Pacific Rim: Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet Digital HD 3-Disc Set
I am going to get to the point here because there is a lot to cover. Pacific Rim was in my opinion the best popcorn sci-fi summer film of 2013 and Warner Home Video's Pacific Rim: Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet Digital HD 3-Disc Set is one of the best Blu-ray releases of 2013. The film by master genre filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro tells a story about cooperation between different people learning to trust each other in order to stop an ever increasing mass of invading inter-dimensional alien beasts bred to exterminate humanity for aliens intending to terraform our world for themselves. After 12 years of war only four Jaegers, (German for hunter), giant robots as tall as a skyscraper are left to fight the giant alien Kaiju, (Japanese for beast or monster.)
Inspired by anime, Japanese Kaiju or monster pictures while drawing upon archetypes from sports films that according to Del Toro himself range from the Basketball team unification to victory story to classic old Mexican wrestling films that Del Toro watched in his youth.
Warner Home Video's Pacific Rim: Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet Digital HD 3-Disc Set presents the film in a flawless outstanding AVC encoded 16 by 9 (1.85:1) widescreen aspect ratio, 1080p/24fps high definition picture and it is rich with color and detail. I am so amazed at how good this film looks that I almost have to ask myself if this was the same feature I attended a screening of during the summer because not even the digital 3D theatrical exhibition looks as good as this Blu-ray Disc. I wish I got the Blu-ray 3D to review for comparison, but as great as Blu-ray 3D can be for feature films, the reality is more often than not, the two-dimensional Blu-ray high definition disc experience will be the version I will be watching for years to come and it is truly for the sake of this review the one I think readers will be most interested in because not everyone likes 3D like me.
A choice of either a full booming and enveloping English DTS-HD MA 7.1 Lossless Digital Theatrical Surround Soundtrack or an English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Soundtrack as listening options coupled with French (Dubbed In Quebec), and Spanish (Latino) and Portuguese Language Soundtracks and English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired as well as French, Spanish and Portuguese Language Subtitles are encoded on the the first Blu-ray Disc as options.
Director Guillermo Del Toro gives one of his signature screen specific audio commentary tracks for both the high definition Blu-ray Disc and standard definition DVD included within the set that brings to light so much of the layers of subtext within the film that I would state you have not seen the entire film in it's entirety yet until you watch it on Blu-ray or DVD with Del Toro's audio commentary. Del Toro even acknowledges the support of people he admires that were not involved in the actual production of the film, but those who gave support upon it's release including Authors Brett Easton Ellis and William Gibson as well as Howard Stern.
Thirteen Focus Point featurettes totaling in over an hour of full 1080p/24fps high definition additional content and that is not including all the bonus content included on the second Blu-ray Disc of Special Features is included on the first Blu-ray Disc as well. The extras on the second Blu-ray Disc included with the set are also presented in AVC encoded 1080p/24fps with English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired as well as French, Spanish and Portuguese Language Subtitles.
The DVD features a standard definition copy of the film in a widescreen 16 by 9 enhanced (1.85:1) aspect ratio with English, French and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks and English, French and Spanish Language Subtitles as well. The feature length audio commentary with Del Toro on the Blu-ray Disc is also available on the DVD too. Both the DVD and first Blu-ray Disc include an Ultraviolet Digital Copy spot and trailer for The Seventh Son while DVD also contains trailers for Prisoners and Man of Steel and Video Game trailers for Batman: Arkham Origins and Guardians of Middle Earth.
The menus on all three discs are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. An insert containing a limited time only redemption code of an Ultraviolet HD Digital Copy of Pacific Rim is included within the Elite Blue BD case that itself comes in a cardboard slip with a holographic cover.
The second disc contains the interactive Director's Notebook with text, still and video shorts with Del Toro explaining his ideas and how they evolved into the final feature film. Also included are galleries containing the propaganda art and advertisement seen in the film as well as a look at the maquettes of the Kaiju designed for the film under the menu heading "The Shatterdome."
A featurette focusing on The Digital Artistry of Pacific Rim (17:10), a reel of four deleted scenes (3:45) and a blooper reel (3:52) wrap up the too many to list in one review extra value materials included within this home video set. Pacific Rim: Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet Digital HD 3-Disc Set will debut on Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at retailers on and offline courtesy of Warner Home Video.
(C) Copyright 2013 By Mark Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
