The Book of Eli, Blu-ray (2010)
Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals
Directed by: The Hughes Brothers
Studio: Warner Home Video (2-disc set with digital copy) [6/15/10]
Video: 2.40:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 16:9 1080p HD
Audio: English DTS HD-MA 5.1 Surround; French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras: WB Maximum Movie Mode; “A Lost Tale: Billy” animated short film; Focus Points (ten mini-featurettes); three featurettes (“Starting Over”, “Eli’s Journey” and “The Book of Eli Soundtrack”); four deleted scenes; BD-Live; “Lottery Ticket” preview trailer; standard DVD copy; digital copy
Length: 118 minutes
Movie Rating: **** Video Rating: ****
Audio Rating: **** D-BOX Rating: ***
“The Book of Eli” takes place in a violent post-apocalyptic world. Eli (Denzel Washington) is a drifter who has been wandering west across North America for the last thirty years reading a special book that he carries with him. Eli’s travels bring him to a village ruled by a powerful mobster named Carnegie (Gary Oldman). After Eli single-handedly subdues a group of Carnegie’s henchmen, Carnegie offers Eli the opportunity to join his gang and reap the spoils of the job. Eli declines Carnegie’s offer in favor of continuing his travels. When Carnegie learns of Eli’s book however, he wants it for himself and tries to acquire it by any means necessary. Eli must determine whether he is willing to risk his life in order to protect the book.
I really liked “The Book of Eli”. It’s one of those movies with a twist ending that leaves you questioning many of the things that took place previously in the story. Denzel brings his natural charisma to the title character and Gary Oldman does another wonderful job in the villain role (Oldman has a history of playing colorful villains including those from the films “The Fifth Element” and “Air Force One”). As a movie that needs to be watched more than once to fully appreciate it, “The Book of Eli” is an easy recommendation for me.
The overall high definition video quality of this Blu-ray DVD is very good. Images are crisp with sharp detail for the most part. Black levels are uniformly dark throughout the movie. Colors have a limited palette and sport a blue-gray tint. Contrast levels are exaggerated and hues are purposely de-saturated. While film grain is intentionally present as a stylistic choice, picture defect mastering is otherwise commendable with no major flaws or compression artifacts. The overall audio quality is also very good with the English DTS 5.1 track. With the exception of a few action sequences, the soundtrack predominantly favors the front channels. Dialogue is intelligible and firmly rooted in the center channel. The surround channels see limited activity but do include a few split rear surround effects. The low frequency effects channel, when utilized, produces explosive and powerful bass.
“The Book of Eli” is compatible with the “D-BOX” Motion Code™ System, meaning that if you have the necessary D-BOX equipment, your movie viewing experience will be enhanced by adding the effects to your chosen seating. With the exception of the shoot-out at the farmhouse near the end of the movie, there is very limited D-BOX motion and vibration that takes place. The showdown at the farmhouse, though, incorporates some excellent D-BOX moments where impacts are felt from the plentiful gunfire, and it expertly simulates the explosions taking place on-screen. In summary, a handful of scenes benefit from the inclusion of D-BOX on this Blu-ray disc but the overall movie is not similarly elevated.
– Calvin Harding Jr.
