The Men Who Stare at Goats, Blu-ray + Digital Copy (2009)
Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Robert Patrick
Directed by: Grant Heslov
Studio: Overture Films/Anchor Bay Entertainment [3/23/10]
Video: 2.35:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 1080p HD
Audio: English Dolby True HD 5.1 Surround
Subtitles: English SDH and Spanish
Extras: Audio commentary track with Director Grant Heslov; Audio commentary track with book author Jon Ronson; “Goats Declassified: The Real Men of the First Earth Battalion” featurette; “Project Hollywood: A Classified Report from the Set” featurette; Character bios; deleted scenes; Theatrical trailer; Digital copy on separate disc
Length: 94 minutes
Movie Rating: **** Video Rating: **** Audio Rating: ****
Reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) travels to Iraq in search of his next big story. While there he meets and befriends Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a man who claims to be part of an experimental U.S. military unit called The New Earth Army. The New Earth Army is trying to change the ways wars are fought by utilizing psychic powers to read enemy’s thoughts, pass through walls, and kill goats via simply staring. After the program’s founder Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) goes missing, Cassady sets out on a mission to find him and Wilton tags along. The mission steers them into encounters with some of the wackier military people on the planet. “The Men Who Stare at Goats” is an off-beat and quirky comedy. The cast is an impressive ensemble group and it seems abundantly clear that they were having fun making this movie. Fans of the film will want to own this Blu-ray release, while others should at least consider checking it out as a rental. Recommended.
The overall high definition video quality of “The Men Who Stare at Goats” is very good. Images are clean with fine detail. Black levels are velvety-dark and uniform throughout the movie. Colors are vivid and accurate with nicely-saturated hues. Picture defect mastering is well done and free of major defects and compression artifacts. The overall audio quality is also very good. The soundtrack favors the forward channels. Dialogue is crisp, always intelligible and properly positioned in the center channel. The surround channels, while used infrequently, do have a few standout moments when they are utilized for ambient sound effects and Rolfe Kent’s music score. The low frequency effects channel is active and potent when employed.
– Calvin Harding Jr.
