Blu-ray Review: Crimson Tide

THE MOVIE: 4 1/2 stars out of 5

Starring Gene Hackman, Denzel Washington, Viggo Mortensen and a thinner James Gandolfini, Crimson Tide is one excellent film. The film centers on a nuclear-powered, nuclear-missile armed submarine, the USS Alabama, which is deployed in the midst of a crisis involving the Russian Republic, where rebels trying to depose the government have taken control of a Russian military base housing intercontinental ballistic missiles aimed at the US. When it is learned that the missiles are being readied for launch, an order is given to the Alabama to fire their missiles in a preemptive attack. However, before the missiles could be fired, a partial message is received which casts doubt on the continued validity of that prior order. The sub’s commander played by Gene Hackman, clashes with his first officer, played by Denzel Washington, over whether the missiles should be fired which would launch World War III, all the while they are being hunted by a renegade Russian submarine. The writing and acting in this film are first rate across the board. Highly recommended.

THE VIDEO: 4 1/3 stars out of 5

Right off the bat, it is a safe bet to say that this release on Blu-Ray trounces the prior DVD release in every respect. The film is encoded with AVC and presented in its original aspect ratio of 2:40:1 and looks very good but not of reference quality. Colors are very accurate although somewhat muted. Detail is excellent as well. The black level is not as deep as I would want which robs the picture of the three dimensional image that you see on the reference encodes. The resulting image is a tad on the flat side. The net effect of all of the above is a picture that is sharp and detailed as one expects with HD but not as sharp and clear as the best looking movies on either high rez formats. Shadow detail is good which is important given how most of the film takes place in low light environment as one would expect with a submarine. While not of reference quality, this release is the best that this film has ever looked in the home environment and well worth a purchase by fans of the film.

THE AUDIO: 4 7/8 out of 5

The high rez audio on this release is presented in uncompressed PCM at 48 kHz/16 bit and sounds fantastic. The overall sound is smooth and clear with excellent detail. Bass is deep and tight and really heightens the intensity in the battles scenes between the two subs. The explosions rock the room. The overall sound field is quite immersive and captures the sound of being in a submarine, as you literally feel as though you are in the submarine with sounds all around you, to the left and right and up the side walls. This effect is particularly effective during the sub clashes as you can fell the room move around in response to the concussive effects of the explosions. Another film with a similar effect is U-571 which has a fantastic sound design. Dialogue is clear and distinct and never gets lost in the mix, even during the action sequences. Excellent stuff and why we spend the money we do on home theater set ups.

IN CONCLUSION

This is one excellent movie with very good although not reference video and excellent audio. Highly recommended.

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