BLU-RAY REVIEW

Lord Of War

Featured In Issue 112, September 2006

Picture4
Sound3.5
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):
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
19150
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
For strong violence, drug use, language, and sexuality
(Retail Price):
$39.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
122
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
No
(Regional Coding):
1
(Theatrical Year):
2005
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
06/27/06
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Andrew Niccol
(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 Surround EX, DTS-ES Discrete 6.1
(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):

Murder was an everyday part of life in "Little Odessa," New York where Yuri Orlov (Cage) grew up, but he was never witness to such an event. That is until one day when he just happened to be in a restaurant where a group of thugs came in with their guns blazing. That was the day when Yuri decided that his destiny lay in the business of arms dealing. As Yuri became richer and more successful in his endeavor, Interpol Agent Jack Valentine (Hawke) made it his business to stay close behind Yuri and put a stop to whatever he was up to. "Lord Of War" is based on actual events. (Tricia Spears)

High-definition trailers are the only supplement.

The 1.78:1 MPEG-2-encoded Blu-ray Disc picture features solid blacks and broad contrast, which provides a nice feel of depth to the presentation. The stylized picture can be marred by heavy noise at times, without any real pattern as to when the graininess will appear. Shadow delineation is generally good, although details in the blacks can become flat at times. In general, details are crisp and clear and colors are well saturated. Some minor edge enhancement can be seen at times, but it is not overly distracting. This is one of the best of the early Blu-ray Disc releases. (Danny Richelieu)

The soundtrack is encoded as 5.1-channel Dolby® Digital Surround EX™ and 6.1-channel DTS ES™. Like the two-disc DVD release, the mix shows flashes of brilliance, while some scenes can be almost completely devoid of surround envelopment. The DTS track provides better surround imaging with the discrete center surround channel, as well as slightly better fidelity throughout. (Danny Richelieu)