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WATERWORLD
Studio: Universal
Film Year: 1995
Film Length: 2 hours 16 mins
Genre: Science Fiction/Action
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
BD Resolution: 1080p
BD Video Codec: VC-1
Color/B&W: Color
Audio:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French, French Canadian, German, Castillian Spanish, L.A. Spanish, Italian, Japanese DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, French Canadian, German, Castillian Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Greek, Traditional Mandarin
Film Rating: PG-13 (Intense Sci-Fi Action and Violence, Brief Nudity and Language)
Release Date: October 20, 2009
Starring: Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tina Majorino and Michael Jeter
Written by: Peter Rader and David Twohy
Directed by: Kevin Reynolds
Film Rating: 2 ½/5
Waterworld has arrived on Blu-ray, containing a solid HD transfer of the theatrical cut of the film and a standard definition trailer as its sole extra. I reviewed a standard definition release of the extended and theatrical cuts last year, and from what I can see here, the HD transfer is of the same good source that led to the standard definition release last year. The extended cut is not included here, but it’s not in a condition that HD could really help much. I had noted that the theatrical cut on that disc was in much better shape, and in high definition, the picture and sound are, obviously, improved.
As I noted last year, this film is a curiosity of the 1990’s a remake of The Road Warrior played on the ocean rather than in the desert. The production of the film went famously and spectacularly overbudget due to the massive scope of the project and the difficulties of filming on open water. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the movie – I find much of the material here to be a retread of The Road Warrior without the inherent creativity or efficiency of Miller’s film – but I can’t help being impressed by the epic scale and the clear dedication to the project by Kevin Costner and his team.
This title has previously been available both on standard definition and on HD-DVD. (I believe this may simply be a port of the picture transfer used for the HD-DVD, but I cannot verify this. If anyone else has seen an indication of this, please respond in this thread.)
There’s no extras here other than the film’s trailer in standard definition, and the usual BD-Live capability.
VIDEO QUALITY 3 ½/5
Waterworld is presented in a 1080p VC-1 1.85:1 transfer that improves on the already solid picture quality I noted on the standard definition release last year. There’s a good range of colors, and the water sparkles even more in the HD transfer than it did in standard definition. I should note that I am watching the film on a 40” Sony XBR2 HDTV. If anyone is watching the film on a larger monitor and is having issues, please post them on this thread.
AUDIO QUALITY 3 ½/5
Waterworld is presented in an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix in English, as well as standard DTS mixes in seven other languages. The DTS-HD MA mix provides clearer directional effects and more oomph than the standard definition mix I heard last year. But then, that’s an obvious point, isn’t it?
SPECIAL FEATURES ½/5
The Blu-Ray presentation of Waterworld comes with only a single special feature, that being the film’s theatrical trailer, as seen in standard definition. There is also some BD-Live functionality, including the “My Scenes” bookmarking feature, along with D Box functionality, but that’s essentially standard for Blu-ray releases these days.
Trailer (480p, Non-Anamorphic 0:56) – The only real extra on the disc is the same standard definition, non-anamorphic copy of the theatrical trailer that’s been around for the past DVD releases.
IN THE END...
Waterworld is now available on Blu-ray for fans of the film or Kevin Costner to enjoy. Casual fans who haven’t seen the film may want to rent it. More fervent aficionados likely already have this disc on their shelves.
Kevin Koster
November 11, 2009.
