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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    UltraViolet

    Featured In Issue 112, September 2006

    Picture4
    SoundNR
    WSR Score2
    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):
    Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    15378
    (MPAA Rating):
    PG13
    (Rating Reason):
    (Retail Price):
    $
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    88
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    1
    (Theatrical Year):
    2005
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    06/27/06
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    Yes
    (Director):
    Kurt Wimmer
    (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
    (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):

    Violet (Jovovich) was born into a world you may not understand. But if you are smart enough to follow the setup, you learn of a subculture of HGV-infected humans with superpowers who are being eliminated by the government. When Violet contract the hemoglophagic virus, she decides to fight back with a small group of HGV-positive rebels known as Hemophages. And when it comes to saving an innocent young boy (Bright), Violet becomes UltraViolet and ultraviolent against corrupt government officials. (Suzanne Hodges)

    Special features include commentary with Milla Jovovich, the 31-minute featurette UV protection: The Making Of Ultraviolet with optional Korean subtitles, and high-definition previews.

    Like the DVD, the MPEG-2-encoded 1.85:1 Blu-ray Disc picture takes on a surrealistic visual quality with soft, glowing images. The picture is highly stylized, awash in various hues throughout the presentation with blown-out whites. Coming from a digital source, source element artifacts are nowhere to be seen, but there can be significant pixilation and noise in certain scenes that can become distracting. Colors are well saturated (although fleshtones have a slightly reddish hue), and contrast is quite good. And while the level of detail in the image can be hit-or-miss like most of the early Blu-ray Disc releases, textures generally look well rendered, looking much better than the standard-definition DVD. While it definitely has its faults, this is one of the best-looking Blu-ray Disc releases of the initial slate. (Danny Richelieu)

    The uncompressed linear PCM 5.1-channel soundtrack suffers from the same shortfalls as the DVD, namely a lack in power and precision, and dialogue that very rarely sounds natural. Surround imaging is limited, and the entire sound field is generally lacking in broad dynamic range or localized effects anywhere in the stage. This is a mediocre soundtrack, but the increase in fidelity provided by the use of PCM is welcome. (Danny Richelieu)

    Reason #59 Why Readers Love Widescreen Review:

    I have read Widescreen Review for years because it has been the only magazine available to me that describes the benefits and options available to anyone interested in widescreen movie viewing. I have learned a lot about movies and their display options (including sound) from reading this magazine.

    Donald C. Williams
    26864 Mandelieu Drive, Murrieta, CA 92562 • Phone: 951 676 4914 • Fax: 951 693 2960
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