I was expecting “Buffy In Space” and I was rewarded with a much hipper version of “Star Trek.”
If you have never seen a properly mastered HD film, it is hard to convey just how gorgeous the colors are and how crystal clear the image clarity is. The amount of detail in "Serenity" was very stunning. From each harsh angle on the "Firefly" class starship to each imperfection of the actors skin, HD-DVD and its higher resolution bring "Serenity" to new heights. Shadow detail and black levels were deep and true. The 2.35:1 image on my Samsung LCD was as black as the border surrounding the widescreen image. Science Fiction films can have a tendency to suffer during space scenes, but "Serenity" did not. The darkness of space was black and the stars twinkled and shined brightly. The impressive special effects of the film held up well throughout the entire picture and were not betrayed by the new technology. I fear some of my favorite old science fiction films and how HD-DVD may show their imperfections. Light grey boxes around Tie Fighters anyone?
Sound
Problems here. "Serenity" is mastered in Dolby Digital Plus. However, the Toshiba HD-A1 does not transmit the Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack over the digital connections. The six-channel analog outputs need to be used. However, the Toshiba sends out a ´default´ DTS 5.1 signal over the digital outputs. The packaging does not list DTS, so my initial assumption was that Dolby Digital Plus was somehow being handled by my receiver as a DTS track. John J. Puccio and I discussed the digital sound problem and everything fell into place. Currently, my DVD-Audio/SACD player inhabits my receiver´s lone six-channel input. A switchbox is coming, but "Serenity" will be reviewed for its DTS track that is sent out through the optical connection as I was uninspired to take the hour or so of time to rewire my receiver and then have to do it again after the switchbox arrives and though I liked the movie, I did not want to sit through it a second time.
So how did the compressed DTS 5.1 track sound? It was good. The sound was very clear and quite impressive. Bass was booming and deep. The big space battle towards the end of the film that saw the Reavers and the Alliance blow each other out of orbit brought a smile to my face. The explosions shook the room and the sound of the Serenity navigating the battlefield was solid. "Serenity" is not an all-out assault on one´s senses like "Attack of the Clones," but the moments it does get noisy is quality enough to show off HD-DVD to your friends using this title. Out of the three titles I watched, the battle scene in "Serenity" was the audio highlight. One other note of importance is that the 5.1 DTS track of the Universal title was a solid 10-15 decibels louder than the two Warner Bros. titles.
Extras
The HD-DVD release of "Serenity" features all of the supplements found on the original DVD releases of the film. They are mastered in 480i. There are nine deleted scenes 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 are of rough quality and are much closer to VHS than they are HD-DVD in appearance. The deleted scenes run for about ten minutes. There are some outtakes that run for six minutes and 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" is a four minute featurette on "Serenity" that offers up insight on how Whedon came about writing the story of "Firefly." "What´s In A Firefly" is a six and a half minute long 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 "Joss Whedon Introduction." This four minute introduction appears halfway through the list of supplements and is Whedon´s introduction to a screening audience of a rough cut of the film and he explain´s how "Firefly" was brought back to life as "Serenity." He discusses the ´browncoats´ that worked so hard to support "Firefly." "Relighting the Firefly" discusses in more detail for about ten minutes of 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 is 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. Joss Whedon also provides a feature commentary. 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. The box art promises "and much more," but I could not find anything additional after the previously mentioned features. Regardless, it is quite impressive that this much content easily fits onto a single-layered HD-DVD title.
At this point, I should probably spend a brief moment talking about the menu system of HD-DVD. Unlike DVD, where you must stop the film and go to the menu screens to select inputs, HD-DVD delivers the menus as overlays to the film and you can navigate the menus to select the setup parameters or choose a special feature while you are watching the film. "Serenity" does start by bringing the viewer to a menu screen, while the Warner Bros. titles jump right to the film, but with HD-DVD, you now have the ability to change sound settings and such on-the-fly and while you watch the feature presentation. In the future, there will be video overlays and pop-ups that add information to the picture. Cool stuff indeed.
Parting Thoughts
The "Serenity" HD-DVD release was my introduction to High Definition DVD. It was also my introduction to the "Firefly" saga and Joss Whedon´s wonderful creation. It is also my return to the world of DVD journalism since January 19, 2004. Please, pardon my rustiness and my lack of knowledge on "Firefly." I can say that after watching "Serenity," I do have some interest in the world created by Whedon. By saying that, I am also giving this film my recommendation. "Serenity" was not a huge performer in the box office. However, by releasing this title as their very first HD-DVD release, fans may find some comfort that Universal is committed to the film and perhaps a sequel is in the wings. "Serenity" is a good story that exceeded my initial expectations. I was expecting "Buffy In Space" and I was rewarded with a much hipper version of "Star Trek." It really is difficult to rate the video and audio of the disc, but "Serenity" is a great looking and sounding film. It does show off the benefits of the fledgling format and gives a taste of good things to come. The number of supplements are solid. The problem is that they are identical to the DVD. For those that own the original disc, the $35 price tag of the new disc will only get them the improved picture and sound HD-DVD has to offer.
Sound
Problems here. "Serenity" is mastered in Dolby Digital Plus. However, the Toshiba HD-A1 does not transmit the Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack over the digital connections. The six-channel analog outputs need to be used. However, the Toshiba sends out a ´default´ DTS 5.1 signal over the digital outputs. The packaging does not list DTS, so my initial assumption was that Dolby Digital Plus was somehow being handled by my receiver as a DTS track. John J. Puccio and I discussed the digital sound problem and everything fell into place. Currently, my DVD-Audio/SACD player inhabits my receiver´s lone six-channel input. A switchbox is coming, but "Serenity" will be reviewed for its DTS track that is sent out through the optical connection as I was uninspired to take the hour or so of time to rewire my receiver and then have to do it again after the switchbox arrives and though I liked the movie, I did not want to sit through it a second time.
So how did the compressed DTS 5.1 track sound? It was good. The sound was very clear and quite impressive. Bass was booming and deep. The big space battle towards the end of the film that saw the Reavers and the Alliance blow each other out of orbit brought a smile to my face. The explosions shook the room and the sound of the Serenity navigating the battlefield was solid. "Serenity" is not an all-out assault on one´s senses like "Attack of the Clones," but the moments it does get noisy is quality enough to show off HD-DVD to your friends using this title. Out of the three titles I watched, the battle scene in "Serenity" was the audio highlight. One other note of importance is that the 5.1 DTS track of the Universal title was a solid 10-15 decibels louder than the two Warner Bros. titles.
Extras
The HD-DVD release of "Serenity" features all of the supplements found on the original DVD releases of the film. They are mastered in 480i. There are nine deleted scenes 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 are of rough quality and are much closer to VHS than they are HD-DVD in appearance. The deleted scenes run for about ten minutes. There are some outtakes that run for six minutes and 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" is a four minute featurette on "Serenity" that offers up insight on how Whedon came about writing the story of "Firefly." "What´s In A Firefly" is a six and a half minute long 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 "Joss Whedon Introduction." This four minute introduction appears halfway through the list of supplements and is Whedon´s introduction to a screening audience of a rough cut of the film and he explain´s how "Firefly" was brought back to life as "Serenity." He discusses the ´browncoats´ that worked so hard to support "Firefly." "Relighting the Firefly" discusses in more detail for about ten minutes of 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 is 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. Joss Whedon also provides a feature commentary. 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. The box art promises "and much more," but I could not find anything additional after the previously mentioned features. Regardless, it is quite impressive that this much content easily fits onto a single-layered HD-DVD title.
At this point, I should probably spend a brief moment talking about the menu system of HD-DVD. Unlike DVD, where you must stop the film and go to the menu screens to select inputs, HD-DVD delivers the menus as overlays to the film and you can navigate the menus to select the setup parameters or choose a special feature while you are watching the film. "Serenity" does start by bringing the viewer to a menu screen, while the Warner Bros. titles jump right to the film, but with HD-DVD, you now have the ability to change sound settings and such on-the-fly and while you watch the feature presentation. In the future, there will be video overlays and pop-ups that add information to the picture. Cool stuff indeed.
Parting Thoughts
The "Serenity" HD-DVD release was my introduction to High Definition DVD. It was also my introduction to the "Firefly" saga and Joss Whedon´s wonderful creation. It is also my return to the world of DVD journalism since January 19, 2004. Please, pardon my rustiness and my lack of knowledge on "Firefly." I can say that after watching "Serenity," I do have some interest in the world created by Whedon. By saying that, I am also giving this film my recommendation. "Serenity" was not a huge performer in the box office. However, by releasing this title as their very first HD-DVD release, fans may find some comfort that Universal is committed to the film and perhaps a sequel is in the wings. "Serenity" is a good story that exceeded my initial expectations. I was expecting "Buffy In Space" and I was rewarded with a much hipper version of "Star Trek." It really is difficult to rate the video and audio of the disc, but "Serenity" is a great looking and sounding film. It does show off the benefits of the fledgling format and gives a taste of good things to come. The number of supplements are solid. The problem is that they are identical to the DVD. For those that own the original disc, the $35 price tag of the new disc will only get them the improved picture and sound HD-DVD has to offer.
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[release]18834[/release]