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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Water For Elephants

    Featured In Issue 161, November 2011

    Picture5
    Sound5
    WSR Score5
    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):
    20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    274075
    (MPAA Rating):
    PG-13
    (Rating Reason):
    Moments of intense violence and sexual content
    (Retail Price):
    $39.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    120
    (Color Type):
    Color With B/W Sequences
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A
    (Theatrical Year):
    2011
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    11/01/11
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Francis Lawrence
    (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 Digital 5.1, DTS HD Lossless 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):

    In Water For Elephants, a young dreamer from the wrong side of the tracks, Jacob Jankowski (Pattinson) is devastated by the sudden death of his parents at the height of The Depression and abandons his veterinary studies at Cornell University. With no other family, no house, and no money, Jacob stows away on a train carrying the circus performers of The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show On Earth. Hired as a veterinarian to care for the troupe's animals, Jacob is temporarily filled with the promise of an exciting life that comes with a traveling circus troupe. However, as he builds a rapport and falls in love with the star of the show, Marlena (Witherspoon), they become prey to the circus' owner, Marlena's violent and abusive husband August (Waltz). As the circus begins to crumble from within, and against all odds, Jacob and Marlena come together and fall in love through their compassion for a special elephant. With their love on the line, Jacob and Marlena come to a crossroads that will forever change their destiny. Based upon the novel by Sara Gruen. (Gary Reber)

    Special features include commentary with Director Francis Lawrence and Writer Richard Lagravenese; six featurettes: Raising The Tent (HD 15:42), The Star Attraction (HD 09:12), The Traveling Show: Page To Screen (HD 09:14), Robert Pattinson Spotlight (HD 03:58), Working Without A Net: The Visual Effects (HD 22:37), and Feature Performer Reese Witherspoon (HD 02:35); the theatrical trailer; BD-Live functionality and a digital copy.

    The 2.35:1 1080p AVC picture is gorgeously presented with glowing colors and dramatic contrasts. Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography is perfectly framed and lit, for a wonderful cinematic experience. Hues are nicely saturated with rich and vivid primaries and perfectly rendered fleshtones. The imagery is, at times, breathtaking. Blacks are deep and solid, and shadow delineation is revealing of nuances in the production design. Resolution is superb as well, with fine detail exhibited in facial features, hair, clothing, and object textures. This is spectacularly beautiful picture that never seizes to captivate and mesmerize! (Gary Reber)

    The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is perfectly complementary to the stunning picture quality. Dialogue is nicely rendered with good spatial integration throughout. Atmospherics and sound effects, with respect to the circus, such as crowd response and animal sounds, and the scenes with a chugging steam train are nicely executed and dimensional. The surround mix is, at times, aggressive and consistently enveloping. Deep bass extension is nicely presented with, at times, sub-25 Hz energy, to enhance the dramatic effects. The soundtrack's dynamics and fidelity are wonderful. James Newton Howard's orchestral score is sweeping and dramatic. This is an extremely well-produced soundtrack with sensitivity, dynamic impact, and holosonic® envelopment that really emotionalizes the storytelling experience. (Gary Reber)

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    I appreciate the technical nature of your DVD reviews; that is, the way you rate the sound and picture quality of newly released DVDs. The reviews in most other magazines are concerned not with how good the DVD is, but with just the film itself: quality of the script, actors' performances, etc., all of which are subject to the critic's personal tastes, which may be wildly different from my own.

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