Blu-Ray Review: The Dark Knight

Hey readers! Starting today, VANTAGE will be adding Blu-Ray movies to our categories of reviews! So we will be giving you our thoughts and suggestions on restaurants, movies, and Blu-Ray.

So we start this segment off with arguably the biggest movie of 08, The Dark Knight. After seeing this in the theater, I knew I was gonna have in some sort of format for home viewing. But since I had recently purchased a PS3 and a High-Def TV, I thought, "why not buy it on Blu-Ray."

Before we begin, I just wanna let you guys know that me and my fellow masterminds are not huge experts on the details and specifications of Blu-Ray, so we will only be giving you our thoughts and comments on the reviews. For those who want an in-depth review, I suggest you guys head to BluRay.com.

Let's start with the video quality. In my opinion, I think that The Dark Knight is one of those movies that transfer well into Blu-Ray. The video quality of this film on BD was just spectacular. The detail on the city shots, or even on Joker's make-up was just great! The colors of Joker's face are more vibrant, and just simply overwhelming to look at. According to some reviewers, The Dark Knight on BD was a huge improvement from its predecessor, Batman Begins. The Dark Knight was framed and produced for 1080p.

Now for the audio. To fully enjoy and maximize the experience of BD, you guys might want to consider purchasing a home theater system for your TV's because most movies now are being presented in Dolby 5.1 TrueHD. This is basically to give all you movie fans the ultimate home theater experience. On The Dark Knight, it is presented in Dolby 5.1 TrueHD, but my only complaint is that there were times when it seemed that the audio was too bass-heavy. But nonetheless, the audio for this film is delivered in good detail, and with plenty of resolution.

Now for the special features. Just to give you guys a quick run-through, here are the special features for the film:

Disc 1: Gotham Uncovered--a mish-mash of standard definition and high-def content, clocking in at one hour, this multi-part documentary replaces the need for an audio track and focuses on the unique elements that went into the creation of the sets, props and the use of IMAX cameras. It's a trove of information that no fan of The Dark Knight should miss. The amount of planning that went into the film are remarkable and carefully documented here. You can learn such details as the materials and production of the Bat suit and the difficulty in driving the Bat-pod. I would have liked to see more material covering Two-Face, since he was such a large part of the film and an explanation of how his face was handled in CGI. Some type of memorial content for Heath Ledger would have also been welcome. Unfortunately, no such documentary is included.

Focus Points--a rather hidden picture-in-picture option available in specific episodes that turn out to be the above-mentioned documentaries. Those who find PIP to be distracting will prefer to watch the content as Gotham Uncovered.

Disc 2: Batman Tech--as part of three hours worth of documentaries, this featurette explores the many weapons and utilities designed for Batman. Most of them are based on military equipment.

Batman Unmasked--subtitled The Psychology of The Dark Knight, this documentary focuses on psychotherapeutic analysis of Bruce Wayne and Batman. Frankly, this content would have been more appropriate for Batman Begins.

Gotham Tonight--a series of six newscasts averaging about eight minutes each. They all explore Batman and Bruce Wayne, as presented by "Gotham Cable's Premier News Program". The CNN-like news show played a role in several scenes of the main feature, but on its own, the newscasts seem a bit boring.

Galleries--watching the Joker cards rain down after the assassination of a judge in The Dark Knight, it is clear that many different types of cards are used. Here, they are all on display, along with TV spots and trailers, concept art, poster art and production stills.

Rounding out the bonus content are Warner invitations to participate in BD-Live and to unlock a digital (non-high definition) copy of The Dark Knight. The BD-Live features include "My Web Commentary", where you can use your webcam and create your own PIP commentary over the film and share it with friends and the entire BD-Live community. It also includes "Live Community Screening", which Warner bills as "an on-screen chat with the filmmakers while you watch the movie." The BD-Live "Media Center" is advertised to have exclusive footage, trailers, photo galleries and more.

While not perfect, this content features enough interesting documentaries and extracurricular activities to keep one occupied for hours on end. And a word about the packaging--under the slipcase, the text on the back of the packaging artwork has been "marked up" with edits by the Joker. The brief description of the movie has been defaced and there is graffiti pointing to a photo of the Joker, "ME" and many "HA HA" and "BLAH BLAH" comments. This was a good finishing touch to a classic BD package: a combination of creepy and cute.

Overall, I would highly recommend getting this movie on Blu-Ray for Batman fans or home theater enthusiasts. The Dark Knight doesn't disappoint, and I couldn't imagine myself watching it on any other kind of format. With excellent video and audio quality, you're sure to have a memorable high-def experience with The Dark Knight.

What do you think? Comment!!

END OF POST