BLU-RAY REVIEW

War Of The Worlds

Featured In Issue 149, July/August/September 2010

Picture4.5
Sound5
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):
Paramount Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
07493
(MPAA Rating):
PG-13
(Rating Reason):
Frightening sequences of sci-fi violence and disturbing images
(Retail Price):
$39.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
117
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
Not Indicated
(Theatrical Year):
2005
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
06/01/10
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Steven Spielberg
(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 Digital 5.1, DTS HD Lossless 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):

If it comes down to a "War Of The Worlds" between Earth and an alien species—as long as you can make it to Boston—the chances that you and your entire family will survive a hostile invasion are pretty good. The rest of the world is pretty much toast. Ray (Cruise) finds this out the hard way when he must race to save the lives of his children (Fanning & Chatwin)...and himself...after a horrific and bizarre storm releases an unrelenting alien apocalypse against humankind. Steven Spielberg's action-packed update brings new terror to the idea that we are not alone. (Suzanne Hodges)

Special features include the "Revisiting The Invasion" featurette, depicting Director Steven Spielberg's fascination with science fiction (SD 07:39); The H.G. Wells Legacy, where we meet grandchildren of Wells and learn about the famous writer (SD 06:34); "Steven Spielberg And The Original War Of The Worlds," featuring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson from the cast (SD 08:00); Characters: The Family Unit (SD 13:22); Pre-visualization (SD 07:42); four production diaries: East Coast: Beginning (SD 22:30), East Coast Exile (SD 19:39), West Coast: Destruction (SD 27:29), and West Coast: War (SD 22:20); Designing The Enemy: Tripods And Aliens—a fascinating exploration into how the concept designers created the terror (SD 14:07); Scoring War Of The Worlds (SD 11:57); a brief look at Speilberg's "We Are Not Alone Trilogy": "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind," "E.T.—The Extra Terrestrial," and "War Of The Worlds" (SD 03:14); production notes and four still galleries: Sketches By Costume Designer Joanna Johnston, Production Stills, Behind The Scenes, and Production Sketches; and the theatrical teaser trailer (HD 01:59).

Once again, Spielberg teams up with Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski to create a stylized, edgy, unpolished visual experience. Colors can be nicely balanced at times, although other times it is evident that the ENR silver retention process was used, as hues are highly contrasted and appear desaturated. Rarely are distractions noticed, but the look appears weighty and blown-out, with excessive white highlights. Shadows are murky, but allow for adequate visual information, to heighten the suspense. Considering the stylizations, the 1080p AVC picture heightens the intended rough visual style compared to the previously reviewed anamorphically enhanced 1.82:1 DVD in Issue 105. The color intensities vary throughout, with at times, a grayish character, and at other times strong colors. Resolution is generally soft, with fuzzzy-wuzzy textures, no doubt the director's vision. This results in a raw, gritty visual experience. Blacks are deep and solid but at times obscure shadow detail. Grain is noticeable and supports the intended raw and edgy visualization. While not visually pristine or impressively resolved, the picture apperas to be exactly what Speilberg and Kaminski intended for the look of this film. And the sense of fear and anxiety is definitely communicated in the intense imagery. (Gary Reber/Suzanne Hodges)

With its well-recorded dialogue and effects and a fantastic mix, this DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel encoding definitely outperforms the previous DVD's Dolby® Digital and DTS® Digital Surround™ encodings. The sound quality is first-rate. Some indoor scenes can be terribly dependent on the center channel, but once the action gets outdoors the soundtrack really begins to pick up. The. 1 LFE channel is used prodigiously at extreme system-threatening levels, helping cement the low end of the frequency spectrum, which is mimicked in each of the full-range channels (often dropping below 25 Hz in each of the channels). The bass can be earth-shattering, yet preciously defined. The powerful foghorn-like alien sounds are eerie and forcefully spatial. During many of the scenes, effects are localized around the room with incredible realism, but the use of the surrounds is occasionally completely ignored, even in outdoor scenes. The military engagements with the aliens are incredibly impactful and dimensional. The sense of spatial size and distance during the devastating battle scenes with the aliens is exceptionally precise. Even the sense of height is impressive during pounding rain and lightening strikes. John Williams' cinematic score projects a wide and deep soundstage that enhances the sense of soundfield integration, with instrumental timbres clearly discernible. The DTS lossless track provides much more detail throughout the frequency range, with tighter bass and better articulation in the localized effects. At times the soundfield is impressively holosonically® enveloping, with directionalized sound effects such as the movement of alien tripods. The scope of sound effects is wide and defines the emotional character of the storytelling. This is a reference-quality soundtrack. If it weren't for its small quirks, this would be one of the best of the best. (Gary Reber/Danny Richelieu)