Herb Kane
Screenwriter
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Million Dollar Baby
Three Disc - Deluxe Edition
Studio: Warner Brothers
Year: 2004
Rated: PG-13
Film Length: 132 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Enhanced Widescreen
Audio: DD 5.1
Color/B&W: Color
Languages: English & French
Subtitles: English, French & Spanish
MSRP: $39.98
Package: 3 discs in a 3-panel Digipak in a cardboard slipcover
"Winners are simply willing to do what losers won't"
The Feature:
If all contemporary films were made like this, I might never watch another classic ever again. The fact is, however, they're not. Like a bottle of fine wine, Clint Eastwood just keeps on getting better. In what was his 25th directorial effort, Eastwood would succeed in not only directing, but producing a film that would secure seven Academy Award nominations and four wins, including Best Picture. Not only would Eastwood go on to win the Best Director award, the film's star Hilary Swank would win for Best Leading Actress and long time fan favorite, Morgan Freeman would capture his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Warner Brothers is set to release the 2004 film to our favorite format on July 12th. The film will be available as a Two Disc version for $29.95 or a Three Disc Deluxe Edition - the third disc being the film's soundtrack - which will list for $39.95.
Frankie Dunn (played by Clint Eastwood) is a tired and troubled proprietor of a run-down gym in Los Angeles. He has spent the last several years teaching and coaching a promising young boxer, Willie Little (played by Mike Colter) who has up and left his dedicated trainer for a more promising (and potentially more lucrative) shot at the title. The loss and disappointment of his young apprentice has hurt him deeply and when he is approached by a young and seemingly talent-less female boxer, he quickly responds, "I don't train girls". Maggie (played by Hillary Swank) is a 30 year old woman, who seems young by nature, hasn't had many breaks in life. The woman who was brought up on the fringe of society is tremendously persistent and pleads with Frankie to be her trainer. Boxing is the only dream she's every truly had. It becomes clear that she is extremely dedicated as she’s a waitress by day - something she's done since she was a kid - and trains tirelessly by night. She sees boxing as the only means possible, to leave the greasy café.
Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris (played by Morgan Freeman) is a former boxer, who was managed by Frankie many years earlier. Now he is the caretaker of the gym, living in a small room there and is Frankie's best friend and confidant. He's also the stabilizing factor, keeping Frankie's feet firmly planted whenever necessary. Their friendship is unflappable although it would seem they like to bicker as Frankie chastises Scrap about wearing holey socks - while Scrap wastes no time razzing Frankie about his constant reading of poetry. It's that same voice of reason that is able to convince Frankie to give Maggie that chance as he finally agrees to be her trainer. Maggie proves herself, working her way up through various title bouts but just when she's about to claim worldwide fame and success, her career takes a sudden and unexpected turn.
As the story unfolds, we learn the agony and torment Frankie is going through, as he tries to connect with his estranged daughter only to have each and every letter he sends her marked, "return to sender". He keeps the evidence of his attempts in a shoebox high on a closet shelf. Maggie, it would seem, becomes the loving and needy daughter he so yearns to have. The other burden Frankie carries is that of guilt. Years earlier, Scrap, sustained severe injuries losing eye during a title bout while being managed by Frankie. Frankie's guilt, although rarely discussed, is ever present.
The film was adapted by Paul Haggis from Rope Burns: Stories From the Corner, a 2000 story by Jerry Boyd, a 70-year-old fight manager who wrote it as "F.X. Toole." Needless to say the performances here - all of them - are terrific. The chemistry here between Eastwood and Freeman is electric as Freeman is the voice of reason, able to pull Frankie's character back when necessary. Like in the ultra-popular The Shawshank Redemption, Morgan Freeman spends much of his time telling the story by way of voice-over narration. I can't think of anyone better, to set the demure and laidback tone, at least in terms of Scrap's likeable and respectable character.
The Feature: 5/5
:star::star::star::star::star:
Video:
Whether fair, or not, I make it a habit of holding transfers of new films to a much higher standard than those of years past. I'm very happy to report that this transfer is excellent in virtually every aspect. Shown in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, this video presentation is very impressive indeed.
As we might expect, a film dealing with boxing and all things "gritty", might look somewhat gritty or slightly grainy and there are occasional examples of this, but nothing that stands out or brings attention to itself. Colors are vibrant and saturated quite nicely. Skin tones always looked real and accurate. There is a chilly hint of blue hues that frequent the overall look of the film. Blacks were deep and dark - yet never murky and whites were always clean and crisp.
Image definition was also impressive - not razor sharp, but impressive - not only on facial close-ups but on wider and longer shots. What really impressed me and stood out like a sore thumb was the amount of dimensionality and texture the film exhibits. There are a couple examples of an almost 3D like effect projected by my Sharp 9000 DLP PJ. Most impressive.
As we would expect, the print was virtually immaculate and free of any dust or dirt - scratch free. There were absolutely no signs of any edge enhancement visible on my system and the authoring seems to have been handled perfectly as compression was never an issue.
I'm sure we'll see this in HD before too long although I can't imagine the improvement being earth shattering.
Video: 5/5
:star::star::star::star::star:
Audio:
I was just as impressed by the audio presentation as I was with the video portion. Think of this 5.1 DD encoded track as "solid, but not flashy", which does everything right.
The majority of this film consists of dialogue, all of which is clearly bold and intelligible. Even during the fight scenes and film score, the dialogue is never lost among the competition. The track is absolutely clean and free of any hiss or other noisy distractions.
The track exhibits terrific dynamic range, frequently going back and forth from the subtlest of scenes to the chaos in the ring. Pun intended - the track packs a good punch which is evidenced by the visceral thuds and snaps of the boxing gloves as they connect on each of their opponents. When the connections are solid, the impact is enough to get our attention - never becoming fake or gimmicky. The soundstage is equally impressive, not only in its ability at rendering the terrific Eastwood score, but aiding in the vastness of the gym and the various boxing arenas.
A terrific use of surrounds in this film. Again, not gimmicky or distracting, but effective and subtly placed i.e. crowd noise, locker room noises, street ambiance etc. Well done. There's even a few instances of an LFE workout.
Not something you'll use for a HT demo, but absolutely effective in doing what needs to be done.
Audio: 5/5
:star::star::star::star::star:
Special Features:
The majority of supplements are located on Disc Two, while the soundtrack is on disc three for the Deluxe Edition. The set looks like this:
Disc One
[*] The only feature to appear on disc one is the Theatrical Trailer which appears here and is in pristine condition - a terrifically intriguing piece, narrated by who else? Morgan Freeman. I could listen to this man all day long... Duration: 2:24 minutes.
Disc Two
[*] The first feature is entitled Born To Fight which is a short documentary where a number of the film's participants show up. Hillary Swank talks about her training and preparing herself mentally for the role as Maggie, while Clint Eastwood makes a few brief appearance and talks about the basic premise of the film and producing a film dealing with characters who live on the periphery of society. Lucia Rijker discusses what it's like to actually be a professional boxer and how she was able to draw from her many personal boxing experiences. "Scrap" Freeman also appears offering some insight as the level headed pal who brings balance to his relationship with Frankie. Duration: 19:11 minutes.
[*] The Producers' Round 15 is a short featurette which focuses on the details of the project getting off the ground. Albert S. Ruddy discusses his initial feelings upon reading the script for the first time. Paul Haggis talks about his involvement and the collaboration with Albert Ruddy. Tom Rosenberg goes into detail discussing why he wanted Swank to play Maggie, more than anyone else. Duration: 13:02 minutes.
[*] Perhaps the best of the three featurettes is James Lipton Takes on Three which is a roundtable discussion featuring Clint Eastwood, Hillary Swank and Morgan Freeman who appear fresh on the heels of the Oscars as the trio proudly show off their well-deserved hardware. All of the participants seem fairly relaxed and they all are fairly candid with their responses. A number of interesting questions are asked and answered including the initial expectations of the film to the various styles of acting in the film. Did you know that Morgan Freeman was a serious dance student...? Duration: 24:44 minutes.
Disc Three
The final inclusion (at least with the Deluxe Edition) is the C.D. Soundtrack from the film composed by Clint Eastwood. This was orchestrated and conducted by Lennie Niehaus conducting the Hollywood Studio Symphony. The disc features twenty tracks and clocks in at 35 minutes. As was the case with the Mystic River set, I enjoyed the disc and found the score to be perfect in its ability to evoke just the right emotion. In terms of fidelity, the disc sounds terrific and spacious as I gave the MartinLogans a thorough workout.
Special Features: 4/5
:star::star::star::star:
**Special Features rated for the quality of supplements, not the quantity**
Final Thoughts:
Without digging too deeply and putting all politics and "business favors" aside, it's been a long time since the Academy awarded the best picture, the Best Picture. As much as I liked Mystic River (another film I thought should have secured one of those fancy little statuettes), Million Dollar Baby is Eastwood's pièce de résistance - the crown jewel in his filmography. The film centers around a young woman who's never been afforded the breaks many of us get in life - a woman who lives and realizes her lifelong dream. The film is emotionally powerful, lacking the syrupy, saccharine clichés of many of today's contemporary films. Million Dollar Baby is the complete package containing subtle humor as the characters are developed, compassion for likeable characters we pull for and pathos as our likeable characters come to terms dealing with reality. While some directors lose their way over time, clearly, Mr. Eastwood is finding his and this film solidifies his place as one of, if not the greatest living American directors today.
Aside from the C.D. in the Deluxe Edition which I thoroughly enjoyed, I felt the special features were rather lackluster - however, and not for a minute would I consider holding back my highest recommendation for what I consider the best film produced in years. Aside from the film itself, the presentation is superb and is a perfect representation of my theatrical experience. If you budget for only one new release of the year, consideration should be given to Million Dollar Baby. I can't imagine this set not making my 2005 Top 10 List.
Overall Rating: 5/5 (not an average)
:star::star::star::star::star:
Very Highly Recommended...!!!
Release Date: July 12th, 2005
