Step Into Liquid (2003/Lionsgate Blu-ray)
Picture:
A Sound: A- Extras: A Film: B+
Long
before HD-DVD and Blu-ray this site was bringing forward some of the best of
the best in DVD land, including content that was filmed in HD, so we are not unfamiliar
with what HD can offer, nor are we surprised to see some of these amazing
titles early on in the HD formats like Blu-ray, which is why Step Into Liquid (reviewed several
years ago on this site here: http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1149/Step+Into+Liquid+(DVD+set/Surfing))
is a optimal title to own on Blu-ray and becomes one of the first titles to
take it up a huge notch from it’s previous existence in DVD.
Rather
than regurgitate what my previous review states I’ll keep this review solely on
the performance of this Blu-ray.
First
there is the picture, which always looked amazing on DVD, but now the ante is
raised as the 16 X 9 1080p High Definition transfer outshines even a great DVD
transfer and then some. However, despite
looking great with awesome depth and detail there does seem to be a little bit
of a softness that perhaps is due to the title being an earlier venture into
filming in HD. That’s not to say that
the image doesn’t look superb, which overall it does, in fact it also has
moments that have some film grain texture to give it a really authentic look as
well. The real highlight here though are
the vibrant colors and smoothness that outperforms the limitations that the DVD
had.
The sound
is also taken to new heights here as the audio track is a beefed up 7.1 DTS-HD
Master Audio mix that absolutely destroys the basic Dolby Digital from the
DVD. The fidelity and realness of the
sound is now conveyed in astonishing ways and transforms this documentary into
a whole new audio/visual treat.
The
extras from the 2-disc DVD set were folded over to the Blu-ray as well and
overall make this a must-have Blu-ray for any level of curiosity.
- Nate Goss
