...a technological marvel and a better-than-average movie
Video:
Back in 2001, the release of this movie on DVD provided a rare glimpse of how stunning a digital-to-digital transfer would look, even in 480p standard definition. For a while, it was the standard by which all subsequent DVD releases were compared against. While it may have looked stunning back then but get ready to be wowed all over again.
Sony has released "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" on Blu-ray in spectacular 1080p resolution, encoded using the AVC/MPEG-4 encoder format. Displayed in the film´s original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the transfer is exceptionally clean, almost pristine. The level of detail is amazing with each strand of hair and even skin texture strikingly clear, exhibiting a great sense of depth even at that minute level. Colors are nicely saturated with natural-looking skin tones and black levels that are discernable. If the animators were going for photorealism in this movie, they have finally achieved it with this high-definition Blu-ray release.
Audio:
With the video transfer setting the bar so high, the audio presentation is no slouch either. With the newly minted uncompressed PCM 5.1 surround track (48kHz/4.6Mbps), Sony has brought new life to the film. A sci-fi action film is the perfect platform to showcase the quality of high-definition audio and in the case of "FF:TSW," it does not disappoint. The dynamic range of the audio is wide as well as very active, providing plenty of directionality in the surround channels and a lively .1 LFE effect. Dialogue is crisp and clear with nary a hint of distortion. Volume level is also spot on, exhibiting none of the extreme highs and lows typical of action-oriented films.
Other audio options provided on this disc are English and French Dolby Digital 5.1, encoded at the much lower 640kbps bitrate. Subtitle options include English, English SDH, French, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai and Chinese.
Extras:
Essentially, all the extras--except for a third commentary track by composer Elliot Goldenthal and the "Storyboard/Playblast" feature--from the previously released 2-disc Special Edition DVD version have been reproduced here and they are all presented in standard-definition 480p resolution.
Starting things off, there are two audio commentaries: the first with animation director Andy Jones, staging director Tani Kunitake and editor Chris S. Capp and the second with co-director Moto Sakakbara, sequence supervisor Hiroyuki Hayashida, sets and props lead artist Tatsuro Maruyama and "Phantom" supervisor Takoo Naguchi. Both commentaries can get pretty technical because these guys are essentially the people behind the creation of various technological aspects of the movie. The second commentary track is entirely spoken in Japanese with English subtitles.
Moving on, we have a 30-minute interactive documentary titled, "The Making of Final Fantasy." The interactivity here means that during the documentary, you can branch off to access additional material like new video segments, optional audio commentary or each of the seven main characters´ background in "Character Files." This last feature, "Character Files" can also be accessed outside this documentary as a separate feature. This documentary is made up of various interviews and the most important one here is with director Hironobu Sakaguchi, who reveals that the lead character Aki, is actually named after his mother.
Next, we have a bunch of short features. In "Vehicle Scale Comparison," we are shown a montage of images detailing three of the vehicles that appear in the film: Bandit, Black Boa and Quatro. "Trailer Explorations" takes an inside look at how trailers are used so effectively to market a film. Also included are the film´s theatrical and teaser trailers. "The Gray Project" is actually a series of test images that are done up in gray, hence the name. In "Matte Art Exploration," a computer illustrator shows us how mattes or background images are created. "Compositing Builds" goes into a demonstration of how different layers of effects are put together. "More Boards/Blast" shows a scene that is made up of a mix of storyboards, rendered footages and concept art material. You can also watch the show´s "Original Opening" that is nowhere as effective as the final version that you see in the film. Next you have "Aki´s Dream Reconstruction," an expanded 15-minute dream sequence. Last but not least, we have "Joke Outtakes," a funny series of "fake" bloopers courtesy of the animators.
Packaging:
"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" comes packaged in a regular Blu-ray case accompanied by an advertising insert.
Film Value:
Directed by legendary game developer and the creator of the "Final Fantasy" series, Hironobu Sakaguchi, "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" is both a technological marvel and a better-than-average movie that only falls short in its use of corny dialogue and its rather predictable ending. The various concepts put forward by this movie is intriguing enough to keep most anyone with a penchant for science fiction interested long enough to complete the movie. It may not be the most satisfying movie you would ever watch but entertained, you would be. Now on Blu-ray, there is no better time to catch up with "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" once again.
Back in 2001, the release of this movie on DVD provided a rare glimpse of how stunning a digital-to-digital transfer would look, even in 480p standard definition. For a while, it was the standard by which all subsequent DVD releases were compared against. While it may have looked stunning back then but get ready to be wowed all over again.
Sony has released "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" on Blu-ray in spectacular 1080p resolution, encoded using the AVC/MPEG-4 encoder format. Displayed in the film´s original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the transfer is exceptionally clean, almost pristine. The level of detail is amazing with each strand of hair and even skin texture strikingly clear, exhibiting a great sense of depth even at that minute level. Colors are nicely saturated with natural-looking skin tones and black levels that are discernable. If the animators were going for photorealism in this movie, they have finally achieved it with this high-definition Blu-ray release.
Audio:
With the video transfer setting the bar so high, the audio presentation is no slouch either. With the newly minted uncompressed PCM 5.1 surround track (48kHz/4.6Mbps), Sony has brought new life to the film. A sci-fi action film is the perfect platform to showcase the quality of high-definition audio and in the case of "FF:TSW," it does not disappoint. The dynamic range of the audio is wide as well as very active, providing plenty of directionality in the surround channels and a lively .1 LFE effect. Dialogue is crisp and clear with nary a hint of distortion. Volume level is also spot on, exhibiting none of the extreme highs and lows typical of action-oriented films.
Other audio options provided on this disc are English and French Dolby Digital 5.1, encoded at the much lower 640kbps bitrate. Subtitle options include English, English SDH, French, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai and Chinese.
Extras:
Essentially, all the extras--except for a third commentary track by composer Elliot Goldenthal and the "Storyboard/Playblast" feature--from the previously released 2-disc Special Edition DVD version have been reproduced here and they are all presented in standard-definition 480p resolution.
Starting things off, there are two audio commentaries: the first with animation director Andy Jones, staging director Tani Kunitake and editor Chris S. Capp and the second with co-director Moto Sakakbara, sequence supervisor Hiroyuki Hayashida, sets and props lead artist Tatsuro Maruyama and "Phantom" supervisor Takoo Naguchi. Both commentaries can get pretty technical because these guys are essentially the people behind the creation of various technological aspects of the movie. The second commentary track is entirely spoken in Japanese with English subtitles.
Moving on, we have a 30-minute interactive documentary titled, "The Making of Final Fantasy." The interactivity here means that during the documentary, you can branch off to access additional material like new video segments, optional audio commentary or each of the seven main characters´ background in "Character Files." This last feature, "Character Files" can also be accessed outside this documentary as a separate feature. This documentary is made up of various interviews and the most important one here is with director Hironobu Sakaguchi, who reveals that the lead character Aki, is actually named after his mother.
Next, we have a bunch of short features. In "Vehicle Scale Comparison," we are shown a montage of images detailing three of the vehicles that appear in the film: Bandit, Black Boa and Quatro. "Trailer Explorations" takes an inside look at how trailers are used so effectively to market a film. Also included are the film´s theatrical and teaser trailers. "The Gray Project" is actually a series of test images that are done up in gray, hence the name. In "Matte Art Exploration," a computer illustrator shows us how mattes or background images are created. "Compositing Builds" goes into a demonstration of how different layers of effects are put together. "More Boards/Blast" shows a scene that is made up of a mix of storyboards, rendered footages and concept art material. You can also watch the show´s "Original Opening" that is nowhere as effective as the final version that you see in the film. Next you have "Aki´s Dream Reconstruction," an expanded 15-minute dream sequence. Last but not least, we have "Joke Outtakes," a funny series of "fake" bloopers courtesy of the animators.
Packaging:
"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" comes packaged in a regular Blu-ray case accompanied by an advertising insert.
Film Value:
Directed by legendary game developer and the creator of the "Final Fantasy" series, Hironobu Sakaguchi, "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" is both a technological marvel and a better-than-average movie that only falls short in its use of corny dialogue and its rather predictable ending. The various concepts put forward by this movie is intriguing enough to keep most anyone with a penchant for science fiction interested long enough to complete the movie. It may not be the most satisfying movie you would ever watch but entertained, you would be. Now on Blu-ray, there is no better time to catch up with "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" once again.
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[release]21415[/release]