Steven Soderbergh’s “Contagion” - a well made, but ultimately unremarkable look at the threat of a viral pandemic - breaks out on Blu-ray with a strong audio and video presentation but a lackluster set of special features.
Contagion
Release Date: January 3, 2011
Studio: Warner Home Video
Packaging/Materials: Two-disc Blu-ray “Eco-box” with slipcover
Year: 2011
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1:46:25
MSRP: $35.99
| THE FEATURE | SPECIAL FEATURES | |
| Video | 1080p high definition 16x9 1.85:1 | High definition and standard definition |
| Audio | DTS-HD Master Audio: English 5.1 / Dolby Digital: English 2.0, French 5.1, Spanish 5.1, Thai 5.1 | Various |
| Subtitles | English SDH, French, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai | Various |
The Feature: 3.5/5
Director Steven Soderbergh’s “Contagion” has echoes of his critically acclaimed film “Traffic,” with its tracking of multiple characters and storylines around a single subject, but a viral pandemic threatening the planet proves to be a less fascinating topic compared to the many-headed hydra that is the illegal drug trade. Even though “Contagion” is heavily grounded in reality - acting as a procedural on pandemic outbreak and containment for most of its run time - it doesn’t make the film’s narrative arc any less familiar. As such it hits all the requisite mileposts for a crisis / disaster film - the initial, insufficient response by government agencies to contain the threat (represented by characters played by Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard), the unavoidable devastation to the populace as it struggles to survive the crisis (represented by characters played by Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon and Jude Law), and the eventual breakthrough discovered by great minds hard at work on the problem (represented by characters played by Jennifer Ehle and Elliot Gould). The sole uncertainty early in the movie, given that it’s from a director with a pedigree in independent film, is whether things will end tidily per the Hollywood formula, or with a more unsettling (and ultimately satisfying) ambiguity. The result is somewhere in between, as the main story ends with few surprises, but then the final scenes make a rather pointed statement about how easily chaos breeds. Though overall the film proves to be unremarkable, it does wind up making a good case for frequent and regular hand washing.
Video Quality: 4/5
Presented in 1080p with the AVC codec, the transfer approximates the 1.85:1 aspect ratio by filling the entire 16:9 frame. Though the story is grounded in reality, the look of the film is less so, as it has a stylized color palette that tends toward the cold (desaturated blues and greys) and sickly (yellowish greens). The high definition format handles it with ease, however, and black levels and contrast are similarly strong and stable. Detail and overall clarity are decent and appear uncompromised by excessive digital noise reduction or sharpening tools.
Audio Quality: 4/5
Dialogue in the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix is consistently clear and intelligible. Surround channels perk up for a myriad of environmental effects - which are balanced and well-placed - but the highlight for me is actually the haunting electronic score by composer Cliff Martinez. It’s also from his rhythmic compositions that most of the lossless track’s bass and LFE get their workout. High frequency detail is also impressive, though some of that clarity can be heard through the voices like Laurence Fishburne’s.
Special Features: 2/5
There’s not much of consequence in the collection of extras, though some of the items do provide a glimpse behind the scenes of location shoots. DVD and digital copy options provide some convenience, though “your mileage may vary” considering the use of the UltraViolet service for the latter.
The Reality of Contagion (11:29, HD): Cast, crew and experts in the field of epidemiology and public health discuss the dangers of a viral pandemic and the efforts by the filmmakers to make the movie as accurate as possible.
The Contagion Detectives (4:57, HD): The cast and crew share their personal impressions of the medical professionals depicted in the film; in turn, medical professionals comment on the film’s level of accuracy.
Contagion: How A Virus Changes the World (2:01, HD): TakePart.com offers an amusing explanation of how pandemics work.
BD-Live
DVD: Contains the feature, presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic video and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio at 384 kbps. Additional audio tracks are in Spanish and French and subtitle options are in English SDH, Spanish and French.
UltraViolet Digital Copy: Store, stream, and download the film up to three times via Flixster. Redeem by January 3, 2014.
Recap
The Feature: 3.5/5
Video Quality: 4/5
Audio Quality: 4/5
Special Features: 2/5
Overall Score (not an average): 3.5/5
Warner Home Video turns in a solid presentation for “Contagion,” a pandemic procedural that offers few surprises, but plenty of reasons for frequent hand washing. The extras are limited to just a few superficial items, making for a somewhat perfunctory Blu-ray release.
