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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Body Of Lies

    Featured In Issue 139, March/April 2009

    Picture4
    SoundNR
    WSR Score3
    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):
    1000040911
    (MPAA Rating):
    R
    (Rating Reason):
    Strong violence including some torture and language throughout
    (Retail Price):
    $35.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    128
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    Not Indicated
    (Theatrical Year):
    2008
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    02/17/09
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Ridley Scott
    (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, Dolby Digital 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):

    Based on the novel by David Ignatius, Body Of Lies tells the story of the CIA's efforts to capture the mastermind of a wave of global terrorist attacks. Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) is the agency's man on the ground in Iraq, Jordan, Dubai, Syria, and other Middle-East locations, scrambling to stay ahead of ever-shifting events. A satellite in the sky links his actions on the ground to Ed Hoffman (Crowe), who is charged with the operation. But things are not what they seem, and Ferris soon learns of a web of deceit that reaches far and wide, forcing him to question everything and everyone with whom he had placed his trust. (Gary Reber)

    Special features include audio commentary by Director Ridley Scott, Screenwriter William Monahan and Author David Ignatius; Actionable Intelligence: Deconstructing Body Of Lies explores preselected sequences from the film through raw onset footage and interviews with the cast and crew; and Interactive Debriefing allows viewers to program interviews with DiCaprio, Crowe, and Scott to be viewed by topic, participant, or both. A "play all" button will generate a virtual nine-segment documentary on all topics (HD 18:59), and there is an introduction by Scott (HD 01:34), four deleted scenes (HD 12:49), an alternate ending (HD 01:57) with commentary by Scott, plus BD-Live interactivity and a digital copy of the film.

    The 2.40:1 1080p VC-1 picture quality is a bit rough and edgy, probably purposely intended to reinforce the stark Iraq scenes. Such scenes appear to be filtered, tinted, and desaturated. Fleshtones are generally natural in appearance, though not always. Resolution is often soft, especially in the Iraq scenes, yet sharp and clear in other scenes, revealing fine textures. Blacks are deep, but shadow delineation lacks the depth of better transfers. The picture, though, is pristine, with no noise or other artifacts. Overall, this is a stylized picture in which contrast is often suppressed and colors are subdued. (Gary Reber)

    The Dolby® TrueHD 5.1-channel soundtrack exhibits surround envelopment that is inconsistent. At times the surrounds are appropriately aggressive and directionalized, but often there simply is no surround signal, even when the scene environment suggests otherwise. Dialogue is not supported spatially either, but at times, sounds forward and often ADR produced. The music score is nicely recorded but often too subtle in the surrounds to have an effective impact. Some scenes, though, are impressive, with a holosonic® soundfield. (Gary Reber)

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