“Talk about the Special Features and the girl gets it!”
Colour me disappointed. I mean, I was fully aware that the “Two-Disc Special Edition” of The Dark Knight wouldn’t be the definitive Blu-ray release of the film – that we would eventually be treated to the double-dip, superbox-with-posters-and-gizmos edition (an affliction currently suffered by the likes of I Am Legend and 300.) What I was blissfully ignorant of going into my viewing of Disc 2, the special features of the package, was that the two main documentary attractions were not original features at all. They’re simply EPK-style, recycled History Channel shorts that aired back in July to promote the film upon its release into cinemas. Imagine my ‘delight’ upon discovering that the features I’ve been so hotly anticipating for months turn out to be a couple of WB infomercials I already own in the form of AVI files. They’re still sitting there on my hard drive, downloaded through Bittorrent in a haze of summer Bat-phoria. Look down in the lower third of that Batman Tech program’s image as it plays back over my PS3 onto the projector screen. What’s that golden ‘H’ staring back at us? That there is History Channel branding!
The little docs could be better. Could be much worse. It’s not the quality that cheeses me off so much as the appearance that Warner Brothers is trying to conceal their origins. There’s no mention anywhere I’ve been able to uncover that any of the special features on The Dark Knight were previously available or that they may have been sourced from other studios. The History Channel has even gone so far as to wipe any hint of the docs from their website. Smells like a cover up!
Aside from feeling slightly hosed in the special features department, I have to say that the 35mm footage on the Blu-ray looks less sharp than other current releases like Iron Man. I also can’t help but be distracted by the hint of edge enhancement that WB has afflicted the transfer with. Don’t get me wrong, the IMAX shots blow me away. They are some of the most striking, clear and accurate images I’ve seen on my home theatre. I just can’t help feeling a bit disappointed with the rest of this package. Maybe Warners will get it right on second dip.
good