Burn After Reading (Blu-ray)

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Video:

The Coen Brothers are not known for creating the most visually stunning films, but they typically create believable worlds that are beautifully photographed. "Burn After Reading" is the typical effort from the brothers and the film looks very good, but it does not translate to a stupefying high definition experience. The film is mastered in 1.85:1 widescreen and uses the AVC MPEG-4 codec for the digital compression and the film is free of any flaws from the mastering of the disc. The movie includes a healthy dose of film grain that gives "Burn After Reading" a definite film-like appeal, but the level of detail is often muted to a small degree. The film´s color palette is solid, but colors are slightly desaturated to add style to the work done by Director of Photography Emmanuel Lubezki. Black levels are good and the source materials used to cull the film were pristine. This is a technically proficient transfer, but it lacks any pizzazz in the digital world.

Audio:

"Burn After Reading" is billed as a tragic comedy and aside from a few musical cues by Carter Burwell´s score, there is not a lot of sound depth to the film. This is a movie about conversation and it does contain a gunshot or two and a few brief segments of car engine noise, but the sound design of "Burn After Reading" is limited and cannot fully utilize the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that the disc is provided with. Dialogue is the single most important element of the film and every spoken word comes across crystal clear and the front channels provide some good directional depth to conversation, but the soundtrack is not asked to do much otherwise. There is hardly any usage of the rear surrounds and the .1 LFE channel is given the day off. This isn´t to the fault of the digital mastering, but the nature of the soundtrack. Again, it succeeds on a technical level, but this isn´t a film to impress anyone with the wonders of the Blu-ray format.

Extras:

The Blu-ray release of "Burn After Reading" is pretty slim in the department of conventional bonus features. The disc includes the oft unused My Scenes for bookmarking and three other items that runs for roughly twenty minutes. The My Scenes can be used in conjunction with BD-Live to send favorite scenes to friends via the Internet. Finding the Burn (5:31) is a brief promotional reel including George Clooney, Frances McDormand and the Coen Brothers as they briefly discuss and promote the picture. It includes the typical mix of film footage and brief interview segments. DC Insiders Run Amuck (12:24) is a slightly longer EPK styled feature that looks at the production of the film, its genesis and the involvement of the ensemble cast. It´s a good twelve minute sit through. The final feature, Welcome Back George (2:51) is a very brief chat with the Coen Brothers on how they enjoy working with Clooney and that "Burn After Reading" was their third collaboration.

Closing:

"Burn After Reading" is another solid picture from filmmaking brothers Ethan and Joel Coen. It features a stellar cast that includes John Malkovich, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Frances McDormand. This is a dark comedy that tells an intriguing and captivating story and the story is told through some very talented actors and two wonderful storytelling brothers. The Blu-ray release is technically proficient, but hindered with limited source materials that are hampered by limited sound design and visual composition. The Coen Brothers are not known for creating jawdropping gorgeous films and the trend continues with "Burn After Reading." I had hoped for just a little more love in the special features department, but only twenty minutes of supplements are provided. While the film was not everything I had hoped it would be, it was still solid and I feel the same about the Blu-ray release.

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