BLU-RAY REVIEW

Neighbors

Featured In Issue 191, November 2014

Picture4
Sound4
WSR Score1.5
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):
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
61127538
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
Pervasive language, strong crude and sexual content, graphic nudity, and drug use throughout
(Retail Price):
$34.98
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
97
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
Not Indicated
(Theatrical Year):
2014
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
09/23/14
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Nicholas Stoller
(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):
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):

By all appearances, new parents Mac (Rogen) and Kelly Radner (Byrne) are living the American Dream—complete with an adorable baby girl and a beautiful new starter home in the suburbs. Still, the early-thirty somethings want to believe they have a modicum of coolness left within them. So when they discover that their new next-door "Neighbors" are none other than dozens of Delta Psi Beta fraternity brothers led by charismatic president Teddy Sanders (Efron), they try to make the best of an awkward situation. But when the frat's parties grow increasingly more epic, both sides of the property line begin to fend for their turf. The neighbors' relentless sabotage escalates into outrageous one-upmanship, beginning a Greek war for the ages. (Gary Reber)

Special features include an alternate opening; eight deleted/alternate scenes (HD 12:55); five featurettes: "On The Set" (HD 03:41), "Line-O-Rama" extended scene (HD 02:52), "An Unlikely Pair" (HD 05:34), "Partying With The Neighbors" (HD 07:17), and "Frat House" (HD 05:44); a gag reel (HD 05:57); upfront previews; BD-Live functionality; and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 1080p AVC picture was photographed digitally in the anamorphic Panavision format with the Arri Alexa camera system. The color palette is rich and warm, with strong primaries and highlights that are fully saturated. Fleshtones are naturally hued but distorted, due to set lighting effects during the frat interior scenes. Contrast is well balanced, and considering the darker scenes, blacks are deep and shadow delineation is revealing. Resolution is decent but a bit soft at times. Overall, this is a colorfully saturated visual experience that is pleasing. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is dialogue focused with decent spatial integration when not ADR infused. The music score is strong, with a dance genre that accentuates deep bass in the .1 LFE. Recording quality is generally good. Atmospherics and sound effects are decent but generally frontal focused. The music is the source of aggressive and directionalized surround envelopment. This is generaly a mediocre soundtrack due to the "produced" ADR-sounding dialogue, which becomes energized during the party segments. (Gary Reber)