Shawshank Redemption, The (Blu-ray)

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Video:
Warner Bros. present the film in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio using a dual-layer BD50, VC-1, 1080p transfer. Like its standard-definition counterpart, the Blu-ray picture quality remains mostly clean and clear, with good, natural colors and very little noticeable grain, even in darker passages. Like the SD version, there are moments when the video looks a tad too light, and other times when it appears a bit too dark. Also, the general focus seems a touch soft by high-def BD standards, with so-so black levels throughout. Facial details are not as well delineated as I'd like, with nuances a bit too smoothed over. It's a good presentation, although it takes a darkened room to appreciate it best.

Audio:
You'll find the English soundtrack available in lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and regular Dolby Digital 5.1, both tracks working more extensively in the front channels than in the rear, which have little to do beyond reproducing a few moments of dining hall ambiance or crickets in the wind. Since this is mainly a story of narration and dialogue, don't expect anything spectacular from the sonics, which are subtle but effective (remember that nomination for Best Sound). The advantage of the TrueHD is in its very slightly smoother response. However, be aware that as usual WB have made Dolby Digital the default, so you'll have to remember to choose TrueHD at start-up if you have the audio equipment to play it back.

Extras:
The Blu-ray disc comes fitted out with the same set of extras found on WB's standard-definition Two-Disc Special Edition, and again most of them are in standard def. Of course, the disc begins with an audio commentary by director Frank Darabont. Beyond that, there is a series of documentary features.

The first of the docs is "Hope Springs Eternal: A Look Back at the Shawshank Redemption," about thirty-one minutes. It includes the usual comments from the cast and crew and a remark from Tim Robbins I can't let pass. He says, "All the best movies were ignored when they first came out." That is certainly true of things like "Citizen Kane" and "The Wizard of Oz," but one can cite just as many examples of classic films that were enormously popular and critically well received when they first came out, things like "Casablanca," "Gone With the Wind," the first two "Godfather" films, "Star Wars," and "The Lord of the Rings." But I think we all get his point; some things do take time to simmer and ripen, and certainly that was the case with "Shawshank," which started slowly and gained steam with the video market.

The next item is the documentary "Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature," forty-eight minutes long and made in 2001 for British TV. Here, Darabont admits that director Frank Capra was one of his inspirations growing up; and, taking a cue from George Lucas, he acknowledges the influence of Joseph Campbell in shaping the movie's character Andy as a mythical hero. After that, there's a recent, forty-two minute segment of "The Charlie Rose Show" featuring a roundtable discussion with Rose, Frank Darabont, Tim Robbins, and Morgan Freeman.

As a kind of counterbalance to the relative seriousness of the documentaries, commentaries, and discussions, we find a twenty-four-minute comic spoof called "The Sharktank Redemption." Written and directed by Doug and Natalie van Doren in 2000, it portrays the life of two guys who feel trapped in the prison of a Hollywood talent agency. They dream of escaping their office cubicles, and, of course, they do. Its humor is cute and restrained. Then, there are photo galleries, storyboards, a promo for collectible art work from the film, a Web link, and a theatrical trailer in high def and widescreen.

The disc comes housed in the back of a Digibook, a thirty-six page, hardbound book of color pictures from the film and text information about the cast and filmmakers. Things finish up with forty scene selections; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Portuguese subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.

Parting Thoughts:
"The Shawshank Redemption" is not a great movie in the canon of great and influential Hollywood movies, but as each year passes, I think of it more and more as a true classic. If you give it a chance, it can easily become one of your favorite films, and the Blu-ray edition with its improved picture and sound makes that all the easier.

Anybody who likes "Shawshank," and that's just about anybody who's seen it, might also enjoy another prison picture of equal merit, Paul Newman's "Cool Hand Luke" from 1967. The older film, also available in Blu-ray, explores similar themes of personal worth but takes it a step further in a parable of New Testament proportions. Both films have the benefit of being thoughtful and entertaining without being overly preachy.

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." --Andy Dufresne

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