Secret Life Of Bees, The

Based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life Of Bees is a heartwarming and empowering story starring Dakota Fanning as Lily Owens, a 14-year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with her care giver to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by the Boatwright sisters, Lily finds solace in their mesmerizing world of bees and honey and inevitably discovers what it truly means to be a family. (Gary Reber)

Special features include both the theatrical version (109:49) and the extended version (113:51); audio commentary by Director/Writer Gina Prince-Bythewood, Producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Joe Pichirallo, and Actors Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah; five featurettes: Adaptation: Bringing The Secret Life Of Bees To The Big Screen (HD 12:33), The Women And Men Of (HD 16:24), Inside The Pink House With Sue Monk Kidd (HD 10:13), Beekeeping 101 (HD 07:33), and Life On The Set (SD 09:06); eight deleted scenes with optional commentary by Prince-Bythewood and Editor Terilyn Shropshire (SD 09:56); and the world premiere (HD 03:29).

The 2.38:1 1080p AVC picture exhibits generally good image quality, with good color fidelity and excellent distinctions in skin tones. The color palette is natural and accurately reflects the interior environments. Hues are nicely saturated. Resolution is revealing of fine textures, but facial expressions are waning in definition, as the image is a bit soft. Contrast is generally good, with deep blacks and excellent shadow delineation, and at times, the image is dimensional. While grain is noticeable, it is not objectionable. Overall this is a pleasing picture. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack features an outstanding quality music recording, with vocals phantom imaged and a spaciously wide and deep soundstage. This is the highlight of the soundtrack. Dialogue is a combination of poorly integrated ADR and monaural production sound that is limited to the center channel. Dialogue spoken outdoors projects an up-front quality, with room ambiance instead of the dry sound that reflects real life. In-room dialogue often sounds boomy, from up-close miking, and at times, intelligibility is wanting. Subtle sound effects occupy the front soundstage with extremely low-level surround support. The music provides the limited aggressive surround envelopment. Bass extension is limited throughout with just the occasional rise, but then deep bass is not really called for in the storytelling. Overall, this is a dialogue-focused soundtrack that disappoints in spatial presentation quality. (Gary Reber)