Directv, Verizon and The NFL Sunday Ticket? Blu-Ray Review- South Pacific
 
I read a very interesting piece the other day on Yahoo News regarding the merger of Direct TV and Liberty Media. The link is here: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/DirecTV-Gains-Content-zacks-15124240.html?.v=1. I found the article to be interesting in that it notes that the merger could be a precursor to a possible sale of Directv to Verizon Communications or AT&T. While I acknowledge that Verizon uses Directv to deliver video services in areas where they have not yet deployed their FiOS service, I can’t help but wonder if Verizon is interested in possibly purchasing Directv to get their hands on The NFL Sunday Ticket, which if made available on FiOS, would prove to be a very powerful tool to expand their FiOS service in areas where they compete directly with the likes of Comcast, Time Warner and Cox. Imagine here in the Philadelphia market FiOS being able to offer not only Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia, but the NFL Sunday Ticket. That would make it more difficult for Comcast to complete for the loyalties of the Philadelphia sports fan and would clearly result in further inroads into Comcast’s subscriber base in their home market. The same would be true in any area that Comcast serves. While I have no inside information that this is in fact Verizon’s game plan, it would seem to be a very important tool for Verizon to become the nation’s dominant video and broadband provider. Keep and eye out on this one. It could be big, really big! SOUTH PACIFIC ON BLU-RAY THE MOVIE- 4 stars out of 5 They don’t make musicals anymore, at least not like South Pacific and it is a shame. While not quite uo to the level of my favorite musical, Singin’ In The Rain, South Pacific is a darn good film with some incredible songs and score. South Pacific is more than a love story set in the South Pacific theater during WWII, it is a story about racial intolerance which is still relevant in today’s America. The film stars Mitzi Gaynor (who looks spectacular here) as a naval nurse stationed on a small island, who falls in love with an older Frenchman with a mysterious past. While they fall in Love, she can’t seem to get past the fact that he had been married to an island girl and had two children with him before she died. She allows her prejudice to get in the way of their future together. This love story is set against the backdrop of the early war effort in the Pacific after Pearl Harbor. The film features some very well known songs and was a real treat to watch on Blu-Ray. Highly recommended. THE VIDEO- 4.5 stars out of 5 There are two versions of the film presented on this release, the theatrical version and the road show version, both originally released in 1958. The road show version features 17 minutes of additional footage. The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2:20:1 and is encoded with AVC. South Pacific underwent a major restoration for this release and it really shows. I am quite certain that this film has not looked this good since its original release in 1958. While the theatrical release has been completely restored, they were not able to find the original elements of the 17 additional minutes of footage of the road show, which have not been restored. The difference between the restored and unrestored footage is dramatic. The restored footage features beautiful primary color reproduction, bright and bold colors and deep blacks. Image detail is excellent as well with very good clarity and three dimensionality. South Pacific is not as clear and razor sharp as a more modern film, as that is not how films were made back in the day. However, the fully restored South Pacific looks as good as possible given the limits of today’s technology. All of the film grain appears to be intact as best as I can tell. I am sure that the 4k restoration looks better but there is no way to deliver that type of resolution into the home environment. If you are fan of this film, you will be thrilled with the picture quality here. I sure was. THE AUDIO- 4 stars out of 5 South Pacific included a wonderful sounding lossless track encoded with DTS HD Master Audio in a 5.1 channel configuration along with an English 4.0 Dolby Digital track, an English Stereo track and a 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks in Spanish and French. I did all my listening using the lossless track. While not up to the level of a new film given the limits of the recording technology in the 1950’s, the audio track here is much better than I would have expected. Particularly impressive is the orchestral track which sounds incredible, with the heft, weight and dynamic that you would expect in a more modern recording. While the sound design is rather front heavy, there is better use made of the surrounds here than expected. While not creating a totally immersive sound experience, the audio track does create a nice surround experience during the limited battle sequences, plane sequences and musical numbers. The dialogue is fairly well recorded and well placed in the mix. Transparency, imaging and dynamics are all very good, especially considering the age of the film. The DTS HD Master track brings this film score solidly into the 21st Century and, just as the video, will thrill fans of this classic film. EXTRAS As one would expect, this release is filled with very interesting extras. Included on disc one which includes the theatrical version of the film, an audio commentary with Ted Chapin and Gerard Alessandrini, a singalong karaoke and song-only option of the film. Disc two, which contains the Road Show version of the film, includes an audio commentary with Richard Barrios, the documentary Passion, Prejudice, and South Pacific: Creating an American Masterpiece, The Making of South Pacific featurette, a Diane Sawyer interview with author James Michener on whose stories the film is based, vintage stage excerpts featuring performances by Mary Martina and Ezio Pinza, Fox Movietonews, still galleries and a Mitzi Gaynor screen test. There are tons of content here for fans of the film to take in. IN CONCLUSION South Pacific is a classic American film that has undergone a wonderful restoration and is presented on Blu-Ray in all is glory, both in terms of audio and video quality. This is an excellent release and a must have for all film fans. Recommended. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/DirecTV-Gains-Content-zacks-15124240.html?.v=1shapeimage_2_link_0
Thursday, May 7, 2009