- Aspect Ratio: 1:78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Run Time: 93 Mins.
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Studio: Image Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: November 8th, 2011
- List Price: $29.99
[amazon-product]B005K1VQH0[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Alleged on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:2.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:2.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:2.5/5]
Alleged follows the infamous “Monkey Trial” of 1925 where Charles Anderson (Nathan West), a talented young reporter, finds himself in the middle of journalistic integrity and wanting to climb the career ladder. For those unaware of the story, the “Monkey Trial” surrounded the idea of whether or not it was lawful for the idea of evolution to be taught in high school. Instead of following the story behind Scopes in and of himself, Alleged deals mostly with William Jennings Bryan (Fred Dalton Thompson) and Clarence Darrow (Brian Dennehy), two different lawyers both fighting for different reasons. With these high profiled lawyers in town, Charles soon finds himself caught up in the media circus created by the trial. Now Charles must chose whether to believe in the physical integrity of journalism or to “make a story” of the trial as his boss H.L. Mencken (Colm Meaney) puts it. What results is a film that is clearly aimed at the religious folk out there.
I’ll come right out and mention that I’m not a religious guy at all. It’s not that I don’t follow religion as it can be interesting in small doses. It’s more that I find that it’s rammed down our throats a bit too much. Avoiding getting too personal and for the lack of wanting to create any real tensions with our viewers, I’ll admit that I wasn’t ‘bored’ with Alleged per se, but I couldn’t get over the overbearing religious tones. I don’t mind religious films in the slightest sense as I found Passion of the Christ to be powerful and quite moving, however, the overall issue here is that the tones are a bit too heavy at times. Instead of slightly hinting at their intentions, the filmmakers have thrown all their eggs in one basket. Instead of creating something that the casual viewer must be interested in, they’ve chosen to create something I can’t imagine many outside of religious circles enjoying.
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
The film arrives with a 1:78:1 framed, AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfer, one that captures the essence of the 1920s during this tumultuous time. Detail is spot on, especially that of facial close ups. Flesh tones are accurate as are contrast levels. The film’s color palette features a very nostalgic looking image, nothing is overly bright but it doesn’t necessarily need to be. By capturing this feel and look of the time, the transfer kind of puts you right in the mix of things. Blacks are solid and dark, featuring fine detail. The film’s print is also in good condition. All in all this is a transfer that suits the film well.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The provided DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 fares well with the aforementioned video. For a dialogue-driven film like this, the track does what it can. Dialogue is well reproduced with no instance of drop out via the center channel. Atmosphere, minus the occasional background chatter in the court room, rarely opens up as the mix tends to focus on the front channels. LFE is absent minus the called upon musical keys. This is a very by the numbers mix, but I didn’t expect much more.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0.5/5]
Only one main feature is included:
- Discussion Guide – This is broken down into 6 separate categories, with each category meant to bring about discussion in church. A covers Ambition at any cost, L is Little White Lies, E End justifies the means, G is getting ahead, God’s way, E is Every action matters and D is Destiny shaped by choices. This is certain an odd feature, but I suppose the purpose is for churches and the like to use the film as a teaching tool.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:2.5/5]
While Image Entertainment has brought Alleged to Blu-ray with a serviceable A/V presentation, the overbearing religious tones hurt the lasting impact of the film. If you aren’t a big religious believer, I don’t see you or anyone else finding any real substance here.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product]B005K1VQH0[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Alleged on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:2.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:2.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0.5/5]
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