HD-DVD Review: Brokeback Mountain
By
Brad Pipkins Video Format: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio Format: English and French Dolby Digital Plus 5.1
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid
Directed By: Ang Lee
Released Date: January 23, 2007
General
A controversial film that was nominated for many awards, Brokeback Mountain broke the barrier for clichés in filmmaking. In the past, gay and lesbian cinema has been very limited to what it can do because of the overall perception by the general public. Rocky Horror Picture Show… Priscilla: Queen of the Desert… Too Wong Foo… All pushed the boundaries of filmmaking in a unique way, and certainly shocked and appalled many people as well.
Adapted from the short story by Annie Proulx, Brokeback Mountain tells the story of a secretive relationship between two cowboys and the effect it has on their lives throughout the years. As controversial as it may be, the film was done with good taste, which is how the story was meant to be told. While there are a few scenes that possibly push the limits a bit (the tent scene comes to mind), any person secure in their sexuality shouldn’t feel uncomfortable.
Tech Specs Video: Presented in a 1.85:1 1080p transfer, Brokeback Mountain’s video quality is excellent, though it has a few pitfalls. There are many scenes in the movie that exhibit great detail, but others don’t look so good. Detail mainly gets lost in wider shots of mountains and scenery; a problem that was inherent to DVD. However, unlike DVD, this image softness doesn’t look like a compression problem. The film was shot on an extremely low budget and many of the wide shots look out of focus. This could be intentional, but there appears to be no motive behind it and no consistency. Overall, however, the image looks fine with great black levels and excellent color reproduction.
Audio: There’s nothing really amazing about this Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 track. Of course, for a film that’s mostly dialogue-driven, what do you expect? The dialogue stays firmly rooted in the center channel the majority of the time unless the actor is off screen. Gustavo Santaolalla’s score makes the surround channels come alive, and the acoustic guitar can sound quite real at times. Bass rarely called attention to itself, but there wasn’t much of it either.
Extras
Standard documentary fair, all presented in standard definition. If you are interested in how the movie came to be, these may be of interest to you.
Menus/Navigation
Menus are very easy to understand and navigate, with a logical structure that should be the standard by which others should take note.
Overall Impressions
After all the hype and controversy around Brokeback Mountain, I honestly found it pretty drab. If you can get past the sex scenes and kissing, it’s a pretty boring movie about two people in love. In fact, I’m quite surprised that Heath Ledger is still around. I just don’t buy his acting in any role I’ve ever seen him in. However, for fans of the movie, there is no better way to experience it than in HD.
Brew, somehow I figured you'd be the first to post in here!
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