Snatch Blu-ray Disc Review

// you’re reading...

Reviews

By Stone ⋅ December 5, 2009 ⋅

Email This Post ⋅

Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

SNATCH (2000, Blu-ray released December 2nd, 2009 - MSRP $28.95)

I feel like I’ve been watching a lot of visually dark movies the last little while. And maybe not enough movies with that serious sense of Blu ray “awesome” to them. That dazzle of visual pop the format does best. And it seems that Snatch, despite its better qualities follows that trend.

Don’t get me wrong, Snatch, written and directed by Guy Ritchie is an awesome crime movie with fast dialogue, violence and comedy in equal measure and a f*ck load of swearing. Seriously, they swear a lot. But it’s a film with a very particular visual style, shot dirty and gritty about dirty, gritty people in a …well, you get the point. I found that while watching Snatch, it was so grim in tone and image that I was really yearning for some bright, crisp, high-def detail. The kind that Blu does best, you know? I felt like the style of the film was actually getting in the way of the story to some extent! Nevertheless, the movie flows pretty damn well and it really is top of the heap when it comes to crime/drama/comedies. Oh, I should mention that if you live on the more western side of the Atlantic, you may find some of the dialogue slightly cryptic with its broadly spoken, London-underground vernacular. Just think of it as extra salt and vinegar on your chips!

Despite all my poo pooing, I really enjoyed watching this movie again. It looked technically quite good (despite the dark grit of the source material), it sounded good, it ran along at a brisk pace and is well written for all it’s faults. I should add that the cast is quite spectacular, featuring an all star line-up of both US and UK performers: Brad Pitt, Denis Farina, Jason Statham, Benicio del Toro, Vinne Jones just to name a few. While I was watching it with all of these elements considered I just couldn’t help myself from thinking, “This is one of those movies that could have been great… but it’s really just good.” I feel like it fell just a little short of its potential.

In terms of the video quality, the discs 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer has only one issue; it’s a dark, gritty film. I really have to stop watching all these dark, moody films; it’s killing my excitement for Blu ray! The transfer is fine, no problems really at all. The team at Sony manages to handles all that Snatch throws at them, delivering a final product with deep blacks, film-accurate colour and great shadow detail. In fact, if you are really paying attention you can see some surprising detail in things like faces and dirty buildings and all the things you don’t normally pay attention to. The transfer has really been done well, it’s just that there really isn’t a lot in the movie to showcase how good it is.

The audio in the movie is delivered in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and even though the movie wasn’t intended to be an aural-spectacular the sound is surprisingly good at times. It stays crisp and quite dynamic throughout (particularly where the music is concerned) and every once and awhile you get a nice little surprise from a .50 caliber handgun or some immersive ambient noise.

We also get a fairly dry director’s commentary and a “making-of” featurette, deleted scenes, some story boards and stills (ho hum). But in keeping with the value added features of Blu ray, Sony has added some Movie IQ content using the BD Live function. The highlight of the special features, however is the innovative “The ‘Snatch’ Cutting Room” which allows you to to interact directly with the contents of the disc, assembling your own edit of scenes, customizing it with music and titles and sharing the finished product with friends via BD-Live.