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A Few Thoughts About....LOVE ACTUALLY in Blu-ray (A MUST BUY!)

post #1 of 22
11/9/09 at 4:24pm
Thread Starter 


I am falling in love all over again!

The first time I saw Love Actually was on an airline flight to
Los Angeles.  Normally I would skip the inflight entertainment and 
certainly a movie called Love Actually by title alone didn't
perk my interest, but without a portable DVD player on hand,
I decided to give this film a few minutes of my time. Well
a few minutes soon turned into total bliss as I sat spellbound
watching one the best "feel good" movies I had ever seen.
By the time we landed I was walking off the plane smiling
ear to ear.



I tried searching for my original review that I posted here 
some six years ago where I was boasting that this was one
of the best films I had seen all year while admitting that 
watching it a second time on DVD was a bit of a disappointment.
It was the first time that I had seen the film UNCUT which
introduced the storyline of the porn actors (which was totally
edited out of the airline version).  I think this is the weakest
story in the film and I dare say that I much better prefer the
edited version.


So here we are 6 years later and I am finding myself 
falling in love with this film all over again while watching
it on Blu-ray.  The film has lost none of its charm nor
warmth.  To this day Love Actually remains one of the
most "sellable" romantic comedies to those that would
normally steer clear of such fare.



What works best for this film is its cast that includes
the likes of Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth,
Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman and
Keira Knightley.  And though what could have easily
been a "stuffy" sort of English comedy has instead
turned into a very modern, fresh take on the trials 
and tribulations of falling in love.  

Universal has done a knock-out job with the Blu-ray
transfer that not only looks clean and vivid but sports a
punchy soundtrack filled with pop music that will have
you tapping your feet and uplifting orchestration that
will manipulate your feelings.  This is certainly a film
that benefits from being played LOUD!



Kudos to Universal for also picking the perfect 
window of opportunity to release this film to Blu-ray.
It's the perfect Christmas film for adults -- one of 
which I have a feeling may become a perennial
favorite.  I'm going to watch it every year just to
lift my spirits.

This one belongs under the tree for that special someone
you really care about this holiday season!




 
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post #2 of 22
11/9/09 at 5:01pm
Love, Actually is a slice of British joy - and a wonderfully charming film - glad this one looks good on Blu!
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post #3 of 22
11/9/09 at 5:27pm
Wow.  Okay, fellas.  Maybe this is one I'll have to remember as I think about films to watch with my wife around the holidays this year.

The expression we have around the office is "taking one for the team" when we've got to sit through a rom-com with the wife.  This sounds like it might actually be a good candidate for such duty.  Thanks for the recommendation.
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post #4 of 22
11/9/09 at 5:34pm
Thread Starter 
 Mike, I promise that this film will surprise you in a 
remarkably good way.

Report back will you?
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post #5 of 22
11/9/09 at 6:53pm
I most certainly will.  My wife (who, for some reason, LIKES films with Hugh Grant) knew immediately he was in the cast. 


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post #6 of 22
11/9/09 at 6:57pm
Agreed, this is the feel-good movie of just about any year.  And last week's $13.99 price at Amazon made it a true bargain.

- Steve
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post #7 of 22
11/9/09 at 7:08pm
Hmmm.  It's only $15.99 at amazon right now...
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post #8 of 22
11/9/09 at 8:54pm
Last week, Amazon price-matched Best Buy.  And it was thanks to your Weekly Roundup that I even knew it was being released on Blu-Ray!  I can retire my D-VHS D-Theater tape!  :-)

- Steve
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post #9 of 22
11/9/09 at 9:01pm
I blind bought the DVD but have yet to watch it. Since there appears to be some downtime between reviews, this might be the perfect palate cleanser. Thanks for the enthusiastic reminder!
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post #10 of 22
11/9/09 at 9:13pm


Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Tannehill View Post

Last week, Amazon price-matched Best Buy.  And it was thanks to your Weekly Roundup that I even knew it was being released on Blu-Ray! 

That was very kind of you to report, Steve!  Thanks!

I wasn't paying any attention to this title until I read Ron's review here.  One of the great things about this forum is how we pick up new information everywhere we turn.

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post #11 of 22
11/10/09 at 5:18am
Thread Starter 
Cameron,

Let  us know what you think of it.  I am hoping to
open some eyes to this film and expand the fan base.
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post #12 of 22
11/10/09 at 5:42am
This is one of those movies that is inexplicably better than you'd expect. And the cast is really strong. So many excellent actors for a film of this type really sell the stories well. It caught my wife and I by surprise the first time we saw it.

And yeah, the porn actor storyline is a bit weak, but it's funny as hell. My wife's favorite is the one with Colin Firth.
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post #13 of 22
11/10/09 at 2:21pm
 Got it at the $13.99 price. Arriving today!
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post #14 of 22
11/10/09 at 4:24pm
I just finished watching it again, and loved it.  Great picture and sound.  Next up, the commentary track, which as I recall was an interesting listen.

- Steve
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post #15 of 22
11/11/09 at 6:26am
One of my all-time favorite films!  I could never watch this too many times.  And it is NOT a chick flick, as others above have insinuated!  Curtis' latest, "The Boat That Rocked", ("Pirate Radio" in the US) is also marvelous.  I've had the UK BD since September and I'll be watching it again with my family Thanksgiving weekend, along with Love Actually of course.
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post #16 of 22
11/11/09 at 7:18am
This in on my 10 best list of all time favourites. A joy when I first watched it, and still as good with each subsequent viewing. There are so many great scenes, it's hard to pick out a favourite.
I've got the blu-ray on order and I can't wait to enjoy the movie again.  
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post #17 of 22
11/11/09 at 3:20pm
It's a beautiful film, and it looks like they had fun doing it.  I think some of my favorite threads were the English writer / Portuguese "maid" (for lack of a better term) -- particularly in the lake.  

As for the porn actors -- it's hysterical -- particularly because they AREN'T actors -- they're stand-ins!  And watching that thread develop -- wondering if, at first, it's a serious film (who else would have stand-ins?) that progressively get more and more outré...   but the whole thing is fantastic.  "You mean there was a lobster at the birth of Jesus?"  "Duh!"

This is one I'm looking forward to..

Leo
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post #18 of 22
11/11/09 at 7:13pm

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Frezon View Post

Wow.  Okay, fellas.  Maybe this is one I'll have to remember as I think about films to watch with my wife around the holidays this year.

The expression we have around the office is "taking one for the team" when we've got to sit through a rom-com with the wife.  This sounds like it might actually be a good candidate for such duty.  Thanks for the recommendation.
 

Mike,

Don't let all the "love" drive your expectations too high though.

If you treat it basically as a lightly entertaining, feel-good, popcorn flick w/ a rom-com spin for the holidays, you should do fine w/ it me thinks -- well, ok, there are sparing amounts of mildly poignant moments, but this certainly ain't It's a Wonderful Life.   Plays kinda like a who's who *and* what's what (or should that be how's how?) on how the "love" theme manifests itself as often depicted in Hollywood-style movies w/ perhaps an occasional bit of (moderately British?) tongue-in-cheek flare thrown in.

I guess, in a way, this is the opposite of a Robert Altman film -- an Altman comparison comes to mind only because of the large number of characters and their subplots/side-stories blended together, but just about everything else about it plays pretty much in the opposite direction.

And I did debate preordering it myself for the $13.99 price before, but decided I'll probably be fine w/ just the old DVD.  Maybe it'll show up (possibly cheaper) in another crazy sale before long, eg. BF/CM perhaps considering the holiday theme.

_Man_

Edited by ManW_TheUncool - 11/11/09 at 7:51pm
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post #19 of 22
11/11/09 at 8:38pm


Quote:
Originally Posted by Leo Kerr View Post

It's a beautiful film, and it looks like they had fun doing it.  I think some of my favorite threads were the English writer / Portuguese "maid" (for lack of a better term) -- particularly in the lake.  

As for the porn actors -- it's hysterical -- particularly because they AREN'T actors -- they're stand-ins!  And watching that thread develop -- wondering if, at first, it's a serious film (who else would have stand-ins?) that progressively get more and more outré...   but the whole thing is fantastic.  "You mean there was a lobster at the birth of Jesus?"  "Duh!"

This is one I'm looking forward to..

Leo
Yup, they're standins, but I always took them to be standins for a feature film shooting a sex scene rather than standins for a porn film.  That'd have to be a really high budget porno to have standins and be shooting for the better part of a week (iirc the story takes place over a week, right) whereas a week sounds about right for a feature. :-p

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post #20 of 22
11/12/09 at 8:35am
Thanks for making me aware that "The Boat that Rocked" is already available on Blu-ray through Amazon UK. I was looking forward to seeing "Pirate Radio" this weekend until I found out it's been edited and homogenized for U.S. audiences. I've ordered the UK BD version.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted Kontos View Post

One of my all-time favorite films!  I could never watch this too many times.  And it is NOT a chick flick, as others above have insinuated!  Curtis' latest, "The Boat That Rocked", ("Pirate Radio" in the US) is also marvelous.  I've had the UK BD since September and I'll be watching it again with my family Thanksgiving weekend, along with Love Actually of course.


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post #21 of 22
11/13/09 at 11:55pm
     There seem to be a couple of odd music changes on the blu-ray compared to the dvd. At the beginning of the Christmas party scene the dvd used "The Trouble With Love Is" by Kelly Clarkson whereas the blu-ray has a song by Sugababes called "Too Lost In You". This song was in the end credits on the dvd but is replaced by a cover of The Pointer Sisters "Jump" on the blu-ray.
      I can understand if the song in the end credits had to be changed for the dvd because of rights issues but I can't fathom why the other change was made since both songs appear in both versions. I'm hoping that the blu-ray is the original version that played in theaters and not the other way around. I don't suppose anyone here saw the film in it's initial release?
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post #22 of 22
11/14/09 at 3:29am
Jason,

it appears that what we have on the Blu-ray is the original UK version of the film. The US version has been modified (possibly already for its theatrical release) to include the Kelly Clarkson song.

I'm glad that the Blu-ray features the UK version to be honest. Since it's first and foremost a British film I consider this the original version, plus the inclusion of the Clarkson song is such an obvious promotional tie-in for US audiences (what with her being the first American idol winner and her first album being released a few months prior).
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