BLU-RAY REVIEW

Hangover, The

Featured In Issue 146, January/February 2010

Picture3.5
SoundNR
WSR Score3.5
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):
Warner Home Video
(Catalog Number):
83929
(MPAA Rating):
R / Unrated
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$35.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
100 / 108
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
Not Indicated
(Theatrical Year):
2009
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
12/15/09
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Todd Phillips
(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, Dolby Digital 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):

The Hangover is a tale of four men out for a good time. Two days before his wedding, Doug (Bartha) drives to Las Vegas with his best buddies for a blow-out bachelor party they vow they'd never forget...only they did. When the three groomsmen wake up the next morning with pounding headaches, their hotel suite is trashed and the groom is lost. With little time to spare, the trio attempts to retrace their bad decisions from the night before, to figure out where things went wrong, in the hopes of finding Doug and getting him back to Los Angeles in time for his wedding. (Gary Reber)

Both the theatrical version (1:39:46) and the unrated version (1:47:53) are available. The theatrical version features picture-in-picture Bonus View commentary with Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, and Todd Phillips. Special features include Map of Destruction, which allows you to trace each step the guys took during their fate-filled evening and see the real locations, learn about their Las Vegas lore, and see the filming that took place there; The Madness Of Ken Jeong (HD 07:56); an Action Mash-Up compilation of all of the physical comedy (HD 0:35); the "Three Best Friends" music video (HD 01:23); The Dan Band performing "Fame" (HD 01:08); a gag reel (HD 08:16); more pictures from the missing camera; BD-Live functionality; a digital copy of the film; plus up-front previews.

The 1080p VC-1 picture is inconsistent in look, with varying degrees of quality from mediocre to good. The police station interior colors are impacted with reflections off of the blueish-green walls. Exterior scenes generally look good, with natural fleshtones. Hues are well balanced, as is contrast. Resolution is generally good in close-ups, but otherwise, the imagery is a bit soft. Shadow delineation is generally good, and some scenes are nicely dimensional. Overall, this is a respectable picture but unremarkable. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby® TrueHD 5.1-channel soundtrack is a conventional production with a monaural focus, except when music is present. The music, which is a mix of various styles, provides the limited extent of surround envelopment. Dialogue is always intelligible but restrained to monaural production sound or ADR, with no spatial support in the other two front channels. Still, at times, the sense of spatial integration is good. There is no distinguishing attribute to the sound. This is just another low-budget soundtrack that is serviceable for this genre, but otherwise mediocre. (Gary Reber)