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27 Dresses (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (13th April 2014). |
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The Film
 ***This is a technical review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up, Grey's Anatomy) finds the perfect fit in this sexy, stylish film from the screenwriter of The Devil Wears Prada. Sassy, smart, single Jane (Heigl) has a great job, a fantastic apartment and is the perfect friend... but looking after other people's perfect moments can sometimes land you in hot water, especially when you have deadlines to meet, friends to please, a sister's wedding to organise, a boss you're secretly in love with and a handsome stranger thrown into the mix! What's a girl to do? Discover how Jane juggles life, love, laughter, a wardrobe of dresses and numerous weddings in this fabulous feel good film. With hilarious moments, some seriously shocking outfits and and all star cast including Ed Burns (The Holiday, She's the One) and James Marsden (Enchanted, X-Men) 27 Dresses is this season's must-have accessory.
Video
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment have released the romantic comedy "27 Dresses" onto Blu-ray in the United Kingdom using the original aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The transfer is 1080p and uses an AVC MPEG-4 encode. Although good, it is a little disappointing in some respects. 27 Dresses is a reasonably budgeted film, with a well-known cast, and from a major studio. So, why is detail lacking as much as it is? Don't get me wrong, the transfer looks good, but close-ups fail to show the facial blemishes we have become accustomed to, and long shots don't showcase the environmental elements as well as they should for the format. Colours are generally good, with blacks deep and inky without any crush. Skin tones however, are perhaps a smidge too warm, but not to a degree which takes away enjoyment from the feature. The transfer has good depth, and pops quite well most of the time, but some of the external scenes do appear to lack the depth required. As to be expected, there are no signs of damage in the transfer such as scratches, and I noticed no signs of aliasing, banding or edge enhancement. Overall, the picture quality is certainly solid. I just wish the transfer showed off the capabilities of format to a better standard. The disc is locked to region B, and the feature runs 110:48.
Audio
The following options are available: - English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 - English Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 5.1 - French DTS 5.1 - German DTS 5.1 Like the transfer, it is more than competent but isn't up to the standard one would hope. Dialogue comes almost exclusively from the centre channel, with the surrounds being used sparingly for anything other than the subtle and quiet score (occasional crowd noise and weather elements). Volume levels are consistent for the most part, but I did find I had turn it up during a couple of scenes - usually the ones involving Brian Kerwin, where dialogue felt a little muted. There are several scenes which are a bit more enthusiastic, such as the bar scene with Katherine Heigl and James Marsden, but the surrounds never utilise these moments fully, and the sound field just feels underused. There are no other problems such as scratches or drop outs, and I noticed no background hiss. Subtitles have been included in Dutch, English HoH, French and German.
Extras
All extras are in HD. First up, is a typical EPK featurette entitled "The Wedding Party" which runs 14:31. Basically, it features various members of the cast and crew giving typical sound bites about how much they enjoyed making the film, their characters, and the story in general. It offers absolutely minimal insight, and isn't really worth your time unless you are a big fan of the film. To compare Heigl/Marsden to Hepburn/Grant kind of irked me a little. The "You'll Never Wear That Again" featurette (6:46) looks closer at the costume designs of the 27 dresses for the scene which shows Heigl wearing all her old bridesmaid dresses. Catherine Marie Thomas was the costume designer tasked with making dresses which are purposely ugly (yet still passable and charming) and she provides a few sound bites here along with the director and producer. Next up, a featurette called "The Running of the Brides" (4:38) which shows the sale at Filene's Basement, a renowned wedding shop which has held an annual sale every year for over 60 years. It basically shows a bunch of desperate women trying to get a reduced price on an expensive dress. Think of a Youtube video showing Black Friday footage in Walmart, but with mentally unstable and unhinged women in a wedding dress shop. "Jane's World" is the final featurette, clocking in at 5:08. It looks at the location shooting and the sets, and how the designs of locations and wedding events were researched and brought to life. Also talked about, is how they have to make some locations suit the characters personality traits, such as the eco-friendly office, and Heigl's apartment. The extras conclude with a small selection of deleted scenes (w/ Play All - 4:00): - Jane Hails a Cab (0:27) - Tess' Bridesmaids Dresses (1:15) - The Rescue of Gatsby (2:16) It's obvious these were cut for pacing, and none of them add anything to the story, or to any of the characters. You might want to watch once due to the short run time, but you won't be missing anything if you skip them.
Overall
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