HD DVD Review: Carlito's Way

THE MOVIE: 3 1/2 stars out of 5

Directed by Brian DePalma, Carlito’s Way stars Al Pacino as a former drug dealer who is released from prison due to the efforts of his lawyer (played by Sean Penn) on the grounds that some of the evidence was obtained via illegal wiretaps. Spending 5 years in prison while awaiting the result of his appeal, Carilto Brigante decides to change his ways and get out of the drug and crime business. He become involved in a nightclub with the hope of making enough money to buy into a rental car business in the Bahamas and moving away from New York. Needless to say, things don’t go quite the way he plans.

THE VIDEO: 4 stars out of 5

This is another good transfer from Universal but not quite up to their effort in Inside Man. The transfer, encoded with VC-1, looks good with accurate colors and fleshtones. However, I found the black levels to be somewhat lacking. While the outdoor scenes shot in daylight look sharp and detailed, the rest of the film looks rather flat and soft. Had the night time and interior shots had the sharpness and detail of the daylight exterior shots, this transfer would have had a much higher grade. However, given the overall softness of the rest of the film, I felt it deserved the grade that it was given.

THE AUDIO: 4 1/4 stars out of 5

The audio, presented in both True HD and DD+, is very good but with one main flaw which detracted from my overall enjoyment of the film. My main complaint was with the dialogue track which I felt to be somewhat on the thin side lacking the heft of the better audio encodes I have heard. I also thought that the dialogue track got somewhat lost in the mix during action sequences. Otherwise, the audio presentation was excellent with a smooth, open sound with good bass. I found the nightclub scenes to be particularly appealing with active surrounds giving you the feeling that you were in the club.

CONCLUSION

This another solid effort from Universal and is recommended for fans of the films of Mr. Pacino and Mr. DePalma.

For more high-def news, please click: TVPredictions.com