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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    House Of Cards: The Complete Second Season

    Featured In Issue 188, July/August 2014

    Picture5
    Sound4
    WSR Score4
    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):
    Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    44085
    (MPAA Rating):
    TV-MA
    (Rating Reason):
    (Retail Price):
    $65.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    663
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A
    (Theatrical Year):
    (Theatrical Release):
    No
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    Yes
    (Disc Release Date):
    06/17/14
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Carl Franklin
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
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    (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):
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    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
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    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    House Of Cards is the critically acclaimed political drama that returns with The Complete Second Season. Kevin Spacey stars as the newly appointed Vice President of the United States, with Robin Wright as his wife. Based on the novel by Michael Dobbs and the mini-series by Andrew Davies. (Gary Reber)

    Special features include five featurettes: "Two Houses" (HD 10:45), "Table Read" (HD 07:36), "Direct Access" (HD 05:39), "Politics For Politics Sake" (HD 03:54) and "Line Of Succession" (HD 17:53); collectable packaging; and an UltraViolet digital copy.

    The 1080p AVC picture was photographed with the Red Epic digital camera system and exhibits a pristine appearance that is naturally hued throughout. The picture was produced in the 2160p ("4K") format. While the color palette appears to be desaturated, with infrequent vivid hues, fleshtones consistently appear natural. Contrast is well balanced with deep blacks that appear foreboding. Shadow delineation is also excellent. Resolution is revealing of fine detail exhibited in facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture, especially during close-ups. This is a terrific-looking production that surpasses the overly compressed Netflix presentation. (Gary Reber)

    The DTS-HD Master AudioŽ 5.1-channel soundtrack is dialogue focused throughout, with excellent intelligibility, but at times wanting in spatial integration. The music score is nicely supportive and provides the surround envelopment. Deep bass is supportive as well in the .1 LFE channel, when appropriate. Atmospherics and sound effects are effectively utilized and often convincingly nuanced. Dynamics at times are dramatically energized for effect. This is a well-crafted soundtrack, with a slightly forward dialogue presence, and effective dynamics that are engaging. (Gary Reber)

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