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Specialist (The) (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (2nd April 2014). |
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The Film
 Please note, at time of writing, this disc is only available as part of the "Stallone Collection" box set. ***This is a technical review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** Two dynamic stars combine fiery action with steamy sensuality in The Specialist. Sharon Stone is May Munro, a beauty with a fatal past. She's sworn death to avenge the mobsters who murdered her parents. To do the job, she recruits ex-CIA explosives expert Ray Quick (Sylvester Stallone). Miami grows white-hot as May lures the killers and Ray detonates them into ashes. But a vicious mob boss (Rod Steiger), his brash son (Eric Roberts) and a psychotic hired gun (James Woods) with a lethal grudge against Quick won't go without a fight. The passion the two avengers share can't hide Ray's ominous question. Is May falling for him ... or setting him up, too?
Video
Warner Home Video have released the Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone movie "The Specialist" onto Blu-ray at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 (original aspect ratio is 1.85:1). The transfer is 1080p and uses and AVC MPEG-4 encode. It's good, but also flawed. The biggest annoyance for me in the transfer, was just how warm the skin tones were (despite the obvious over-tanning). Although blacks are deep, and the various brighter colours such as whites and the explosions look great, skin tones just had a slightly orange tinge to it that didn't quite fit. Detail is a mixed bag but generally strong, with a particular stand-out moment being when one of the thugs gets blown out of a hotel window into the ocean below. Some of the mid and long range shots are slightly lacking, with details appearing a little fuzzy. Several scenes feel a little soft, usually dialogue scenes in enclosed areas, but never soft enough to warrant more than a quick mention. Edge enhancement does make some minor appearances, but there are no signs of aliasing and digital noise reduction appears to be minimal. There are no hints of damage to the print such as scratches or other blemishes, and not too much noise either - just a natural thin layer of grain. The disc is region free, and the feature runs 109:57.
Audio
The following audio options have been included: - English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 - French Dolby Digital 5.1 - German Dolby Digital 5.1 - Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 - Portuguese (Brazilian) Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo - Spanish (Castilian) Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo - Spanish (Latin) Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo For my viewing, I opted for the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, which is the original language. Surprisingly, it is very heavily geared towards using the front speakers, despite the plethora of huge bomb explosions, making it feel a little wasted. That isn't to say the rears are not well used, because they are, but mainly for the score and some minor environmental effects such as crowd noise. Channel separation is moderate, but directionality good, and the LFE gives off a few nice low-end rumblings. Dialogue is clear at all times, and as to be expected for a catalogue title from a major studio, features no signs of damage such as drop outs or scratches. There's no background hiss either. Subtitles are available in Danish, Dutch, English SDH, Finnish, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin) and Swedish.
Extras
Just a theatrical trailer.
Overall
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