Becoming Jane, Blu-ray (2007)

by | Jun 6, 2008 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews | 0 comments

Becoming Jane, Blu-ray (2007)

Starring: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Julie Walters, James Cromwell, Maggie Smith 
Directed by: Julian Jarrold
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Video : 2.35:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 16:9 Widescreen, 1080p HD
Audio: English Uncompressed PCM 5.1; English, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras: Audio commentary with Director Julian Jarrold, Producer Robert Bernstein and Screenwriter Kevin Hood; “Discovering the Real Jane Austen” featurette; preview trailers for “Enchanted”, “Dan In Real Life” and “Wall-E”; thirteen deleted scenes; “Becoming Jane: Pop-Up Facts & Footnotes” trivia track
Length: 120 minutes
Movie Rating: ***   AV Quality Rating: ***1/2

Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) is a young lady that comes from a modest family.  Jane aspires to be a writer although such a profession is not typical for a woman of those times.  Jane’s parents desire for her to marry for wealth and standing in the community, and they believe that such qualities takes precedence over marrying for love.  When the nephew of a very rich, local aristocrat falls for Jane and proposes marriage, Jane’s parents are dismayed after Jane declines the offer.  Jane has instead fallen for another, Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy), a young lawyer who has a large ego but unfortunately very little wealth.  Tom and Jane desire to marry one another, however should they do so, they will risk losing friends, family and fortune.  I am a fan of Anne Hathaway and enjoyed her work in “The Princess Diaries” and “The Devil Wears Prada.”  She, along with the rest of the cast, delivers a strong performance in this film.  Period piece romantic films are not my favorite genre, and this movie definitely falls into that category.  The movie’s pacing was a bit slow and there wasn’t enough witty banter or sparks between the main characters to inspire repeat viewings of this film for me.  However, if you adore the works of Jane Austen, or period piece romantic films, then “Becoming Jane” is definitely one DVD that you should check out. 

In terms of high definition video quality, this Blu-ray DVD is excellent.  Images are crisp and highly-detailed, with black levels consistently deep throughout the movie.  Colors are warm, yet accurate, with nicely saturated hues.  Picture defect mastering is solid with no major flaws or compression problems.  The audio quality is very good with the English Dolby Digital 5.1 track.  The soundtrack mix favors the forward channels.  Dialogue is natural sounding and properly positioned in the center channel.  The surround channels are selectively utilized for both ambient sound effects and the lush music score. 

– Calvin Harding Jr.

 

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