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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Married Life

    Featured In Issue 135, October 2008

    Picture4
    SoundNR
    WSR Score4
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    27189
    (MPAA Rating):
    PG-13
    (Rating Reason):
    For some thematic elements and a scene of sexuality
    (Retail Price):
    $38.96
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    91
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A, B & C
    (Theatrical Year):
    2007
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    09/02/08
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Ira Sachs
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer):
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor):
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
    (Principal Photography):
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
    (Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
    (Disc Soundtrack):
    Dolby TrueHD 5.1
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (French Language):
    (Spanish Language):
    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
    (Japanese Language):
    (Italian Language):
    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    Harry (Cooper) and Pat (Clarkson) have a nice respectable Married Life, or so it would seem to anyone who knows them. But, when Harry meets Kay (McAdams), a lovely young lady, he falls helplessly in love and feels he must have her. Having decided that a divorce would cause his lovely wife too much pain, Harry opts to kill Pat instead. When Harry's best friend Richard (Brosnan) meets Kay, love and friendship are contemplated as Harry also falls in love with her, wishing to have Kay for himself. Based on the book Five Roundabouts To Heaven by John Bingham. (Stacey Pendry)

    Special features include a feature commentary track by Director Ira Sachs, three alternate endings, the original theatrical trailer, and additional previews.

    The anamorphically enhanced 1.82:1 DVD shows good resolution, with fine details defined very well. Black levels are elevated, but shadows are still nicely detailed. There is spurious noise that does not look like film grain, and there are occasional flecks of dirt noticeable. Additionally, pixel breakup can be a distraction. Colors are muted, with a desaturated appearance. Fleshtones are redder than natural. Edge enhancement, though, is not a problem. The H.264 AVC-encoded Blu-ray Disc shows a good sense of depth to the picture. Colors appear fairly natural, although fleshtones are too red. Shadow delineation is nicely defined, and black levels are somewhat elevated. There is subtle edge enhancement noticeable. (Danny Richelieu)

    Even though dialogue is encoded at fairly low levels, making it difficult to hear at times, the Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack can be enjoyable. The front stage is mixed well, and while the LFE channel is not used often, bass is naturally defined, dropping down to the lowest audible octaves for occasional effects. Phantom imaging is rarely used, but there are times when it is used effectively in the front stage. Dynamic range is nicely retained, and subtle intricacies in people's voices are audible. But the soundtrack can sound rather dull, lacking a crispness that would make it sound more natural. The Blu-ray Disc's lossless Dolby TrueHD encoding features good fidelity, with good dynamic range and nice articulation. The crispness that was lacking in the DVD is improved in this encoding, but the issue with dialogue being mixed at too low of levels is still a problem. (Danny Richelieu)

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    Justin Beach
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