Pretty Woman (1990/Touchstone/Disney Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: B- Film:
B-
Arriving
just in time for Valentine’s Day in 2009 is 1990’s rags-to-riches fairly tale
film Pretty Woman, which has
becoming somewhat of a modern romantic comedy classic. If nothing else, the film would catapult both
Richard Gere and Julia Roberts into the world of romantic leads and have since
worked on several similar films, even Runaway
Bride together.
For me,
the film never really worked. Sure it’s a
story that everyone wants to believe and as solid as both Roberts and Gere are
at portraying their opposing parts, it’s just too far past fairy tale land for
me…it’s beyond ridiculous. Roberts plays
a high-class prostitute who inadvertently ends up in the lap of billionaire
Edward Lewis (Gere), but they are not attracted towards each other in the
sexual sense, in fact Gere finds her personality more intriguing than anything
else and while their relationship begins on what seems like a one night stand, it
turns into a week and then before long they are inseparable, but this doesn’t
make their lives merge instantly as reality begins to set in as to who they
really are. The question then becomes
are they willing to compromise their true selves in an attempt to break out of
their perceived selves.
For fans,
they will be delighted to finally have this film in a worthy home video version
on Blu-ray, despite some minor problems. Presented in 1080p and framed at 1.85 X 1 the
film looks good, not great, but good.
There are moments throughout where the film feels more dated than it
should, while other times it’s more stunning with superior resolution, color,
and depth. Perhaps the best word here is
inconsistent. The transfer overall is a
tad more soft than one would have hoped for, but otherwise the film looks
solid. One other quick gripe is the
muted color palette and the darkness of the transfer that is evident throughout
and in particular in close up shots. At
times depth even seems limited giving the film an older appearance. Of course the film is nearing it’s twentieth
anniversary, but still, it should look a bit sharper, cleaner, and more
consistent.
Audio is
presented in a PCM 5.1 lossless audio track as well as a lossy Dolby Digital
5.1 mix. As expected the PCM offers a
superior experience with a more pronounced mix that is far more engaging and
offers resolution that the Dolby track is unable to. Low-end presence is overall limited and the
musical score is accurately detailed on the PCM 5.1 mix, the Dolby Digital
feels more central in the front, while the PCM mix is livelier in the entire
soundfield. Articulation is also far
superior in the uncompressed PCM mix and this is evident in the score as well
as the dialogue throughout.
Extras
include a commentary track by director Garry Marshall, the production
featurette from 1990, a blooper reel, and some other promotional supplements
that help embrace the film and give us a sense of what the films production was
like.
Fans of
the film do not really need much convincing at this point on whether or not to
get the Blu-ray, if you love the film it’ll already be on your wish list, but
for those who may not have seen the film in years, this is the best way to
revisit the film and maybe relive the fairy tale once again.
- Nate Goss
