Nicholson plays a caricature of himself, and Freeman plays his usual buddy role. But we wouldn't want it any other way.
"Do you hate me?" asks Cole.
"Not yet," responds Chambers.
And so it began.
Video:
In its standard-definition form the video quality of this 1.85:1-ratio movie was already pretty good, and this Blu-ray, 1080p, VC-1, BD25 version, as expected, shows improvement, if marginal. The high-def picture is smoothly delineated, if somewhat soft, with strong, rich colors, deep black levels, and just a trace of natural film grain to give texture to the picture. Putting the SD version in one player and the BD in another and then switching back and forth between selected paused images, particularly facial close-ups, revealed the standard-def picture (even up-scaled) looking a bit washed out and smeared by comparison, with details just a smidgeon more blurred and contrasts a little less prominent. Still, the differences, while noticeable, did not seem as great to me as other such comparisons I've made.
Audio:
The only soundtrack Warners make available on this Blu-ray disc is Dolby Digital 5.1. Since about 99% of the movie's audio is dialogue, anyway, I suppose they figured it didn't make any difference. Either that or WB couldn't find room for a lossless track. I don't know. In any case, the DD 5.1 renders the midrange cleanly, and when background music makes an occasional appearance, the audio handles it appropriately, with very little surround information except for a faint musical ambience reinforcement. In all, the audio is quiet, gentle, and pleasant, like the movie.
Extras:
Carried over from the standard-definition disc is a five-minute featurette, "Writing a Bucket List," with screenwriter Justin Zackham, and an equally brief music video, "Say," with John Mayer.
Exclusive to the Blu-ray edition are several additional items. The first is a Trivia Track with pop-up notes appearing abundantly throughout the movie. The second item has director Rob Reiner interviewing the two stars of the film separately, with twenty-one minutes devoted to Nicholson and another sixteen minutes to Freeman. Incidentally, if you wonder why Nicholson looks so heavy in the film, it is apparently because he really was in the hospital just before shooting began, and he had picked up weight. In the interview, the actor looks more like his normal self. Finally, there is a five-minute behind-the-scenes segment called "The Making of Say," the John Mayer music video.
The extras conclude with twenty-three scene selections but no chapter insert; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; French and Spanish subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Thoughts:
This third time through the film (once in a theater, once in standard def, and now in high definition), I watched it with the Wife-O-Meter, who had not seen it. I was a little hesitant to watch it with her because she's quite the pragmatist and usually doesn't care for overly sentimental films. When the movie ended, she said, "That was cute," and I could see she was a little choked up. But the next day was what really convinced me she liked it when she said she had told friends at work about it, and they, too, said they liked it. She never discusses a film with people unless she really likes the film.
"There was a survey once," says Chambers. "A thousand people were asked if they could know in advance, would they want to know the exact day of their death. Ninety-six percent of them said no."
"The Bucket List" is not really about dying. It's about living life to its fullest with the people you love the most. It's about the joy we find in others and the joy we bring to others. With Nicholson and Freeman in full command of the subject matter, it's a film that can bring joy to anyone with an open mind and an open heart.
"Not yet," responds Chambers.
And so it began.
Video:
In its standard-definition form the video quality of this 1.85:1-ratio movie was already pretty good, and this Blu-ray, 1080p, VC-1, BD25 version, as expected, shows improvement, if marginal. The high-def picture is smoothly delineated, if somewhat soft, with strong, rich colors, deep black levels, and just a trace of natural film grain to give texture to the picture. Putting the SD version in one player and the BD in another and then switching back and forth between selected paused images, particularly facial close-ups, revealed the standard-def picture (even up-scaled) looking a bit washed out and smeared by comparison, with details just a smidgeon more blurred and contrasts a little less prominent. Still, the differences, while noticeable, did not seem as great to me as other such comparisons I've made.
Audio:
The only soundtrack Warners make available on this Blu-ray disc is Dolby Digital 5.1. Since about 99% of the movie's audio is dialogue, anyway, I suppose they figured it didn't make any difference. Either that or WB couldn't find room for a lossless track. I don't know. In any case, the DD 5.1 renders the midrange cleanly, and when background music makes an occasional appearance, the audio handles it appropriately, with very little surround information except for a faint musical ambience reinforcement. In all, the audio is quiet, gentle, and pleasant, like the movie.
Extras:
Carried over from the standard-definition disc is a five-minute featurette, "Writing a Bucket List," with screenwriter Justin Zackham, and an equally brief music video, "Say," with John Mayer.
Exclusive to the Blu-ray edition are several additional items. The first is a Trivia Track with pop-up notes appearing abundantly throughout the movie. The second item has director Rob Reiner interviewing the two stars of the film separately, with twenty-one minutes devoted to Nicholson and another sixteen minutes to Freeman. Incidentally, if you wonder why Nicholson looks so heavy in the film, it is apparently because he really was in the hospital just before shooting began, and he had picked up weight. In the interview, the actor looks more like his normal self. Finally, there is a five-minute behind-the-scenes segment called "The Making of Say," the John Mayer music video.
The extras conclude with twenty-three scene selections but no chapter insert; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; French and Spanish subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Thoughts:
This third time through the film (once in a theater, once in standard def, and now in high definition), I watched it with the Wife-O-Meter, who had not seen it. I was a little hesitant to watch it with her because she's quite the pragmatist and usually doesn't care for overly sentimental films. When the movie ended, she said, "That was cute," and I could see she was a little choked up. But the next day was what really convinced me she liked it when she said she had told friends at work about it, and they, too, said they liked it. She never discusses a film with people unless she really likes the film.
"There was a survey once," says Chambers. "A thousand people were asked if they could know in advance, would they want to know the exact day of their death. Ninety-six percent of them said no."
"The Bucket List" is not really about dying. It's about living life to its fullest with the people you love the most. It's about the joy we find in others and the joy we bring to others. With Nicholson and Freeman in full command of the subject matter, it's a film that can bring joy to anyone with an open mind and an open heart.
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[release]23459[/release]