King Kong (Blu-ray)

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There are a few scenes in the film that really stand out. My favorites include the fight between Kong and the three Tyrannosaur Rex dinosaurs, the street chase through New York City and the finale at the top of the Empire State Building. These are gorgeous examples of how highly detailed and colorful the transfer of this gorgeous picture is. Detail is striking. You can count leaves, pebbles or hairs throughout the film and I´m not so certain that another disc has been released with as impressive of fine detail as "King Kong." The green foliage of the jungle looks amazing and the black fur of the CGI-rendered Kong is deep and true and you can see the gradients of his fur. Shadow detail holds up well during the darkest moments. The 2.35:1 transfer is simply awe inspiring and the digital-to-digital transfer yields no flaws from either the source materials or the digital compression. I was looking forward to this re-release and I must say I´m impressed.

Audio:

Aside from the inclusion of the longer version of the film and some new supplements, the main noticeable difference is that "King Kong" now comes fully equipped with a next-generation English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. I had lamented that the HD-DVD release did not come packed with a TrueHD mix and although I felt the soundtrack was awe-inspiring, I am only proven wrong in my assessment of that earlier release as this new version of "King Kong" is a marked improvement. The higher bandwidth allotted by the DTS-HD audio mix provides even more of an aural experience for this film and the bass response and usage of the rear surrounds are noticeable more detailed and powerful. Sometimes the sense of more power from a DTS-HD track comes from a ramped up level of volume, but I guarantee that "King Kong" is a better sounding release.

There are numerous sequences where every speaker is pushed hard. From the rainy nighttime sequence when the ship carrying our ill-fated passengers is swept against the rocks to the final scene where Kong is being sprayed by gunfire, "King Kong" is impressive to the ears. Everything from the sound effects to James Newton Howard's score is nicely replicated and comes across crystal clear. The .1 LFE channel just bumps powerfully and perfectly accentuates the action without ever coming across as too heavy. The scene with the herbivore stampede is a prime example of nicely utilized bass. Small sounds such as breaking twigs and the metallic clank of spent ammo cartridges are brought to life and easily heard. There is as much detail to the soundtrack as there is to the image. Dialogue is clear and intelligible, even through the most dynamic sequences. Rear surrounds are very lively and imaging across all channels is exceptional.

Extras:

I have always held a higher appreciation of "King Kong" that many others and fell prey to purchasing every DVD release of the film and also own the Making-Of box set that was released before the DVD release of the film. Having said that I was greatly disappointed with the bonus features that were contained on the HD-DVD release and I am only marginally more impressed with the offerings of this new Blu-ray version of the film. Universal does get a small pat on the back for including the Extended Version of the film as well as the Theatrical Version. The choice must be made when the disc first boots, but the user may easily switch versions at any time through the interactive menu. That is a huge improvement alone over the HD-DVD version. Universal did include some BD-Live functionality, but it is the forgettable My Scenes sharing that I have yet to find a use for.

The Blu-ray release of "King Kong" does arrive with a Extended Feature Commentary with Director/Co-Writer Pete Jackson and Co-Writer/Co-Producer Phillippa Boyens. This was not available previously on the HD-DVD edition, but was included on the DVD version of the film´s Extended Version. It cannot be played while watching the Theatrical Version, but it is worthwhile to watch the 200 minute version of the film a second time as this is a highly informative and interesting commentary. Jackson is an amicable fellow, but he keeps his commentary quite professional and he and Boyens go into great detail on how some of the films incredible scenes were achieved and the commentary is so informative that it does not make for a very good casual listen. Jackson does inject a little humor, but he is very much about the special effects and effort that went into creating this film and doesn´t take his filmmaking lightly.

Some Profile 1.1 features are also included. A Picture-in-Picture Bonus View supplement is also included that contains much of the behind-the-scenes information that was found on the previous DVD releases, but has been reorganized as small vignettes that are spread across the disc. My largest complaint here is that twenty three pieces of material was carried over to the Blu-ray release, but thirty of the film´s chapters go sans PiP information and it is quite interesting, but sparse at times. There are interviews, behind-the-scenes photography and even some of the video diaries from the making-of release. Overall, this is another solid reason to watch the film, but I would have preferred it to be more readily accessible from the menu. Some Art Galleries are also contained in the "U-Control" functionality, but only eleven of the films fifty three chapters contain gallery information.

Closing:

"King Kong" returns once again to the high definition jungles and reclaims his position as the King. This film was my reference disc for the defeated HD-DVD format, but it reclaims that position with a stupefying Blu-ray release that shows how amazing looking this Peter Jackson directed film truly is. The sound is improved with a very good DTS-HD mix that is one of the best sounding releases you´ll ever lay your ears on. There is a new commentary track and the previous features from the HD-DVD release are carried over, but perhaps the best reason to purchase the Blu-ray release is for the inclusion of the Extended Cut of the film. For the film itself, I like "King Kong." I really do. I just don't think I love it. I'm not sure if it is the length, the romantic subplots or the over-excess of two of the film's action sequences. But, something about this film keeps it hovering at a level just below pure greatness. Maybe it is the casting of Jack Black in a role that does not fit him. This is a title that should have been a 2-disc special edition and I hold hope that one day a truly awesome feature-packed version of "King Kong" will be released, but you´d be hard pressed to find a better sounding or looking Blu-ray title.

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