BLU-RAY REVIEW

Flicka: Country Pride

Featured In Issue 167, May/June 2012

Picture3
Sound3
WSR Score2.5
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):
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
2279887
(MPAA Rating):
G
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$24.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
111
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
2012
(Theatrical Release):
No
(Direct-To-Video Release):
Yes
(Disc Release Date):
05/01/12
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Michael Damian
(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 Flicka: Country Pride, Toby (Black) takes on a job at a stable with Flicka in tow. The owner's teenage daughter Kelly (Rohl) quickly bonds with the wild horse. A budding equestrian rider, she hopes to break Flicka for an upcoming competition, despite her mother's (Black) disapproval. With the competition approaching, a rival trainer stealing business, and a growing fear they may be forced to sell the stable, Toby steps in to turn things around for Kelly and her mother. Based on the characters in the novel My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the featurettes The Legend Continues: Creating The Next Chapter (HD 11:10) and Black Is Back (HD 07:50), the "Let Go" music video by Holly Kay (HD 04:38), and up-front previews.

The 1.78:1 1080p AVC picture was shot digitally with a Sony CineAlta F35 camera and released straight to video. Overall, while resolution is generally acceptable but not razor sharp, the color palette is depressed, with a "darkish" quality that is not distinguished. Blacks are deep but undefined. This is a basic mediocre picture presentation with distinguished qualities. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is mediocre as well. The sonics really never connect and lack the dynamics that would add a sense of liveliness to the proceedings. The surround channels are limited to the music score and to occasional ambiance atmospherics. While the music adds emotional feeling to each scene, the fidelity sounds compressed and veiled. Primarily a dialogue-focused production, the dialogue is serviceable and always intelligible. Still, this is an undistinguished flat sonic experience. (Gary Reber)