Snow White & The Huntsman

In Snow White & The Huntsman, Snow White (Stewart) is the only woman in the land fairer than the evil queen Ravenna (Theron). Ravenna wants nothing more than to destroy her young rival, but she doesn't know that Snow White has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Hemsworth) the queen dispatched to kill her. Together with a handsome prince (Claflin) enchanted by Snow White's beauty and power, they assemble an armed force to recapture the kingdom. (Gary Reber)

Both the theatrical version (02:07:14) and the extended version (02:11:33) are available. Special features include commentary with Director Rupert Sanders, Visual Effects Supervisor Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, and Co-Editor Neil Smith; four featurettes: A New Legend Is Born (HD 20:53), Reinventing The Fairy Tale (HD 06:07), Citizens Of The Kingdom (HD 23:00), and The Magic Of Snow White & The Huntsman (HD 13:23); an "Around The Kingdom 360" set tour; upfront previews; D-BOX® Motion Code™; and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 1080p AVC picture is dramatically and stylistically cinematic. Contrast is well balanced with deep blacks and revealing shadow delineation. The visual character is effectively textured throughout and heightened with impressive resolution that reveals the finer detail in facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture. The warm color palette is naturally rendered with deep, rich hues and gray tones. A palette of creatures in the forest exhibit their own unique magical visual quality. Fleshtones appear naturally rendered, though, dark in hue. The dark character permeates the stylization, which intensifies the dark storytelling. Visually, this is an exciting and engaging visual experience that mesmerizes. (Gary Reber)

The 2.35:1 DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is effectively rendered with an aggressive holosonic® soundfield dimensionality that conveys a spatially and aggressive dynamic presence. Surround envelopment is not only aggressive but directionalized, whether during intense scenes or during low-level atmospheric soundscapes, or in subtle low-level scenes with atmospherics. James Newton Howard's orchestral music score is dynamic and deeply percussive, with a wide and deep soundstage presence that extends effectively to the surround channels to enhance spatial dimensionality. Deep bass is articulated in the .1 LFE channel, to provide weight to the action and warring scenes and the supporting atmospherics and sound effects. Dialogue is intelligible, with a spatially integrated presence. The added dimensionality provided by the additional two channels further enhances the sonic engagement and intense hand combat. The 7.1-channel configuration has the normal surrounds to the 90-degree sides and the added two channels to the rear positions. Thus, one must re-wire their system when reproducing this 7.1-channel soundtrack if your system does not conform to this setup. One would not know this channel configuration, unless they had an acute hearing ability or metering to confirm the channel positions of the two added channel loudspeakers as there is no diagram to indicate the mix configuration. This 7.1-channel mix conforms to the Dolby® theatrical 7.1-channel standard, with the added channels to the rear sides. But not all Blu-ray 7.1-channel mixes conform to the theatrical standard (limited in imaging resolution due to the innate nature of a large audience auditorium) and instead position the two added channels to the 90-degree positions (in the cinema, an array wall). Thus, the confusion persists that the industry has caused for enthusiasts who want to optimize the sonic experience. Configuring one's system with the normal surrounds mixed in a 5.1-channel configuration with the surrounds to the rear, not at 90-degree sides, means that for a 7.1-channel mix the normal surrounds need to be positioned forward at the 90-degree sides and the added two channels to the rear. For home theatre applications, positioning the added two channels to the 90-degree side positions is preferred because it provides better phantom imaging between channels, with all channel loudspeakers placed equidistant from the sweet spot and at equal 60-degree included angles relative to the sweet spot. Of course, once re-wired the outcome is still impressively dimensional, just not optimized. And what a powerfully dynamic sonic experience! (Gary Reber)