackson able to absorb his audience in a
film that's almost angelically bright and vibrant while dealing with painfully dark, disturbing, and
depressing realities. Jackson also proves a master manipulator through his ability to create nearly
unparalleled suspense and drama by drawing from his audience senses of apprehension,
anger, and disappointment as they relate to character actions and story developments, building
Susie to a point where, despite the foreknowledge that she's to
be killed, viewers almost forget the pending tragedy as they live and dream with her as she
becomes absorbed in her photography and dreams of building a relationship with Ray. It is here
that the film earns its "uniquely intoxicating" stripes, proving capable of doing so much to sway
the viewer in several directions through a story that's not just linear and predictable, but
through one where some secrets are flat-out made known to the audience within minutes of the
film's open.
Indeed, The Lovely Bones is a film of wonderful contrasts on many different levels, and it
is there that Jackson earns his greatest success with the picture.
The Lovely Bones, then, features a kind of reverse-psychology where the film's better
half holds no surprises and its lesser half is the one that ventures as deeply into the unknown as
its first half traversed through a story that's telegraphed from the get-go. Indeed, the second
half lacks the vitality of the first; it loses touch with the personal feel of the first but also
somehow manages to capture a more standard approach despite its foray into an otherworldly
realm. The surreal imagery of "the in-between" -- which often ties in to what's happening in the
real world -- can be any number of things; it could be just as it is described, a nether-region for
souls not quite prepared to leave the living behind. It could be a flash in Susie's mind as she
registers what's happening to her the instant she's killed, a fleeting moment in time but that
might seem otherwise an extended period in its representation as her final thoughts before
death.
Obviously, the first is what the film would have the audience believe, but such a surreal situation
almost demands one's own interpretation of the events, and indeed, the colorfully rich and
abundantly unique imagery that populate's Susie's space within "the in-between" is certainly
valid. It might anger, confuse, or satisfy viewers, but ultimately, it's but a simple representation
of what might be in such a place and at such a time. Indeed, artistic license is all one has to go
on in any depiction of what at all -- if anything -- defines the afterlife, the greatest mystery of
them all.
The Lovely Bones might not be instantly-recognizable as a Peter Jackson film, but closer
inspection finds his fingerprints all over it. A departure from the grand, sweeping epics that have
come to define the last several films on his resumé, The Lovely Bones still shows him at
the top of game as a master filmmaker, lending an unparalleled sense of visual spacing and
storytelling to the film. His filmmaking instincts are keen and sharp, and the picture's mystical
quality, bright coloring, and dreamlike camerawork all set a tone and standard that's
unmistakably Jackson. Additionally, his cast members all deliver top-flight performances that lend
to
the movie something different while all reinforcing its themes, whether Stanley Tucci's
frightening take
as, externally, an everyman with something about him that's just a bit off that makes his
character completely terrifying even in his most quiet and unassuming of moments, or the way
Mark
Wahlberg so delicately portrays a proud papa at the beginning and a grieving, lost, and ultimately
vengeful father later in the film. The acting is simply superb, with both Tucci and Imperioli
disappearing into their roles. Saoirse Ronan's voiceover is a weak spot, but it's a necessary
component when a film's lead character is as detached from the goings-on as hers. Ultimately,
The Lovely Bones isn't a bout its actors; it's about how Jackson handles such a difficult
story, and even when it doesn't quite work, it still proves a mesmerizing and engrossing
experience if only for his ability to build a film of so many unique contrasts.
The Lovely Bones Blu-ray, Video Quality
Paramount's 1080p, 2.35:1-framed transfer of The Lovely Bones is, simply, magnificent.
The image practically leaps from the screen in every shot; it's fantastically vibrant with bright and
bold but natural coloring across the board, whether in clothing, grasses, leaves, furniture
upholstery, random nicknacks, or practically any item in the film. The picture also features a
heavy golden tint to it that's more prominent in some sequences than in others, which
somewhat influences the absolute look of the color palette and flesh tones, but never to the
detriment of the image. Additionally, the transfer delivers what is nothing short of positively
startling amounts of fine detail. Overhead shots of a farm house and a nearby sinkhole where
the texture of the building's wood grains and chipped paints and the surrounding grasses that are
both highly distinguishable and positively clear even from a distance simply amaze. Yards covered
in scattered fallen leaves practically allow the viewer to make out the fine lines, ridges, and
edging on each leaf. Building textures, whether exterior shots of homes or even the bland
interior of a school building, look amazingly lifelike and dimensional. Even more mundane objects
are wonderfully displayed: the texture of an orange peel or the intricate knitting of a winter cap
simply startle in the absolute definition afforded them by this transfer. There's also a remarkable
sense of depth to the image; backgrounds remain largely focused and sharp, and even softer
backgrounds only allow for an even clearer foreground. Black levels are spot-on in every
appropriately dark scene. A faint hint of banding may be seen around a couple of light sources
against darker backdrops, but it's not at all a detriment to the overall image, particularly
considering how masterful it is elsewhere. The print is in pristine condition with nary a single
blemish to be found, and a fine layer of film grain rounds out what is a transfer that's so pristine
that there just aren't enough superlatives to describe how handsome it is. So far, this is the
must-see transfer of 2010.
The Lovely Bones Blu-ray, Audio Quality
Though not on the same level of excellence as the reference-grade picture quality, The Lovely
Bones' DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack is nevertheless a high quality offering. The track
is
generally reserved and contemplative, light and enveloping, but more pronounced and powerful
when need be, making it a perfect companion for a film of this sort. The track incorporates a
wonderful atmosphere into many of its scenes; the ambient chatter and footsteps as heard in a
mall
scene in chapter one or, later, ringing telephones and the sounds of an old typewriter hard at
work
inside a police station both prove excellent examples of the track's ability to harness the power of
subtle yet important audible material in creating through the track an actual living, breathing
environment
and
not simply a collection of sounds spilling from a random speaker. Various effects -- particularly
those that are a bit more aggressive -- effortlessly maneuver around the listening are to create a
wider sense of space and realism to the experience. While lacking a plethora of more pronounced
action sound effects, The Lovely Bones' lossless soundtrack delivers its share of
attention-grabbing moments, such as a thunder and lightning barrage as heard in chapter eight.
Brian Eno's ( For All Mankind)
score is handled with precision, and dialogue reproduction is consistently intelligible and strong,
whether in conversations or voiceover narration. While not a track that's going to be used to
break in a
new subwoofer or demonstrate the intensely powerful effects some of the best action-oriented
Blu-ray discs have to offer, listeners that are appreciative of what a more nuanced
approach can lend to a dramatically-oriented film will fine plenty to like about Paramount's latest
lossless DTS offering.
The Lovely Bones Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation
The Lovely Bones is a movie that's going to divide audiences. It ultimately has more
going for it than not, particularly in Jackson's master craftsmanship and ability to manipulate his
audience even through a premise that's not just assumed but bluntly stated early on in the
movie. The picture wanders a bit after a strong first half and delves into an odd combination of
hunt-and-chase on Earth while also fixating on a "purgatory"-like afterlife that seems like
something straight from the mind of Tim Burton or Terry Gilliam, but the contrast between
cheery and bright
visuals and a disturbingly dark subject matter at least give the film a wonderfully unique flair.
Supported by some standout performances, The Lovely Bones is a must-see film; that
doesn't mean that it's for everybody, but with a picture that's as different and genre-bending as
this, there's not much with which to compare it and, by extension, assume certain segments of
the movie-watching public will feel one way or another towards it. As hotly debated as the film
may be, there's no dispute as to the quality of Paramount's Blu-ray release. To sum it up, it's
fantastic, reference quality through and through, with its picture quality in particular a stunning
achievement that simply must be seen to be believed. Also featuring a second disc's worth of
exceptional
bonus materials, fans can lay their cash down on release day with confidence, but newcomers are
encouraged to rent both to judge the film for themselves and to awe at what might very well be
the new reference-standard 1080p Blu-ray picture quality disc.
The Lovely Bones Blu-ray, News and Updates
• This Week on Blu-ray, April 20th - April 22, 2010
Earth Day is a day where we are encouraged to show our appreciation for the planet that provides us life and a means to live, as well as raise awareness on issues that threaten her ability to so. It is not surprising, therefore, that this day was picked to release ...
• The Lovely Bones Gets April Blu-ray Date - February 19, 2010
Paramount Home Entertainment has set April 20 as the Blu-ray release date of The Lovely Bones. This fantasy/thriller drama, based on a famous novel by Alice Sebold and directed by Peter Jackson, had garnered a lot of expectation but the reception by critics and ...
The Lovely Bones Blu-ray, Forum Discussions
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