Blu-ray Review: August Rush
By
Jon Liu
Video Format: 2.40:1 1080p
Audio Formats: Dolby TrueHD English 5.1, English, Spanish, French Dolby Digital 5.1
Starring: Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard, Robin Williams
Directed by: Kirsten Sheridan
Release Date: March 11, 2008
General
Evan Taylor (Freddie Highmore) is an 11-year-old boy who is abandoned at birth. Somehow, though, he feels a certain connection to music and through the music he also feels connected to his birth parents. On his journey to find his birth parents, others discover his musical connection and help him develop his prodigal talents. Through his musical abilities he hopes to be led back to his parents.
I am always impressed with Freddie Highmore as an actor. He is very compelling in every work that he does and it is always a pleasure to watch him on screen. Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers are decent but generally their roles are somewhat forgetful and quite honestly, take a back seat to Freddie and even the music.
Tech Specs
Video: Generally, the video transfer is decent, but it has a couple of spots of hindrance. Colors remain pretty natural and never really call attention. Black levels and contrast both seemed just right. Resolution is somewhat of a mixed bag though. The majority of the movie is decently detailed and clear, but there were one or two shots that were overly soft and this was likely a problem with the filming and not the transfer itself. This transfer doesn’t stand out really in any way, but I think that it helps lend to the audio aspect of the film.
Audio: I was very impressed with the audio aspect of this film. In fact, my sister-in-law saw this movie in the theaters and told me that I had to watch this film on my sound system and when I do, turn it up. I did just that and the aural experience that I got was incredibly gratifying. This film relies heavily on ambiance and even the musicality of the ambiance. There are many instances when the sound simply envelops the listener and immerses the viewer in the mind of August Rush. The sound stage and clarity of the sound is probably one of the best that I’ve heard, which speaks volumes considering this movie is not based around action. The LFE channel mainly plays support and doesn’t call attention to itself. There were only two instances where the weight of the subwoofer was expected, one was a scene with an organ and the other was in the subway, both of which were satisfied. Generally, this mix was a very moving experience.
Extras
This release is pretty sparse in terms of extra features. There are only a couple of deleted scenes which are only in standard definition.
Menus/Navigation
The menu system design was very simple and straightforward. Moving around the menus was no different than a standard DVD’s menu system.
Overall Impressions
I really loved this film, although I can see that this movie may not be for everyone. While I was moved by the story, this movie could be considered pretty slow. The video aspect was only decent, but the sound made up for what the video lacked. Honestly, the sound experience alone was enough for me. If you are interested in this movie, I definitely recommend it. Those on the fence will likely want to only rent this one, as I said, this movie may not be for everyone.
Linear Mode
