Mystic River – Blu-ray Disc Review
February 1, 2010 – 12:37 AM - Posted by: Danielle ByingtonTags: Clint Eastwood, Kevin Bacon, Kevin Chapman, Laura Linney, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Warner
has an average rating of 8.0 on IMDb
1080p in VC-1 on a 50gb disc
DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
are just DVD ports but worthwhile
– 
– 2003
– 137 minutes
– Warner
– 
This uses 34.7GB for the movie out of 41.7GB total.
Street Date: February 2nd, 2010
Overall Verdict – Recommended
Buy it for $17.99 @ Amazon.com
— Review by: Danielle Byington & Justin Sluss —
The Movie Itself was Directed by the legendary Clint Eastwood, with the screenplay written by Brian Helgeland, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane.
The story starts off by showing us a moment in the childhood of three male friends, whom, while playing hockey in the street, get side-tracked by writing their names in a freshly molded bit of sidewalk. Caught in the act, a man posing as a policeman convinces one of the boys to get in his car so he can be driven to his mother’s home to confess what he did. The man turned out to not be a member of law enforcement at all, and after the two friends inform their family members, it becomes apparent that he was abducted. We then flash forward to the present, seeing the three boys as adults now. First we are shown Jimmy (Sean Penn), who manages a small grocery shop. He is sitting in his office when one of three daughters, Katie (Emmy Rossum), strolls in to let him know she is going out with her friends that night, to which Jimmy simply cautions her to not stay out too late due to her younger sister’s first communion in the morning. After stepping out of the shop, Katie is surprisingly greeted by her boyfriend, Brendan (Tom Guiry), who is thoroughly a secret she is keeping from her family due to her father’s seemingly irrational distaste for the boy.
Later, we do see Katie and her friends dancing in a bar, in which having a drink as well at the same moment is Dave (Tim Robbins). Dave recognizes Katie as Jimmy‘s daughter, being an old friend of her father’s; however, Dave is not just any old friend, he is in fact the boy abducted in the beginning of the film, having escaped a few days later. Dave merely glances at Katie and her friends, and minds his own business at his bar stool. Though, a few hours later, Dave arrives at his home at three in the morning, greeted by his wife who grills him on his whereabouts due to the late hour of his return, but quickly drops any aggression with her interrogation upon seeing quiet the flesh wound in the torso of her husband. Dave can not hide that he is very shaken up, however refuses professional medical attention, and somewhat gingerly tries to shrug off his story of defending himself against a mugger, whom he does mention may have been hurt quiet badly in Dave‘s attempt to get away. Naturally, this statement rattles his wife, Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden), and she keep an eye out in the papers for any news of a discovered mugger’s body.
The following day, Jimmy is awakened by a phone call informing him that Katie never showed up for her early shift at her father’s grocery shop. Jimmy plays it cool, assuming that his daughter has simply overslept at a friend’s house having stayed out late last night; though, after some further phone calls, he still can not locate his nineteen year old daughter. Frustrated with not only the fact that he has no idea where his daughter is, Jimmy must go into his shop for a couple of hours to help the short-handed staff, and it thoroughly rubbed the wrong way by Brendan (though he still is unaware of the boy’s relations with his daughter), who comes in to pick up tea for his mother.
After the first communion ceremony a few hours later, Jimmy gets a bad feeling about a fleet of speeding police cars that pass by the church, and follows them to a crime scene where he sees detective and crime scene investigators sifting through his daughter’s car. Sean (Kevin Bacon), yet another old friend of Jimmy‘s who was present the day Dave was abducted, is one of the heads of the investigation, and has to break it to his childhood friend that his daughter has been murdered. The investigation ensues with many leads of interest.
In closing, “Mystic River” proves to definitely be one of Clint Eastwood‘s most golden credits, with a terrific story conveyed by an excellent choice in casting. Eastwood‘s directorial style here gives the story a very “real” vibe, flowing with a strong story that intertwines the past relationship between three childhood friends, and represents the mystery of a murder in a non-generic fashion. Overall, if you have yet seen this film, it is certainly a high recommendation, earning a “4.5 Star Rating“.
Video Quality on this release is in full 1080p using the VC-1 codec on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc) in the 2.4:1 aspect ratio. This 2003 film’s transfer to Hi-Def is certainly top-notch, providing a truly crisp and clear picture. The black level here is very inky, and the seemingly heightened sharpness of the picture stands out perfectly against a somewhat stark and bright color palette, of which even neutral shades within the set design wardrobe cast a hint of vibrancy. Also on that note, bold primaries, such as red, are well saturated with a vivid “pop”, all with out bleeding. Through this heightened sharp look of the picture, fleshtones translate in a generally accurate manner, perhaps appearing just slightly more intense in particular lighting conditions than is natural. Several exterior shots within the Boston setting are exhibited under overcast weather, a condition in which the diffused lighting source brings out the largest abundance of detail visible. Many subjects are prime examples of this release’s far from primitive High Definition display, with extravagant detail in many close-up shots such as the facial details of the cast, textures of the wardrobe and props; the above screenshot is yet another example, with the given clarity seen in the glistening of the damp cement, and the gritty drifts outlining the letters of the boys’ names. Overall, the video quality for this release easily earns itself a “4.5 Star Rating“.
Audio Quality on this release is presented in DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio. Due to the dramatic more dialogue based content of the film, audio splurges throughout the film are mostly occasional, however, are presented well. Some small examples of a more wider use of the 5.1 setup include assigned channel usage and subtle panning involving the shots of the crime scene investigation, reflecting audible sources such as the intercom used by the police, and the swooping helicopter. Also, as we are taken back a few times through Dave‘s memories of his abduction, his escape offers a distance howling of wolves, and a gingerly disorientated passing through thick foliage and forest. As mentioned, the film is of course strongly presented through its well written dialogue, with is conveyed from primarily the center front channel, and suffers no flaws. The original music of the film was also done by Clint Eastwood himself, and its presentation within the soundscape is well suited to any accompanying on-screen actions and scenarios, making use of mostly the front channels, some subtle life from the subwoofer, and a more gentle presence in the rear channels. Overall, the presentation of this audio track remains suitable to its content with no complaints, and earns a “4 Star Rating“.
Bonus materials are presented in Standard Definition video with Dolby Digital Stereo sound.
- Audio Commentary by Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon
- “Mystic River: Beneath the Surface” (22:52) is a behind-the-scenes / making of style featurette. It includes interviews with director Clint Eastwood and the cast.
- “Bravo TV Special Mystic River: From Page to Screen” (11:32) is nice to see included and serves as another behind-the-scenes / making of style featurette and again includes interviews with director Clint Eastwood and members of the cast.
- “The Charlie Rose Show” Interviews” are included for Clint Eastwood from 10/08/2003 (41:51), Tim Robbins from 10/13/2003 (50:26) and Kevin Bacon on 12/26/2003 (19:05).
- Trailers are included in both the “Teaser” form (1:15) which features Clint Eastwood‘s opening narration and “Theatrical” form (2:20) which sadly does not feature Eastwood doing narration.
Overall, the bonus materials are pretty impressive when you add up how much they total up to roughly 2 hours almost but they are all in Standard Definition and I’ll remind you are just the DVD ports. Still, fans of the film who see it for the first time on Blu-ray will be happy with the set of supplemental materials included.
Blu-ray Disc packaging:
Screenshots:
NOTE: The full-sized 1920×1080 files are in a .PNG file format and uncompressed. Bare with the slow loading times, keep in mind these files are at least 1MB (1 megabyte) in size each.
