Nine

Based on the Broadway musical "Nine'' this vibrant and provocative musical follows the life of world famous Film Director Guido Contini (Day Lewis) as he reaches a creative and personal crisis of epic proportion, while balancing numerous women in his life, including his devoted wife (Cotillard) , his tempting mistress (Cruz), his film star muse (Kidman), his confidant and costume designer (Dench), a flirty American fashion journalist (Hudson), the instructive whore from his youth (Fergie), and his beloved Mamma (Loren). Filled with love, lust, passion, and glamour, this is a razzle-dazzle extravaganza with an Italian flare. Renowned for his brilliant moviemaking and desired by any, Guido is about to kick off production on his highly anticipated ninth picture, "Italia," when, suddenly, the bottom drops out of both his ample creative powers and his fervid love life, as they simultaneously unravel out of control. Guido searches for inspiration and possible salvation amid the freefall. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Director Rob Marshall and Producer John Deluca; nine featurettes: "The Incomparable Daniel Day Lewis" (HD 05:12), "The Women Of Nine (HD 10:47), "Director Rob Marshall (HD 06:27), "Behind The Look Of Nine" (HD 08:21), "The Dancers Of Nine" (HD 04:39), "The Choreography Of Be It Aliano" (HD 04:16), "Making Of 'Cinema It Aliano'" (SD 02:53), "The Choreography Of 'Cinema It Aliano'" (HD 08:37), and "Sophia Loren Remembers Cinecitta Studios" (HD 12:52); a Screen Actors Guild Q&A (HD 43:14); three music videos (SD/HD 03:41); up-front previews; and BD-Live functionality.

The 2.40:1 1080p AVC picture is nicely rendered with a stylistic visual character that exhibits darkly cast settings, with segments that inject rich and warm colors surrounded by darkness or dimness. Contrast is excellent, though, resulting in deep and solid blacks and revealing shadow delineation. Colors, when fully saturated, are vivid and enhance the visual impact. Resolution is generally good, though, a bit soft overall. At times details are nicely rendered, with object textures revealing in their intricate patterns. The staging in particular casts a dark visual scheme, which generally veils the detail and textures. At times the picture reverts to black and white, which exhibits excellent gray scale shading. Still, fleshtones are perfectly rendered and exhibit a natural look. This is a dramatic and engaging visual experience that provides eye-popping visuals against a pristine background. The scale and cinematography is impressive, for a visual experience that won't disappoint. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is terrific, especially the magnificent music score and the scale of the musical soundscape. The music is well recorded, with an extremely wide and deep soundstage that wraps deeply into the surrounds, to deliver an impressive holosonic® soundfield experience. A highlight is the tambourine sand dance, with the score aggressively directionalized and wonderfully enveloping. The sound is so intensely holosonic that you feel that you are on the stage and the dancers and singers surround you. The soundtrack never fails to deliver a sense of holosonic dimensionality, with both loud and subtle atmospheric sound effects. Each environment is effectively rendered sonically to enhance the sense of a "live" stage performance. The low-frequency foundation is strong and perfectly natural sounding, with deep .1 LFE support. Never does the soundtrack sound unnatural or overly produced. Even dialogue, while largely ADR, sounds naturally spatial. The soundtrack complements the dream-like picture renderings, and the music numbers are absolutely fabulous! Just check out the jazzy "Cinema Italiano" in Chapter 10, performed by Kate Hudson. What a soundfield! This is a very impressive sonic achievement that excels throughout in natural dynamics, fidelity, and holosonic envelopment. (Gary Reber)