- Joined
- May 9, 2002
- Messages
- 13,057
- Real Name
- Cameron Yee
The Book of Eli
Release Date: June 15, 2010
Studio: Warner Brothers
Packaging/Materials: Two-disc Blu-ray case with slipcover
Year: 2010
Rating: R
Running Time: 1:58:00
MSRP: $35.99
| THE FEATURE | SPECIAL FEATURES | |
| Video | 1080p high definition 16x9 2.40:1 | High definition |
| Audio | DTS-HD Master Audio: English 5.1 / Dolby Digital: French 5.1 (dubbed in Quebec), Spanish 5.1 | Stereo |
| Subtitles | English SDH, French, Spanish | Variable |
The Feature: 3/5
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland a lone traveler named Eli (Denzel Washington) carries and protects a book that in the wrong hands could become a great weapon. With most of the surviving population illiterate, there aren't many who would know it from pulp fiction, but Carnegie (Gary Oldman), the despot of a ramshackle city, has himself been searching for it far and wide, fully aware of its power and potential.
When Carnegie first meets Eli, it's the man he wants (if for nothing else than to replace the lackeys the newcomer has decimated in a bar fight), and tempts him with food, drink and Solara, the daughter of Carnegie's woman (Jennifer Beals). Though Eli isn't interested in sex, he agrees to let Solara spend the night in his room so she and her mother can stay on Carnegie's good side. While there, Solara catches a glimpse of the book, and though she has no interest in her master garnering more power, she inevitably shares what is under Eli's protection. But by then the man has escaped, intent on reaching a rumored place in the west that will finally give the book a proper home. With Carnegie and his men chasing him across the desert, the chances of that happening seem slim, but with some unexpected help from Solara both Eli and his book may finally fulfill their purpose.
Directed by the Hughes Brothers from a script by Gary Whitta, "The Book of Eli" has some thought-provoking elements around the nature of civilization and culture (or rather what it takes to keep such things alive), but sharp weaknesses in the script distract viewers from its more compelling moments. The film's main message will ultimately prove debatable for some and probably downright objectionable to others, but personally, my problem was not so much in the idea itself, but a heavy handed approach where subtlety would have been far more interesting. Because of the polarizing nature of the idea (though perhaps not so much when viewed in the context of actual history), and its in-your-face presentation, some will instantly write it off as rubbish. That's unfortunate, because there's great potential for it to fuel some interesting debate.
The other distraction is the miscasting of Kunis as the Traveler's foil and sidekick. Physically and vocally she just doesn't fit in the world the Hughes created, seeming too clean, undamaged and "modern" compared to those around her. Though one could argue her character has been sheltered all her life from abject experiences, a little hardness from the beginning would have made her more convincing (and interesting) overall, especially as they managed to hit a proper balance with Beals's character Claudia, who looks both lovely and irrevocably affected by the life she's lived in Carnegie's birdcage. Washington and Oldman turn in their usual solid performances and the production design and cinematography impress, but the film's narrative weaknesses are ultimately too prominent, making "The Book of Eli" easily dismissed as yet another post-apocalyptic also-ran.
Video Quality: 4/5
The film is accurately framed at 2.40:1 and presented in 1080p with the VC-1 codec. The image is blemish-free and exhibits excellent detail in motes of dust, stretches of dirt and rocks, and skin and hair. Overall sharpness is consistently impressive, with no moments of haziness or softness, though slight edge halos are visible in some of the more high contrast scenes where figures are silhouetted against the sky. With a stylized - mainly desaturated - color palette, black levels and shadow detail become more central to the presentation, and generally speaking they are quite good. However in the first 10 minutes of the film there are some noticeable posterizing / noise problems in the deepest expanses of black. Whether this is a byproduct of the color manipulation or the transfer is unclear (I suspect the former), but it did not show up again after the scene in the abandoned house. Contrast has also been manipulated to impart a starkness to the visuals, but even so there are few moments when things look excessively compressed, generally retaining detail in both whites and blacks.
Audio Quality: 4.5/5
Surround channel activity in the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track consists mainly of support for the score, whose atmospheric qualities are presented with excellent range and detail. Given the film's setting, where nothing really exists anymore, there isn't much variety in environmental effects; however elements like wind and dripping water are effective in giving the scenes a sense of isolation and bleakness. Action scenes with gunfire and explosions exhibit excellent dynamics, directionality and depth, with LFE proving satisfyingly robust. Center channel dialogue is also consistently clear, intelligible and properly balanced with the rest of the speaker array.
Special Features: 4/5
The bulk of the supplements are wrapped in the Maximum Movie Mode feature, though a fair amount of the material is also accessible independently (though not entirely by design). As usual, the DVD and Digital Copy are great conveniences in a world where Blu-ray has yet to become ubiquitous.
Maximum Movie Mode: Exclusive to the Blu-ray release, this amplified variation on the video commentary includes picture-in-picture comparisons of storyboard panels to the film, cast and crew interviews, branching to Focus Points (which can also be accessed separately) and a 3D pre-visualization of the final action sequence. Though not densely populated with material, it does offer a satisfactory and well-rounded look behind the scenes, though it would have been nice if the storyboards and concept art were available in a separate gallery.
Focus Points (34:24, HD)
Featurettes highlight various aspects of the production.
- The Look of Eli (5:00) - Illustrations used to establish the look and tone of the film.
- Underpass Fight (3:11) - Deconstructing the first fight scene's training and technical components.
- Building Carnegie's Town (3:16) - Set design of the ramshackle town.
- The Motorcycle Brigade (2:59) - A closer look at the two-wheeled vehicles used by Carnegie's henchmen.
- Eli Goes to Battle (3:29) - Deconstructing the bar fight scene's training and technical components.
- Eli's Mission (4:01) - Character analysis and motivation.
- Shootout at George and Martha's (3:53) - Technical and logistical aspects of the ballistic action sequence.
- Eli's Weapon of Choice (2:15) - A closer look at the character's machete-sword hybrid.
- Solara Causes Mayhem (6:25) - The technical components of shooting Solara's action scene.
- Apocalyptic San Francisco (3:28) - Designing and dressing the devastated San Francisco environment.
A Lost Tale: Billy (5:02, HD): The Hughes Brothers, working with illustrator Tommy Lee Edwards, present a story from Carnegie's childhood.
Behind the Story: Includes two longer documentaries titled "Starting Over" (13:03, HD) and "Eli's Journey" (17:54, HD). The former looks at how humanity tends to cope during times of crisis and what sociologists believe would have to happen to rebuild civilization. The latter is an overview of the film from story development to production. Much of the interview material was used in the Maximum Movie Mode feature, providing an alternative way of viewing the information that would otherwise be locked up in that feature.
Deleted / Alternate Scenes (1:53, HD): Three scenes provide a slightly different perspective on events.
The Book of Eli Soundtrack (4:59, HD): Co-Director Allen Hughes and Composer Atticus Ross talk about the film score in a press junket style interview environment.
BD-Live: At the time of review, only the standard set of Warner Brothers trailers were being offered for viewing.
DVD: For playback when there's not a Blu-ray player around. Includes the feature only.
Digital Copy: Incorporated into the DVD "Combo Disc" and compatible with Mac and Windows. Offer expires June 13, 2011.
Recap
The Feature: 3/5
Video Quality: 4/5
Audio Quality: 4.5/5
Special Features: 4/5
Overall Score (not an average): 3.5/5
Warner Brothers turns in a fine presentation of a film that has some interesting ideas and a compelling vision, but whose script problems prove overly distracting. The special features package offers a satisfying amount of behind-the-scenes material, with a slight improvement in accessibility compared to other releases with a similar feature set.
