Social Network, The

Based upon the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich, The Social Network is a tale of a new breed of cultural insurgent: a punk genius who sparked a revolution and changed the face of human interaction for a generation, and perhaps forever. The story chronicles the formation of Facebook and the battles over ownership that followed upon the Web site's unfathomable success. The movie bears witness to the birth of an idea that rewove the fabric of society, even as it unraveled the friendship of its creators. (Gary Reber)

Special features on Disc One include commentary with Director David Fincher and commentary with Aaron Sarkin and the cast, plus BD-Live functionality. Disc Two contains the featurette How Did They Ever Make A Movie Of Facebook (HD 92:43); Jeff Cronenweth and David Fincher On The Visuals (HD 07:48); Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter, and Ren Klyce On Post (HD 17:24); Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Fincher On The Score (HD 18:55); the "In The Hall Of The Mountain King: Music Exploration" interactive audio feature; "Swarmatron" (HD 04:28); and the Ruby Skye VIP Room: Multi-Angle Scene Breakdown interactive feature.

The 1080p AVC picture is digitally photographed and portrays a dim-lit Harvard University environment in which computer-centric students compete. This dark, stylistic mood is effectively rendered, expressed in deep and solid black levels and revealing shadow delineation. The color palette is impressively natural, with warm and rich hues that are perfectly balanced. Fleshtones are accurately rendered in all lighting conditions. Resolution is excellent, with detail evident in facial features, clothes, object textures, and environmental settings and backgrounds. Overall, colors are subdued but natural in weight. Facebook blues are the exception, as are the brighter moments portrayed in Facebook offices. Dimensionality is good, without depression, due to the dark texturing of the cinematography. The imagery is pristine throughout. This is a superb visual experience that succeeds at setting a dark but complex intelligible mood. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is impressive for its holosonic® aggressive soundfield envelopment, realized through a prominent music score. Foley and atmospheric sound effects are also well recorded, and at times the SPL energy is so intense that dialogue is difficult to follow. Subtle nuances contrast with the energized segments, with impressive clarity. The music score is reinforced with a strong deep bass energy delivered by the .1 LFE at sub-25 Hz frequencies. At times party and club scenes are loudly experienced, but the surround dimensionality is exciting and demonstrates the potential for soundtracks for storytelling that are dialogue focused. The dialogue is perfectly natural sounding, with excellent spatial integration. This is a surprisingly exciting and engaging soundtrack that won't disappoint. But you will need to concentrate to follow the dialogue, which is the center piece of the storytelling. (Gary Reber)