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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    JFK

    Featured In Issue 137, December 2008

    Picture4.5
    SoundNR
    WSR Score4.5
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    Warner Home Video
    (Catalog Number):
    1000036001
    (MPAA Rating):
    R
    (Rating Reason):
    For language
    (Retail Price):
    $34.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    206
    (Color Type):
    Color With B/W Sequences
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    Not Indicated
    (Theatrical Year):
    1991
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    11/11/08
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    Yes
    (Director):
    Oliver Stone
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer):
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor):
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
    (Principal Photography):
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
    (Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
    (Disc Soundtrack):
    Dolby TrueHD 5.1
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (French Language):
    (Spanish Language):
    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
    (Japanese Language):
    (Italian Language):
    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    The Academy Award®-winning direction by Oliver Stone combines color, black-and-white, and documentary footage into a seamless visually engrossing presentation. Kevin Costner stars as District Attorney Jim Garrison, who turns investigator in a turbulent search for the truth about President JFK's murder. Based on the books On The Trail Of The Assassins by Jim Garrison and Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy by Jim Marrs.

    Special features include a commentary track by Director Oliver Stone; 55 minutes of extended/deleted scenes available with an optional commentary track by Stone; three featurettes: Beyond JFK: The Question Of Conspiracy (90 minutes), Assassination Update—The New Documents (30 minutes), and Meet Mr. X: The Personality And Thoughts Of Fletcher Prouty (11 minutes); the original theatrical trailer; and an option to connect online for additional Blu-ray™ previews.

    The 2.42:1 VC-1-encoded Blu-ray Disc™ shows a sharp and crisp image, with nicely rendered fine detail and definition. Black levels are deep, and shadows are delineated well. Unless obviously intentional, source element artifacts are not noticeable. While browns and greens dominate the color scheme and colors are generally somewhat desaturated, colors are defined nicely, giving them a sense of naturalness and pop. Whites can bloom, giving the picture an etherial appearance, but contrast is fairly well balanced. Fleshtones appear natural, with good differentiation between various shades. (Gary Reber/Danny Richelieu)

    While the lossless Dolby® TrueHD 5.1-channel soundtrack is relatively quiescent in nature, there is nonetheless an abundance of multidimensional engagement with both music and atmospheric effects. There is a definite sense of a holosonic® listening space throughout, and fidelity is remarkably good, considering the age of the film. The music is a nice recording, and fills the soundstage plentifully with notable depth in the low-end. Some poignant deep bass effects are also used to good effect, along with active .1 LFE engagement. Voices have a pleasant-sounding character and have natural tonality, as well as effective spatial integration. Fidelity is noticeably improved over the Dolby Digital encoding that is also on the disc. (Gary Reber/Danny Richelieu)

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