COLLATERAL (2004, Blu-ray released March 30, 2010 – MSRP $29.99)
Three coyotes, a Foxx and a scary silver-fox get the HD treatment in the Blu-ray release of Collateral – a 2004 thriller where a mostly spineless cabbie (Jamie Foxx) picks up a dangerous fare (Tom Cruise) whose poofy, silvery-grey hair used to prove nearly as distracting to the audience as the digital video the film was shot on. A lot has changed since 2004 and while our eyes have since become accustomed to HD Cam footage, Cruise still looks wrong sporting a grey coif.
The Mann behind Heat, Ali and The Insider, Michael Mann, has always looked to change things up a bit. In the 80s, he was at the forefront of regular television shows being broadcast in Stereo. Yes, stereo…no Surround at that point. It started with Miami Vice and then Stereo programming caught on. Similarly moving things forward, Collateral was one of the first Hollywood studio films to be shot almost entirely in digital video. As a result, the image was a little jarring. Camera movements seemed shakier. This is no longer an issue. While we as an audience have become more accustomed to seeing digital video, with this transfer, the film seems more at home on Blu-ray than it did on DVD.
It’s great to revisit this film. The on-screen chemistry between Cruise and Foxx, the L.A. locations, Mann’s choice of music (I’m still a sucker for the mini musical montages) and the build-ups to sudden and explosive action were all welcomed reminders of Mann’s skill as a filmmaker. Navigating the disc is breeze. The pop-up menus are easy to read and don’t require the loading of addition pages. The one sequence/loop in the background simply repeats as you make your choices.
The transfer is beautifully sharp and clear; however, the 2-disc DVD release was too. The film looked grainier in theaters, but on both the DVD and the Blu-ray, the image is clean. However, what the Blu-ray has over the DVD is both an obviously improved clarity and more importantly, greater image stability. Motion blur is reduced and Mann’s dynamic, in your face camera placement flows better without losing any of its edge. For a film that takes place mostly at night, there isn’t as much ‘black’ as one would expect. The blacks are often imbued with other colors. This is on purpose. The L.A. nighttime glow that Mann captured is an eerie presence and truly affects the varying moods of the film. The contrasts come from the lights penetrating the darkness in the cityscapes.
The DTS-HD MA audio track is sweet. The channel separation is well balanced and the dialogue is almost always clear and intelligible…Cruise mumbles a few lines, but everyone else comes through nicely. James Newton Howard’s soundtrack is without fault.
In the extra features department there aren’t many additions from the 2-disc DVD set of 2004. What has been added is a neat little bookmark tool, allowing you to select favorite moments (to the second) that can be quickly accessed from a separate menu. Also included are HD versions of the teaser and theatrical trailers, but other than that, all commentary, making-of and behind the scenes material are the same, right down to the Easter eggs (look for “waiting for the ‘thumbs up’ from Mann” sequence). As is often the case with re-releases, the extras were of the same quality as the previous release–often looking better on the DVD version, with fewer aliasing problems on the standard video portions. The only things not present are the production notes and cast and crew bios included on the DVD. It’s a bit of a shame, because although some information was repeated in the featurette, the production notes gave additional insight on the extensive prep work done by the actors and director alike.
Collateral is a good film that was meant for Blu-ray–This release looks so slick that it can be the deciding factor if you haven’t already invested in the technology. Oh, and before I forget…who remembered that Javier Bardem had a cameo in this film…?
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I’ve got to admit, this trailer for Fox‘s upcoming Avatar Blu-ray makes the release look pretty tasty. Is it just me or have they bumped up the saturation here? It’s all a lot more vivid and … blue than I recall it looking in the cinema. Perhaps the Imax 3D glasses I was wearing dulled the image down sufficiently to sap some of the blue from the alien skin. Anyway, I’m now sold on this Avatar Blu-ray. Even though this edition will only be in 2D I have a feeling these visuals are going to be pretty spectacular on Blu-ray. We only have to wait until Earth Day, April 22nd to find out for sure.
