{"id":6830,"date":"2014-02-20T08:42:10","date_gmt":"2014-02-20T16:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=6830"},"modified":"2021-12-30T22:31:27","modified_gmt":"2021-12-31T06:31:27","slug":"review-gravity-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2014\/02\/review-gravity-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Gravity Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" style=\"border: 1px solid #2f4f4f;\" title=\"Gravity Blu-ray Review\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/logos\/warnerhomevideo2-sm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><b><i>Gravity<\/i><\/b> is certainly one of the better movies, though not the best, to come out of 2013 and between the technological achievements by Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n and the VFX crew, a taut story and Sandra Bullock\u2019s performance, it\u2019s one heck of a journey that I thoroughly enjoyed. It\u2019s not a movie for everybody and admittedly Cuar\u00f3n utilization of symbolism is at times a bit laughable, I still recommend this movie.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"*\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/bar_blue.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"3\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\">Gravity<\/span><br \/>\n(2013)<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>Genre(s): <\/b>Science-Fiction, Drama, Suspense\/Thriller<br \/>\nWarner Bros. | PG13 \u2013 91 min. \u2013 $35.99 | February 25, 2014<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/exec\/obidos\/ASIN\/B00H83EUL2\/moviemsguidet-20\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" style=\"border: 2px solid blue;\" title=\"Buy Gravity on Blu-ray from Amazon.com\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/reviews\/2014\/gravity-bd.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"383\" \/><\/a><\/b><b> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">MOVIE INFO:<br \/>\n<\/span>Directed by: <\/b>Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n<br \/>\n<b>Writer(s): <\/b>Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n &amp; Jon\u00e1s Cuar\u00f3n<br \/>\n<b>Cast: <\/b>Sandra Bullock, George Clooney<\/p>\n<p><b>Theatrical Release Date: <\/b>October 4, 2013<\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">DISC INFO:<br \/>\n<\/span>Features: <\/b>Featurettes, DVD Copy, UltraViolet Digital Copy<br \/>\n<b>Number of Discs: <\/b>2<\/p>\n<p><b>Audio: <\/b>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)<br \/>\n<b>Video: <\/b>1080p\/Widescreen 2.40<br \/>\n<b>Subtitles: <\/b>English SDH, French, Spanish<br \/>\n<b>Disc Size: <\/b>38.2 GB<br \/>\n<b>Codec: <\/b>MPEG-4 AVC<br \/>\n<b>Region(s): <\/b>A, B, C<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"*\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/bar_blue.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"3\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>THE MOVIE<\/strong><strong> \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b>Note: <\/b>This review does contain <b>spoilers<\/b> so please skip if you have yet to see the movie.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Gravity<\/i><\/b>, Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n\u2019s latest film is simple yet effective providing drama and suspense from beginning to end and opens with a breathtaking sequence showcasing planet Earth as Space Shuttle Explorer and its crew \u2013 the charismatic Mission Commander Matt Kowalski (GEORGE CLOONEY), medical engineer Ryan Stone (SANDRA BULLOCK on her first trip to space, and a couple others whose fates are determined less than 20-minutes in \u2013 are on a space walk to repair something or other.<\/p>\n<p>Things apparently are routine, though the device Stone is trying to fix is giving her troubles, when they receive word from Mission Control (voiced by ED HARRIS) that the Russians had launched a missile to destroy one of their own (spy) satellites and the debris is coming their way at a brisk pace. Before Kowalski and Stone can get back and Explorer get out of the debris field, it\u2019s pummeled killing two crew members and sending Stone flying off into the abyss with Kowalski eventually able to calm her down, given her oxygen levels is rapidly decreasing, and get to her. However, the two are in deep trouble as the debris knocked out all the satellites thus cutting off all communication with mission control. Their only hope is to get to the International Space Station which had already been abandoned though there is one pod that could get them home.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m stopping here with the plot summary as not to spoil much more, that said, for something with a simple story all set in space with nary even a flashback, I commend the Cuar\u00f3n brothers for painting a dramatic and traumatic back-story particularly for Stone which is heartbreaking simply being told as exposition in the form of Kowalski attempting to keep Stone calm. It\u2019s an effective tool which pays dividends later in the film and allows the audience to actually care about Stone and her fight for survival.<\/p>\n<p>Not to be forgotten or passed over, I also have to give praise to composer Steven Price (<i>The Worlds\u2019 End<\/i>) who has created a powerful, haunting and all around amazing score and as somebody who buys motion picture scores, it\u2019s easily the best I\u2019ve come across since perhaps <i>The Fountain<\/i>. It\u2019s an absolutely incredible score worth buying.<\/p>\n<p>Director Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n came onto the mainstream scene with 1998\u2019s <i>Great Expectations<\/i> but made an even bigger splash taking Harry Potter into darker territory on <i>Prisoner of Azkaban <\/i>(one of my favorite in that franchise) and followed that up with the incredible drama\/thriller, <i>Children of Men<\/i>, which character-wise, is pretty comparable with to <b><i>Gravity<\/i><\/b>. Beyond the technological challenges Cuar\u00f3n \u2013 along with his writer\/brother Jon\u00e1s \u2013 took for a movie that takes place nearly entirely in outer-space, he manages to keep the suspense going at a brisk pace through the 85-minute running time (sans end credits), not an easy task given you only have two characters and a relatively simple plot.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Gravity<\/i><\/b> is one of the more incredible experiences I\u2019ve had with a movie in quite a while and although I acknowledge many will not enjoy it, and furthermore I recognize the heavy-handed uses of symbolism with rebirth and such (you can see one in the screenshot above), I still found it to be a fantastic journey from beginning to end and features an incredible performance from Sandra Bullock who fully deserves the Oscar nomination. Clooney for his part is serviceable in what is filler but he and Bullock have good chemistry.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"*\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/bar_blue.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"3\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The release comes with a semi-reflective glossy <b>slip cover<\/b>. Inside contains the standard <b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">DVD Copy<\/span><\/b> and a slip for the <b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">UltraViolet<\/span><\/b> download code.<\/p>\n<p><b><i><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Gravity<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">: Mission Control (1:46:36; HD)<\/span><\/b> is a comprehensive, 9-part featurette covering the making of the movie from the script\/story, casting, visual effects and just about each aspect of filmmaking, including the challenges. Also features interviews with Alfonso and Jon\u00e1s Cuar\u00f3n, Sandra Bullock, George Clooney amongst others.<\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Shot Breakdowns (36:48; HD)<\/span><\/b> \u2013 These look at how some of the visuals \u2013 \u201cBehind the Visor\u201d, \u201cFire in the International Space Station\u201d, \u201cDr. Stone\u2019s Rebirth\u201d, \u201cThe Sound of Action in Space\u201d and \u201cSplashdown\u201d \u2013 were achieved.<\/p>\n<p><b><i><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Collision Point: The Race to Clean Up Space<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> (22:28; HD)<\/span><\/b> is a documentary narrated by Ed Harris looking at the attempts to rid outer space of debris.<\/p>\n<p><b><i><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Aningaaq<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> (6:53; HD)<\/span><\/b> is the short film, directed by Jon\u00e1s Cuar\u00f3n, which shows the perspective from the man whom Bullock\u2019s character was speaking to in the film.<\/p>\n<p><b>Preview<\/b> \u2013 <i>Her<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"*\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/bar_blue.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"3\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>VIDEO \u2013 5.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b><i>Gravity<\/i><\/b> drifts through space and finds safety on Blu-ray with a 1080p high-definition and presented in its original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio. The picture looks beautiful in HD from the stark black in space to the bright, aluminous colors of Earth which is stunning even on the small screen (really wish I had seen it in IMAX). Using the Arri Alexa M camera, the movie has amazing clarity and the detail levels are incredible with no obvious signs of pixilation or artifacting.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"*\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/bar_blue.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"3\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>AUDIO \u2013 5.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Disappointingly, Warner only included a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track instead of a 7.1 channel track but even so, the lossless audio still sounds incredible with excellent dialogue levels coming from the center speaker to the resounding score that fills any voids since there\u2019s minimal sound effects. It\u2019s a great aural experience all around and has a wide range from Price\u2019s robust score to the utter quiet of outer-space.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"*\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moviemansguide.com\/images\/main\/bar_blue.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"3\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>OVERALL \u2013 4.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Overall, <b><i>Gravity<\/i><\/b> is certainly one of the better movies, though not the best, to come out of 2013 and between the technological achievements by Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n and the VFX crew, a taut story and Sandra Bullock\u2019s performance, it\u2019s one heck of a journey that I thoroughly enjoyed. It\u2019s not a movie for everybody and admittedly Cuar\u00f3n utilization of symbolism is at times a bit laughable, I still recommend this movie if only for a rental.<\/p>\n<p>The Blu-ray released by Warner on the surface seemed to have minimal bonus material, but the 106-minute long documentary examines nearly every aspect of making the movie. The video\/audio transfers are both top-notch and still work even for home theaters.<\/p>\n<p><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>The Movieman<br \/>\n<\/i><b>Published: <\/b>02\/20\/2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gravity is certainly one of the better movies, though not the best, to come out of 2013 and between the technological achievements by Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n and the VFX crew, a taut story and Sandra Bullock\u2019s performance, it\u2019s one heck of a journey that I thoroughly enjoyed. It\u2019s not a movie for everybody and admittedly Cuar\u00f3n &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2014\/02\/review-gravity-bd\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Gravity Blu-ray Review&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2699,247,236],"class_list":["post-6830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blurayreviews","tag-alfonso-cuaron","tag-george-clooney","tag-sandra-bullock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6830"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27641,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6830\/revisions\/27641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}