U-571 (Blu-ray)

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"U-571" continues to look stunning and the 2.35:1 transfer is still remarkably clear and holds its own against most other catalog titles on the Blu-ray format. The film contains many overly dark scenes, but always shows excellent shadow detail and blacks. Colors are strong and nicely saturated with excellent skin tones. Reds are warm and blues are cold. Much of the film does take place in the darkness of water, but it typically looks very strong. There are numerous wet surfaces found throughout the film and the reflection and shine of these wet surfaces shows the detail and clarity that high definition and Blu-ray are capable of. Comparing "U-571" to the flawed DVD transfer shows the lack of color banding that was previously prevalent and the superiority of a good high definition transfer.

Audio

My biggest enjoyment of the new Blu-ray transfer of "U-571" is the incredible sounding English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. It is simply amazing and easily bests the previously strong HD-DVD transfer that utilized only Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound. From each individual sonar ping to the deep .1 LFE provided wallop of a depth charge, this high definition soundtrack sounds absolutely gorgeous. There has always been something magical about a good sounding submarine film and "U-571" ranks among the best of them although I continue to wait for a Blu-ray release of "Das Boot." When fire engulfs the U-boat during and early scene as depth charges pound the boat and the musical score by Richard Marvin heightens the excitement, the DTS-HD soundtrack is in full force. Imaging is very strong across all channels and dialogue is spot on. This Blu-ray release may mark the pinnacle of submarine film sound. It is simply amazing.

Extras

The new Blu-ray release of "U-571" contains a brand new set of features. Some things are missing from the previous releases, but the touted U-Control functionality has been included for use with Profile 1.1 capable players. Picture-in-Picture is included in thirteen of the twenty chapters and some very nice information pertaining to the making of the film is included here. The footage used for the PiP is culled from the stand-alone features previously found on the HD-DVD and DVD release and I couldn´t find anything missing. "Spotlight on Location," "Inside the Enigma," "U.S. Naval Archives: Capturing the U-505," "Creating and Constructing U-571," "Submariner´s WWII Experience" and "Britain Captures the U-110" all seem to be present and accountable for. The only problem is you now need to go search for them by hand.

The Feature Commentary with Director Jonathan Mostow returns for another listening with the Blu-ray release. Mostow certainly loves his creation and he talks through the entire time with very little dead air. A lot of detail about the making of the film and decisions he made to bring the story to life are discussed. Mostow discusses how audiences (especially DVD and home video) dissect films and pay attention to every detail and how he strived for as much authenticity and detail as he could afford to give. I enjoyed this track partly because of my enjoyment of the film. The commentary is an entertaining and educational listen even with taking into account the rather droll vocal delivery by the director.


Closing

I love submarine films. I really do. While "Das Boot" is the essence of the genre, "U-571" is an above average entry in the oft overlooked category of sub films. What makes these films so exciting is the tension and suspense provided by a vessel pushing its structural limits by diving far below the recommended depths. I think this is a mandatory plot line for sub films, but I can never get enough of it. With a good line-up of actors in Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel and others and great looking set pieces, effects and reconstructed submarines, "U-571" stands above most submarine films made. The new Blu-ray release is superior to the older HD-DVD release. The picture is identical, but the sound is greatly improved and U-Control has been added. Some may prefer having the vignettes and featurettes separated, but I don´t mind the decision to make them PiP features. This is definitely a film to crank up the sound and sit back and enjoy every busting pipe, exploding bolt and creaking seam. This is not an award winning film, but it is a very entertaining one and sounds amazing.

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