The Secret [2007] – Blu-ray Disc Review
August 18, 2008 – 2:05 AM - Posted by: Justin SlussTags: David Duchovny, Image Entertainment, Lili Taylor, Olivia Thirlby, Vincent Perez
has an average rating of 6.0 on IMDb
1080p in AVC MPEG-4 on a 25gb disc
DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio & Dolby Digital 5.1
only include the basic DVD ports
– 
– 2007
– 92 minutes
– Image Entertainment
– 
Overall Verdict – Certainly Worth A Look
Buy it for $24.95 @ Amazon.com
— Review written by: Justin Sluss & Danielle Byington —
The Movie Itself was Directed by Vincent Perez and written by Ann Cherkis (screenplay). This is based on both Hiroshi Saito‘s original 1999 Japanese film, “Himitsu” and the novel by Keigo Higashino. The movie revolves around “Dr. Benjamin Marris” (David Duchovny), an optometrist and recent widower dealing with his surviving immediate family; his teenage daughter, “Samantha” (Olivia Thirlby). Following a severe car accident involving his wife “Hannah” (Lili Taylor) and daughter, Ben rushes to the hospital to be with his critically injured family. Both mother and daughter are declared deceased, until a nurse notices a slight movement of Sam’s hand and the pursuit to keep her alive resumes. Sam survives, but it is an understatement to say she is not quite herself; she is thoroughly convinced that she is Hannah, and not Sam. This scenario is especially bizarre due to the estranged relationship between the mother and daughter beforehand; not because Hannah didn’t try, but due to Sam’s cliché-teenage-angst.
At first Ben passes off Sam’s behavior as mental disorientation from the accident and loss of her mother, but she is so convincing, mentioning experiences that only he and his wife could know, that he begins to have some belief in her. Perhaps it is out of his unconditional love for his only child, or his pain from the loss of the love of his life, he does put effort towards trying to uncover research that maybe Sam really has become his deceased wife; in spirit. This theory being of uncertain paranormal science simply lets too much remain “in the air”, so Ben falls back on the psychological explanations and sends his “daughter” back to school. This is yet even more stressful for Sam/Hannah, dealing not only with convincing Ben that she is Hannah, but dealing with the usual life that Sam had before the accident; Sam/Hannah experiences Sam’s friends passing a joint to her, Sam’s boyfriend giving her a kiss in the hallway at school, and immediately being aggressively kissed by another boy whose name is tattooed on Sam’s derriere. Because whether she actually is Sam or Hannah, Sam has no recollection of this part of her life, not understanding why it’s like this, and Hannah has to live this shocking life that she never knew about her daughter, it is all very upsetting to both psychological parties.
Overall, in closing… You must imagine that having the mentality that you are a deceased middle-aged parent trapped in your teen aged daughter’s body (like a darker-twisted version of “Freaky Friday”), and the one person you could confide in before is not there in the same way, all definitely has the elements of a psychological nightmare that could not end as long as you are alive. – Synopsis written by Danielle Byington –
Video Quality on this release is 1080p in AVC MPEG-4 on a BD-25 (25 gigabyte Single Layer Blu-ray Disc). This was filmed on Panavision Panaflex cameras and lenses I’ve noticed during some “behind the scenes” footage. The 35mm film negative transfer makes for a decent Hi-Def transfer. The black level is solid, fleshtones are accurate and the color palette seems a tad bit dull to deliver the film’s vibe. Some of the darker scenes appear to show both some signs of film noise and compression pixilation especially early on in the film with bright reds. I think this has a little to do obviously with the release’s BD-25 (25 gigabyte) size but it doesn’t really suffer too much from the flaws spoken of earlier. In the end, I’ll give this an overall “4 Star Rating” for video quality which is not too shabby. This is my first Blu-ray Disc review for Image Entertainment officially (now with PR) and I have to say I’m somewhat impressed by the video quality overall as my rating should show — despite their choice to only go with a BD-25 size disc. [HINT] — [HINT]
Audio Quality on this release is in DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio & Dolby Digital 5.1 as well. Dialogue is delivered superbly through primarily the front center channel and left/right front channels from start to finish. Rear channel presence is a bit minimal but is used from time to time and the same goes for the bass presence in this 5.1 soundscape. The sound effects during the crash scene early on in the film (as well flashbacks of it) seem pretty realistic to a degree and are sure to leave you jarred. I obviously prefer the DTS-HD 5.1 MA over the Dolby Digital as anyone should, even if you receiver can’t fully decode it… it has a DTS core track that you’ll hear which is pretty nice itself. This earns a “3 1/2 Star Rating” for overall audio quality on this release and isn’t probably the best example of DTS-HD Master Audio but it does the film justice. The original Score composed and performed by Nathaniel Mechaly proves fitting and comes across decent in the DTS-HD.
Bonus Materials are presented in Standard Definition (480i/p) MPEG-2 video and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound. As always these contain *SPOILERS* so save them for after you’ve watched the film.
- Theatrical Trailer (2 minutes) is presented in “Red Band” (R Rated) form as well 16:9 (enhanced for Widescreen).
- Cast Interviews:
- “Behind the Scenes” (8 minutes) is just that, mostly stuff filmed on a camcorder behind the scenes of the sense that it’s behind the camera and most the times the acting going on… fans of the Director Vincent Perez will certainly find this worth the watch but I’m doubting that the average viewer that watched the film will.
- Lili Taylor (12 minutes) seems to have an awful lot to talk about considering her character is dead a majority of the film.
- David Duchovny (10 minutes) has some awesome thoughts on the film and discusses his character’s situation.
- Olivia Thirlby (8 minutes) is relatively new to the acting game as she tells us and comes from a Shakespearean theatrical background of acting. Her interview proves rather intriguing and is a must-watch for those who enjoyed the film, especially her fine acting in a very unique role.
Overall the bonus materials are a tad bit disappointing in the sense there’s no Hi-Def material what-so-ever to speak of here, just basic 480p Standard Def DVD ported supplemental materials. It does beat not including anything at all or just a theatrical trailer which I’ve seen a lot of lately. So to be fair here… the bonus materials should leave fans of the film a tad pleased but this honestly screams “double dip” later down the road if it develops a cult-following when it will maybe finally get a BD-50 (or higher) treatment. Also maybe by then the French Director will be happy with his English enough to attempt an audio commentary track.
Blu-ray Disc packaging:
