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Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (19th June 2007). |
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The Film
 After the phenomenal success of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003) it was a no brainer that Disney would move forward with sequels. The film became one of the top grossing Disney movies and would reignite interest in Pirates, a genre of movie that hadn't fared to well over the last 20 years with flops such as "Cutthorat Island" (1995) among the Pirate themed films that simply didn't connect with audiences. But "Pirates of the Caribbean" has many things that none of the previous Pirate films had, Johnny Depp a big reason why these films are so damn enjoyable, they also harbor a sense of adventure and delivers action in ways that only a Jerry Bruckheimer film could, fast, over the top and exciting. And the result was met with huge box office, in fact the film made over $1 billion worldwide and currently hold 22 separate box office records, despite the mixed critical attention the film received during it's theatrical run. "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" proved the popularity of Pirate movies, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" solidified that. Leading up to it's release, director Gore Verbinski would have a monumental task ahead of himself, to shoot two sequels back-to-back in 200 days (The third instalment "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" was released theatrically May 2007). Faced with incomplete scripts, remote locations, weather problems (a category 5 tropical storm ravaged their set, plus numerous shooting days were cut short or cancelled due to bad weather), construction problems (their large control tank in the Bahamas was delayed) compounded with the pressure of a big-budget movie and having to shoot it all in 200 days one would expect the production to collapse. But Verbinski fought on and the result is still a mixed bag. This second film in the trilogy sees Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) hunted by Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) whom he owes a debt to, instead of paying that debt, which means a lifetime of servitude on Jones' vessel 'The Flying Dutchman' he sends Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) to pay that debt, unknown to him of course...in a drastic turn of events Will is in fact in need to Jack's compass so he can free Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) who has been imprisoned for aiding a pirate by the evil Lord Beckett (Tom Hollander), along the way we learn than the Jack's compass can lead to Davy Jones' heart which has been buried in a chest and is the prize that everyone seems to be after. Several plot contrivances later and the filmmakers have basically found a way to cram just about everyone from the previous film into this one and as a result the film is longer and considerably bloated. Personally I didn't think too much of the plot, in fact all that is wrong with the film is related to its plot, but it does just about everything else so freaking right that it's hard to completely discount the film as just another blow-hard summer movie cash-in. Story aside the film has some incredibly fun moments that remind us why summer movies should be enjoyable, the action is stepped up a notch here with some exciting sword play primarily atop of a giant spinning water wheel, a humorous sequence involving the crew escaping a cannibal island, plus the seafaring action is just as good if not better than its predecessor. The high point being Davy Jones and his crew of cursed half men half sea creatures. The character of Jones is a marvel to look at, one would think that the incredibly realistic creature was brought to life using make-up effects (which I originally thought upon seeing the film theatrically) when in fact it's entirely computer generated. ILM have done an amazing job with this character managing to capture subtle nuances in Nighy's performance, they are sure to snatch an Oscar come awards season for this beautiful work. How can one talk about this film without bringing Depp into the picture, just as before he is the center piece of this action extravaganza. Bringing his flair and talent into one of the most flamboyant and truly remarkable characters of all time. Captain Jack Sparrow returns with his usual brand of piracy peppering each scene with droplets of gold, the element of fun and freedom is captured perfectly by Depp, the other actors are merely window dressing compared to Depp. Many aspects of this film remain the same for consistency, the photography is appropriately lush and painted with a broad canvas and Hans Zimmer's score is much the same as before. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" may have a contrived plot and is considered big-budget bloated action that does run a little too long for some (150+ minutes) but it's the most fun I've had watching a movie in some time, it managed to satisfy almost all of my requirements for a blockbuster film: It had interesting and involving characters, it had amazing action, it was fun and adventurous and it had great special effects. If you loved the first film then I'm sure you've already seen this one and have already made up your mind, if you haven't given either the first film or this one, then it should make for a pleasurable time in front of the tube.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.40:1 this transfer has been given the full 1080p high-definition treatment in 24/fps and encoded using AVC MPEG-4 compression on a 50GB Blu-ray disc gives this film ample breathing room to flex it's wares. And boy does it flex! This is the most stunning HD presentation that I have seen to date. The image is splendid beyond all accounts. Sharpness is razor edge, with fine detail across all plains being foreground, middle ground and background and still manages to retain that beautiful film quality and depth of field. Colors are vibrant, lush and fantastically rendered. Black levels are deep and bold and appear as true to black as they can get. I can go on and on about how great this transfer is but there's no point, this is for all intents and purposes along with the release of the first "Pirates" film on Blu-ray the best high-definition transfer that has been released to date by Buena Vista.
Audio
Four audio tracks are included on this disc, an uncompressed English PCM 5.1 track mastered at 24 bits at 6.9 Mbps as well as Dolby Digital 5.1 mastered at 640 Kbps in English, French and Spanish. Continuing their support for uncompressed PCM Buena Vista releases this series with impressive fashion as the soundtrack blares in a robust and dynamic aural experience that displays a range that can outplay any high end Cineplex (well depending on your equipment that is). The dialogue is crisp and clean but the reason we are all here is the action, this track is intensely aggressive and never lets up throughout the entire runtime of the film, from the smallest most subtle sounds such as gentle rain and wind providing atmospheric surround to gun fire, canons and explosions nothing feels out of place and everything is mixed with a degree of power and balance that will impress just about anyone. Buena Vista has done a superb job in presenting this film with the absolute best in audio to match the flawless image. Optional subtitles are also included in English for the hearing impaired, French, and Spanish.
Extras
Buena Vista Home Entertainment has released this film on Blu-ray with all of the extras seen on the standard 2-disc DVD as well as the additional bonus material seen on an exclusive Best Buy DVD. There is no less than 5 hours of video goodies for fans, this 2-disc spread includes an audio commentary, some bloopers, two documentaries, several featurettes and a collection of bonus trailers, below is a closer look at these supplements broken down per disc. DISC ONE: The first extra on this disc is a feature-length audio commentary by screenwriters Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot. I must admit that I was rather surprised that for this installment there were no director or cast [b]commentaries[/b], that would have been nice, but the writers takes us through the film with expert precision commenting on the writing process, the pressures and also giving us some clues as to what we can expect in the third and final installment of this mega-sized franchise. Although they provide a lot of information they are also self-gratifying, which can be tiresome to listen to, thankfully they don't do that for the entire track. While not what I was expecting I was happy to sit through 150 minutes of these guys chatter along about the film as it certainly wasn't boring at any stage, it's worth a listen to but only if you're a complete die hard fan of the film and if you can muster sitting through the 150 minutes again. Also on this disc is an exclusive interactive game called "Liar's Dice". This may require a java firmware upgrade depending on your player. Much like the game seen in the film the whole point is to outsmart your opponent by guessing the total number of dice held by you and your opponent. It's a fun game but does get boring relatively easily. Also on disc one are a series of HD previews for "Invincible" which runs for which runs for 2 minutes 33 seconds, "The Guardian" which runs for 2 minutes 30 seconds and also "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" theatrical trailer which runs for 2 minutes 30 seconds. Finally a "Movie Showcase" is also included, which jumps to three key reference scenes that show off the high-definition quality. DISC TWO: The first thing you'll find on this disc is "Charting The Return" documentary which runs for 24 minutes 40 seconds and takes a look at the journey from the end of the first film to getting the sequel underway and the short amount of time that Disney gave the filmmakers in order to do it. This charts the period from October 2004 to February 2005 when filming began, in between there were constant script issues with getting finished, location scouting, set building and storyboarding key sequences, dealing with budget issues (in fact the film came close to shutting down because of the budget), it's a definitive look at the preparation leading up to the first day of shooting and a fine way to kick off the supplements on the second disc. Next up is a documentary entitled "According To Plan" which runs for 62 minutes 59 seconds, this is a wonderful inside look at the making of the film and the challenges faced by such a massive production that has to move to so many locations. We get a look behind-the-scenes as well as at how the production managed to shoot two Pirate sequels back-to-back in 200 days, from the cast coming back together to shooting on remote location and the logistical issues facing them, battling with the weather and many other surprises that face the crew. Following that is "Captain Jack: From Head To Toe" a series of featurettes that in total run for 27 minutes 34 seconds, from a menu featuring an image of Captain Jack you can highlight various aspects of his costume to learn more about those aspects of the character, you can select these sections individually or choose to view with a 'play all' function. Throughout these short clips we learn about the various aspects of Jack's wardrobe from what fabrics they are made of to where they were found and procured for the film as well as provide some history surrounding them, it covers his hat, pirate coat, shirt, boots, sword, scarf and wig, eye make-up, his dingles (the trinkets in his hair), the teeth, the beard, the trophy lace, the rings, rum bottles, sash, keys, pistol, belt, compass, the cannibal make-up, the toe necklace and the cannibal septer. Also featured on the disc are 3 featurettes under the title "Mastering The Blade", and they cover the training each actor had to undergo for the film's sword fights, these clips included are for: - Orlando Bloom which runs for 5 minutes 37 seconds, which takes a look at the training and choreography of the fight scenes. - Keira Knightley which runs for 5 minutes 7 seconds, which takes a look at the bar fight and the beach fight she has with Pintel and Ragetti. - Jack Daveport which runs for 5 minutes 17 seconds, which takes a look at the preparation he undertook for the three way fight with him, Jack Sparrow and Will Turner. Next up is "Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy Of A Legend" a featurette which runs for 12 minutes 33 seconds, this clip shows us the complexity and challenges in bringing the character of Davy Jones to life, from what the character actor Bill Nighy brought to the role and how the ILM crew designed and created the CGI character based around the performance given by Nighy on set. "Creating The Kraken" is a featurette which runs for 9 minutes 58 seconds, this clip takes a closer look at the filming of these various sequences plus a look at how the creature was created by the artisans at ILM. "Dead Man Tell New Tales: Re-Imagineering The Attraction" is a featurette that runs for 13 minutes 1 second and features a look at how the Disney Imagineers updated the classic ride at Disneyland incorporating the new characters as seen in the films. We also get a look at the making of the animatronic characters among other things in this glorified commercial for the theme park attraction. One of the most interesting feature is "Fly On The Set: The Bone Cage" a featurette which sadly runs for a brief 3 minutes 48 seconds. We get to see the crew at work shooting a scene were the cast are suspended in a bone cage and flung across a blue screen out door stage. I love seeing film crew at work all co-ordinating to get a shot in the can, it's a shame that this clip is so short. It would have been nice to have included a few more fly on the set style videos for other scenes. Next up is the "Jerry Bruckheimer: A Producer's Photo Gallery" featurette 4 minutes 42 seconds and features the producer talking about his love of photography and how he shoots pictures on every set he's on. We get to see some of his photos as he talks about how great the cast and crew all are. The disc also includes "Pirates On Main Street: The Dead Man's Chest Premiere" featurette which runs for 3 minutes 59 seconds and takes us behind the barriers with the cast and crew as they walk the red carpet at Disneyland. Next up are a series of "Bloopers Of The Caribbean" a reel that runs for 3 minutes 50 seconds and includes the usual stuff, actors flubbing lines, missing cues and breaking out into laughter on set as well as some improv that doesn't quite work, there's some funny stuff here but it gets boring after a while, luckily for us it doesn't over stay its welcome. Next is the first extra you'll find ported over from the Best Buy bonus disc, this is a series of stills from the set, which includes a vast collection of 200 still images taken during the production process. Rounding out this extensive collection of supplements are a series of theatrical trailers from various countries and are presented in English, French, Portuguese, Italian, and German as well as English, Spanish, Italian and Germanteaser trailers.
Packaging
This Blu-ray Disc is packaged in an standard 2-disc Blu-ray case housed in a cardboard slip-cover.
Overall
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