Courage Under Fire (Blu-ray)

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Video:
The 1080p HD picture was transferred to a 25-gig single layer disc using MPEG-2 technology at 18MPBS, with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 that fills out the entire 16x9 screen. Other than a lot of soft-focus background grain, the picture has plenty of detail, even in dark corners, and decent color saturation and black levels. But because of that slight grain, it's not a poster child for Blu-ray.

Audio:
The audio is a DTS HD 5.1 Master Lossless, with closed captions in English and subtitles in Spanish and English. Additional audio options (though not as powerful or resonant) are Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1. I didn't find the audio to be as powerful as some of the best Blu-rays. Though it the bass was resonant and the treble bright, it just didn't fill the room with sound, the way some of the best 6-track discs will do.

Extras:
The director's commentary is low-key but quite good, with Zwick explaining how he interviewed Gulf War veterans for the film, one of whom actually gave him a tape of a battle recorded from his tank. That would prove to be a key element of the film, and it's an example of how a happy coincidence can propel a film forward. I recommend watching the trivia track at the same time, because they really complement each other nicely. One talks about perspectives and the hows and whys of the production, while the other gives facts about the Gulf War, Denzel Washington, and the whats of the film's production. We get one interesting fact that makes us wonder what is the current percentage of troops dying from friendly fire in the second Iraq war. During WWII, 16 percent of the deaths were by friendly fire. In Vietnam, that number was 14 percent, which seems low, considering that there were a number of premeditated killings of superior officers by men who were tired of being ordered to put their lives on the line for something they didn't understand. But the biggest surprise is that the Gulf War produced 24 percent friendly fire casualties. Those facts come to us via the trivia track.

This Blu-ray is enhanced for D-Box Motion Control systems, and the theatrical player is provided in HD.

Bottom Line:
There have been a lot of military movies released on Blu-ray thus far, but "Courage Under Fire" is a drama that's a cut above the rest. The investigation holds our interest, and the replaying of events makes us guess at the truth even as it's dangled tantalizingly out of reach. And the cast? They do a credible job of bringing everything to life.

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