Serenity (Blu-ray)

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Video:

"Serenity" gets a reboot on Blu-ray, but the visuals are essentially identical to the previous HD-DVD release. In my former review I discussed how much watching a film on high definition media had impressed me, but that is old hat. I´m not going to even look at the score I had given that film for visuals because that was three years ago. "Serenity" is still a quality looking title, but the visuals are not as jawdropping as I had once viewed them. The picture is detailed and sharp and coloring is good. This is still an impressive looking film in high definition. Colors show strong ´pop´ and during the first Reaver attack you can count sand pebbles. I´ve updated my television to 1080p since my initial review and the 2.35:1 picture continues to show strong black levels and a very clean image. I noticed a little more film grain than I did the first time around, but it provides a nice film-like image. "Serenity" is one of the older high definition titles after being a launch title on HD-DVD, but it continues to impress a couple years later on Blu-ray.

Sound:

When "Serenity" first launched on HD-DVD, the full Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack was not able to be fully enjoyed on the HD-A1 player. However times have changed and the hardware has improved and I can now enjoy the full English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that is provided with "Serenity." This is a new soundtrack and the first time the film has been able to enjoy a true next generation soundtrack. "Serenity" is a very lively sounding film that has plenty of surround information to enjoy. There is gunfire, explosions, tree branches and other solid directional effects. The engine sound of the Serenity brings life to the .1 LFE channel and surround information is delivered in every direction fluidly and cleanly. Dialogue is crystal clear and you will never have a problem understanding what was just said. There are better sounding titles out there, but "Serenity" continues to hold its own.

Extras::

Where "Serenity" shows definite improvement over its older HD-DVD sibling is in the special features department. When the film was first released Universal had not unleashed its familiar U-Control onto the world and this title now benefits with a full slate of U-Control items and BD-Live functionality. As of the writing of this review the BD-Live functionality was not yet active, but the disc makes mention of exclusive content and the latest trailers. It does not mention the Chat functionality or some of the other features seen on other recent titles. The rest of the features are added to over what was contained on the previous DVD and HD-DVD releases, but the menus now move faster and things are better organized this time around.

The U-Control items are very nice. The audio commentary track was filmed and is now available on Blu-ray as a Visual Commentary that requires Profile 1.1 to watch. This is the same commentary available as an audio only track and I´ll get more into details in a paragraph or two. The fact you can now watch the commentary is very nice though. The Picture-in-Picture appears in fourteen of the twenty chapters and contains a lot of good background information that is contained elsewhere on the disc, but can be viewed now while watching the film thanks to the inclusion of U-Control. The Digital Tour of Serenity appears in eight chapters and provides interactive graphical information and footage pertaining to the Serenity. When information is available a graphical interface window appears and you can use the remote to browse its contained information. This should be a real treat to the film´s strong fan base. The fourth and final U-Control item is the Mr. Universe´s Compendium, which provides pop up graphical menus with textual information pertaining to the film.

The "Extras" themselves begins with My Scenes, but quickly moves on to real value-added content. The Alliance Database is newly added to the Blu-ray release and may be tied to the BD-Live content as I could only gain access to a black screen upon selecting the menu item. I´ll report back after BD-Live is activated for this title with an update. The Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Joss Whedon is carried over from previous releases. Whedon is very knowledgeable, considering he created the show in addition to directing it. There is so much information given in the commentary and I´m sure what Whedon says will be a real treat for everybody who loves the show. A second Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Joss Whedon and Cast Members Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau and Ron Glass has been added to this release and can be listened to as an audio or video commentary. This is a very entertaining and informative commentary track that is a very nice addition to the Blu-ray release.

The stand alone features are solid. The nine Deleted Scenes (13:54) are a collection of extended and removed material that can be played with or without commentary by creator/director Joss Whedon. A lot of these scenes deal with Inara and Mal and add more depth to these characters. The scenes look quite rough. The Outtakes (6:04) consist of the usual flubs, mistakes and mishaps that occur during filming. They give a look at the humorous side of the film´s cast. Future History – The Story of Earth That Was (4:32) is a brief featurette on "Serenity" that offers up insight on how Whedon came about writing the story of "Firefly." What´s In A Firefly (6:33) is a look at the Firefly class of starship that Serenity belongs to and also focuses on the visual effects of the ´Mule Skiff Chase´ scene with the hovercraft from the early parts of the film and the crash scene of the Serenity towards the film´s conclusion.

Other good stuff includes Relighting the Firefly (9:41). This discusses how the "Firefly" show went from being a failed television series and released as a major motion picture. Whedon´s says "At what point does this stop being CPR and become necrophilia." His love for the show and the cast´s love for the show are apparent and watching this feature really drives home how odd and wonderful it was for the fans and cast of the show to see their story returned. The Joss Whedon Introduction (3:54) is the director´s introduction to a screening audience of a rough cut of the film and he explains how "Firefly" was brought back to life as "Serenity." He discusses the ´browncoats´ that worked so hard to support "Firefly."

A few items did not appear on the HD-DVD release. The four Extended Scenes (6:14) show a few extra moments not previously seen. There is nothing overly exciting here. Take a Walk on Serenity (4:06) has Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion and others talking about the theatrical version of the Serenity and how it compares to the cheaper version used for the television show. This was brief but fun and gave a nice look at the Serenity set. A Filmmaker´s Journey (19:55) is the longest stand alone supplement and is Whedon´s chance to talk in great depth about his film. This content is recycled during the U-Control content, but it is very good and nice to watch as standalone material. The Green Clan (3:07) is a short vignette about director of photography Jack Green. Finally, Session 416 (8:00) is a collection of five shorts that show black and white footage featuring Summer. They were interesting, but I´m not sure I´d want to sit through them again.

Closing:

"Serenity" was one of the first releases on the HD-DVD format and that disc was my introduction to the Joss Whedon series. This was a quality television show that had more action and excitement that Star Trek, but its cost and cult following were prohibitive it from remaining on the airwaves. The film returns to high definition home media with an upgraded Blu-ray release that has improved sound and a number of new bonus features. Unlike the HD-DVD title, this Blu-ray release contains next-generation features such as U-Control and BD-Live. This was an early Universal HD-DVD release and the studio has shown their love for "Serenity" by not just porting that title, but adding some very good features. I ask you to show Universal their love and pick up a copy of the film on Blu-ray. This is the absolute best version of the film released to date and makes for good viewing on a rainy night.

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