Blu-ray Disc/DVD REVIEW |
Remember the TitansStudio: Disney Film Year: 2000 Film Length: 1 hour 53 minutes Genre: Sports Drama/High School Football Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 BD Resolution: 1080p BD Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC @ over 15MBPS Colour/B&W: Colour Audio: English 5.1 Uncompressed PCM (48 kHz/24-bit) English Dolby Digital 5.1 French Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish (available for feature & both commentaries) Film Rating: PG
Release Date: September 4, 2007Film Rating: / Starring: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Donald Faison and Nicole Ari Parker Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman Screenplay by: Gregory Allen Howard Directed by: Boaz YakinRemember the Titans is an inspirational sports film, centered on the high school football team of a 1971 town split along racial lines. The film stars Denzel Washington as real-life coach Herman Boone, whose no-nonsense approach brought black and white students and parents together and is credited with having helped the town get through a fairly rough time. The story is a standard one – the new coach has to train his players and prove himself to them and to the town as he molds the team into a winning combination. And the execution here is just fine – soaked in the period music, hair and clothing of 1971, the whole production comes off very well. As the two coaches in the middle of the situation, Washington and Will Patton provide tough yet likeable performances, and the young cast playing the team all contribute portraits that are distinctive without overwhelming their teammates. And as a nod to time having passed since this film came out, Hayden Panettiere of Heroes has a significant role, at the age of 10. (Sorry guys, you’re getting older...) The edition of Remember the Titans being released on Blu-ray is almost identical to the original DVD release from early 2001, except for a new MPEG-4 AVC 1080p transfer and an Uncompressed 24 bit audio mix. The DTS mix on the original DVD is not carried over here, but I seriously doubt anyone will complain after they hear the uncompressed audio. Both commentaries from the original release are carried over, as are the various featurettes and deleted scenes.VIDEO QUALITY: 4/5 Remember the Titans is presented in a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC transfer that looks great, even though the information quotient is a little lower than I have seen on other Blu-ray transfers. Here it tends to hover around 15 mbps, occasionally breaking the 20 mbps line. (On other transfers I have seen, the number is usually over 20 mbps, and sometimes regularly over 30 mbps) Nevertheless, the image is solid and vibrant. All colors and fleshtones are vivid and accurate. Black levels are satisfyingly solid, and details throughout are sharp and striking, from facial hair and sweat to the bruising on an injured player later in the film.AUDIO QUALITY: 4/5 Remember the Titans is presented in a 6.5 mbps Uncompressed PCM 5.1 mix in English, along with 5.1 Dolby Digital mixes in English and French, and a 2.0 Dolby Digital Mix in Spanish. There’s a little bit of directional effect work here, with a practice whistle being placed off to the right rear of the sound field early on. (I actually turned around, to admit the embarrassing truth...) But overall, this is mostly a mix about the dialogue in the front channels and period music filling the surround channels. There is a little LFE work here, mostly to underscore the body hits during the football games. (You can bet that any player getting blocked or tackled during the game will do so to a thunderous bang on the soundtrack) This is a solid mix – just watch the volume during game time if you put the disc on late at night... SPECIAL FEATURES: 3/5 The Blu-Ray presentation of Remember the Titans includes almost all of the special features to be found on the standard DVD edition, with the deleted scenes and featurettes presented in standard definition, non-anamorphic mode. Commentary with Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Director Boaz Yakin and Writer Gregory Allen Howard – The edited commentary from the original DVD release is included here. There’s plenty of information throughout, but it isn’t necessarily scene specific, and the three men have clearly been recorded at separate times. In case you want to confirm what someone is saying, the Blu-ray DVD has included subtitle tracks for this commentary in English, French and Spanish. This feature is not listed on the packaging or the on-screen menu, but you can find it by flipping through the subtitle options. Commentary with Coaches Herman Boone and Bill Yoast – The second commentary from the original DVD release is also included here. This one is scene specific, and appears to me to either be a dual session where both coaches simply went back and forth, or a very well-edited composite of two different sessions. In any case, both men relay a lot of personal and historical information about the true story behind the movie, both in terms of the actual story and in terms of the making of the film. Both coaches take their time telling their stories, so this is a matter of the viewer/listener having the patience to wait for the gems that do come eventually. As with the other commentary, this second one also has a subtitle function that will allow you to display the comments in English, French and Spanish. As with the other one, there is no indication about this on the packaging or on the menus. Deleted Scenes (8:07 total) (480p, Non-anamorphic) - Six deleted scenes are presented in standard definition, non anamorphic mode. There’s some good character stuff here, but nothing crucial. These are the same scenes also included on the original DVD release. ”Denzel Becomes Boone” (6:15) (480p Non-anamorphic) – This is another feature lifted from the original DVD. It’s a short featurette centering on Denzel Washington’s portrayal of real coach Herman Boone, who is interviewed on camera and seen on-set with Washington as the movie is filmed. Boone doesn’t come across as nearly the hard case Washington presents, but on the other hand, we aren’t getting to see him in his prime, when he molded the team the film is honoring. Beating the Odds (6:20) (480p Non-anamorphic) – As before, this is a featurette lifted from the original DVD release. This one follows the story of Gregory Allen Howard and his odyssey of finding the story in Alexandria and getting a studio and producer to agree to film it. Given that it took years to get the film made, the story is a properly sobering one about the work required in bringing even a hit film to the point where it becomes a possibility. Remember the Titans:An Inspirational Journey Behind the Scenes (20:59) (480p Non-anamorphic) – This is the final holdover from the original DVD. This promotional piece, included in SD and non-anamorphic mode, is loaded with the usual mutual compliments between director, producer, writer and cast. The disc comes equipped with the usual scene menu and pop-up menu. When the disc is first activated, it displays 1080p trailers of upcoming movies and DVD releases.IN THE END...Remember the Titans remains a positive and uplifting football movie, and it is always worth a rental if you haven’t had the chance to see it yet. If you haven’t, it’s absolutely worth your time to see a solid hi-def transfer of the picture and sound. Kevin Koster September 3, 2007.
