Spider-Man High Definition Trilogy, Blu-ray

by | Nov 20, 2007 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews | 0 comments

Spider-Man High Definition Trilogy, Blu-ray

The Spider-Man High Definition Trilogy includes all three of the live-action Spider-Man movies on individual Blu-ray discs plus a fourth disc that contains the special features for Spider-Man 3 only.  Taken as a whole, I believe that the Spider-Man movies are among the best comic book adaptations ever brought to the big screen.  The incredible special effects and high adventure have helped these three movies to take their place among the highest grossing box-office films of all-time.  The ability to pick up the trilogy of Spider-Man films in the best audio/video format available for home theater makes this an easy recommendation for me.  (The only caveat to my recommendation is that the first two films are lacking special features and it is entirely possible that special editions may be available at some point in the future.)

The overall high definition video quality of this DVD collection is excellent, with a slight, successive increase in quality from the first to the third film.  Images are crisp and highly-detailed.  Blacks are uniformly dark throughout.  Colors are vivid and bold with fully saturated hues.  Picture defect mastering is well done with no major flaws or digital compression artifacts.  The overall audio quality is also excellent with the English Dolby Digital 5.1 track serving as the basis for this review.  [The uncompressed 5.1 PCM on Spider-Man 3 is even better…Ed.]  Each of the soundtracks actively incorporates all of the discrete channels into their mixes.  Dialogue is natural sounding and intelligible.  Surround channels are aggressive used for both music and ambient sounds, and include several split rear effects.  The low frequency effects channel is always deep and powerful.

Spider-Man (2002):

Starring: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Video: 1.85:1 for 16:9, 1080p HD
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1; French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, Korean, Arabic, Chinese
Length: 121 minutes
Movie Rating: ****  AV Rating:  ****

‘Spider-Man’ Synopsis:  When mild-mannered student Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically altered spider, he develops superpowers including the ability to climb buildings and sling webs.  Donning a costume and a secret identity, Peter becomes ‘Spider-Man’ and puts his newly formed powers to use fighting crime and protecting citizens from harm.  However, Spider-Man is put to the test when an insane villain called ‘The Green Goblin’ begins wreaking havoc on the city with his high-tech weaponry and gadgets.

Spider-Man 2/2.1 Extended Cut (2004):

Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Video: 2.40:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 16:9, 1080p HD
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1; French, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, English, French, Spanish, Korean, Arabic, Chinese
Length: 127 minutes (Spider-Man 2); 136 minutes (Spider-Man 2.1)
Movie Rating: ****1/2   AV Rating:  ****1/2

‘Spider-Man 2’ Synopsis:  A couple of years have passed since Peter Parker first became Spider-Man and he is having a difficult time balancing his personal life with his super hero life.  In an effort to prevent his personal life from unraveling, Peter decides to quit being Spider-Man.  However, when Peter’s idol, the brilliant scientist Dr. Otto Octavius is transformed in an accident and becomes Dr. Octopus (with four metal tentacles sticking out of his back), Peter’s sense of duty forces him to become Spider-Man again in order to save the city.

Spider-Man 3 (2007):

Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Video: 2.40:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 16:9, 1080p HD
Audio: English uncompressed PCM 5.1; English Dolby TrueHD 5.1; French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese
Extras: Two audio commentaries, Photo gallery, blooper reel, Snow Patrol music video, eleven featurettes (“Grains of Sand: Building Sandman”, “Re-Imagining the Goblin”, “Covered in Black: Creating Venom”, “Hanging On…Gwen Stacy and the Collapsing Floor”, “Fighting, Flying and Driving: The Stunts”, “Tangled Web: The Love Triangles of Spider-Man 3”, “Wall of Water”, “Inside the Editing Room”, “The Science of Sound”, “New York: From Rooftops to Backstreets”, and “Cleveland: The Chase on Euclid Avenue”), Three theatrical trailers, Teaser trailer, Eight international TV spots; Previews
Length: 139 minutes
Movie Rating: ***1/2    AV Rating:  *****

‘Spider-Man 3’ Synopsis:  Things seem to be looking up for Peter Parker as he is managing to balance his life as both Spider-Man and his personal life.  His relationship with Mary Jane has blossomed and Peter has decided to propose to her.  Unfortunately, life is never easy for Peter as his former best friend Harry Osborn has developed super technology and become the ‘New Goblin’ in an effort to avenge his father’s death.  To make matters worse, an escaped convict is transformed after an accident into the invincible ‘Sandman’ (amazing CGI effect work), and he teams up with another villain called Venom to try to target and destroy Spider-Man.   

 
[Another longer review of just the 3rd Spider-Man is Here…Ed.]

– Calvin Harding Jr.    

 

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