BLU-RAY REVIEW

Hugo 3D

Featured In Issue 165, March 2012

3D Picture5+
Picture5+
Sound5
WSR Score5
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):
14624
(MPAA Rating):
PG
(Rating Reason):
Mild thematic material, some action/peril and smoking
(Retail Price):
$44.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
126
(Color Type):
Color With B/W Sequences
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
Not Indicated
(Theatrical Year):
2011
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
02/28/12
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Martin Scorsese
(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 7.1
(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):

Hugo is renowned Director Martin Scorsese's family-themed adventure, which was honored with 11 Academy Award® nominations—including Best Picture and Best Director—and was the winner of five. Welcome to a magical world of spectacular adventure. When wily and resourceful Hugo Cabret (Butterfield) discovers a secret left by his father, the young boy unlocks a mystery and embarks in a quest that will transform those around him and lead to a safe and loving place he can call home. Based on the book entitled The Invention Of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the following featurettes: Shoot The Moon (The Making Of Hugo) (HD 19:48), The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès (HD 15:41), The Mechanical Man At The Heart Of Hugo (HD 12:45), Big Effects, Small Scale (HD 05:55), and Sacha Baron Cohen: Role Of A Lifetime (HD 03:33). The set includes the Blu-ray 3D, the Blu-ray Disc, the DVD, and a digital copy.

The 1080p MVC 3-D picture is gorgeous! Shot in native 3D, except for the archival footage stereo conversion performed by Legend 3D, the sense of dimensional realism is exceptional. As for the picture-quality attributes, they essentially live up to the 2-D performance quality, with the added sense of natural dimensional space and perspective. Resolution remains impressive throughout, with fine detail exhibited in facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture. The picture oozes nuanced details in every frame. The opening extended motion sequence is breathtaking! The color palette, as with the 2-D version, is stylized with earthy hues, though, brighter spots of color are presented with natural hues. Contrast is excellent with deep, solid blacks and revealing shadow delineation in dimly-lit scenes. As for 3-D effects, both positive and negative parallax imagery are well balanced, to deliver a pleasing, natural dimensional and spatial experience, both in terms of in-screen and out-of-screen action. Depth and perspective is outstanding and serves to cast a real sense of spatial integrity and realism in scope and scale. A most amazing aspect of the 3D is the depth presentation of the intricate and elaborate workings of the train station's tower clock system. The 3-D imagery is absolutely impressive with its portrayal of natural depth and perspective, no doubt due to Martin Scorsese's skills as director and Robert Richardson's glorious cinematography. As for distractions, there are none—no noticeable crosstalk or ghosting artifacts. This is one of the finest, if not the finest, 3-D presentations yet available on Blu-ray Disc™. The 3D really transports you to Hugo's world with wonderfully engaging visuals. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is absolutely wonderful! The sense of atmospherics and natural ambiance is truly impressive, making excellent use of the added two surround channels, to deliver a believable and vivid portrayal of a train station soundscape. The sonic picture presented simply "floats" within the large soundfield. The sound is dynamic, spatially dimensional, and completely enveloping throughout the soundfield. Howard Shore's sweeping and lively orchestral music score is magnificent and superbly recorded. Instrumental timbres are perfectly discernible, with superb fidelity. Sound effects are supportive and at times robust in terms of deep bass .1 LFE enhancement, for dramatic effect—especially with respect to the sound of locomotives and a dramatic crash. Each scene serves as a lesson in sound-engineering appreciation, down to the most subtle nuanced atmospherics and Foley sound effects. Dialogue is always intelligible and effectively integrated spatially. This is an extraordinary vivid sonic experience that will caress your auditory senses. (Gary Reber)