End Of Days (Blu-ray)

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Video:

"End of Days" is a very dark picture. Much of the film takes place at night – notably between Eleven PM and Midnight on December 31st, 1999. There is a scene or two early in the film that takes place in daylight, but after that, practically everything takes place in the shadows. That is where demons prefer to walk. The 2.35:1 framed film looks very good in its MPEG-4 transfer. Relying heavily on dark scenes and demanding strong shadow detail and black levels, "End of Days" succeeds. There are a few instances where color is allowed some screen time and the transfer displays the pretty colors rather nicely, but there is a lot of blacks and browns in "End of Days" and Arnold and Byrne are both clad in dark clothing throughout the film. Detail is fairly strong, but during many of the darker scenes, the lighting does not allow for the strongest level of detail. There are some moments that are quite striking – the scene involving Arnold being ´crucified´ comes to mind as looking extremely good. Comparing this release to the HD-DVD title, "End of Days" looks identical.

Sound:

The film was released onto HD-DVD with an early Dolby TrueHD soundtrack and it sounded fairly impressive. Universal has moved towards the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 format and I did not notice much difference, if any, between the two high definition releases. The front channels are active throughout the film and deliver strong sound. The mix is quite bass heavy and the .1 LFE channel is given a lot to do during the film. However, the film does not utilize the rear surrounds as much as one would expect a horror/action film, but there are a couple nice ambient moments when the rear surrounds come alive. Dialogue is fairly strong and the bigger problem is deciphering some words with Arnold´s heavy accent. The soundtrack for "End of Days" is not as aggressive or enveloping as many other high-budget action films, but it still sounds pretty good.

Extras:

The bonus materials are a disappointment when you compare the film to its previous incarnations and many of the items from the HD-DVD release did not make it to the new Blu-ray version. Only the Feature Commentary with Director Peter Hyams is included on the BD-25 platter. Hyams does a good job on the commentary track and is very personable and interesting and gives a lot of information on the making of the film. Missing are the trailer, some promotional and making-of features and the interesting "Book of Revelation" feature. Universal does tout the My Scenes feature, but I consider that basic function these days. Bonus materials are definitely a disappointment.

Closing Comments:

I have now watched "End of Days" three times. I first saw it in theaters and was not overly impressed with the title. When I watched it a second time on HD-DVD I found it to have become passable entertainment since my first experience with the film. The third time was the charm and I found it to be a guilty pleasure and worth passing my time with. However, the new Blu-ray release is a bit of a disappointment as Universal has crammed the title onto a single Blu-ray platter and tossed aside the bonus materials that were previously included. The technicals are different, but the sound and video are essentially identical. If you have the ability to play the HD-DVD version of the film, I´d recommend you try and find that one before it disappears forever, because this Blu-ray release just isn´t as good as the previous HD-DVD release.

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