- Aspect Ratio: 1.85: 1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24
- Audio Codec: English/Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: PG-13
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: September 25, 2012
- List Price: $30.99
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Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Seven Oaks University, a “seven sisters” college, has thrown in the towel and gone coed with all of the obvious male baggage included: fraternities, drunken parties, and body odor. As the long overdue successor to Whit Stillman’s The Last Days of Disco, this 2011 film follows a group of young women (“the damsels”) who are intent on improving campus life. Led by idealistic Violet (Greta Gerwig), the entourage consists of new transfer student Lily (Analeigh Tipton), the voice of reason, and her homegirls, man-hungry Heather (Carrie MacLemore) and propriety-bound Rose (Megalyn Echikunwoke). Their extracurricular activities include a so-called suicide prevention center that dispenses doughnuts, coffee and platitudes. Laced with intentionally trite dialogue and a Disney-like soundtrack, Stillman puts his crosshairs on undergraduate life and skewers all of the campus stereotypes, including the guys (“the distress”). Things start to spin out of control when Violet loses her frat-boy Frank (Ryan Metcalf) to Priss (Caitlin Fitzgerald) whom the girl group recovered from her “tailspin” AKA depression. As we dig deeper into Violet’s life, we get the too- much-information approach so revered by the social network generation. There are other sidebar stories like the developing relationship between Lily and handsome Xavier (Hugo Becker), the recovering romance between Violet and Fred (Adam Brody), and the death of the “Roman” fraternities. The film concludes with a campy Fred Astaire dance number that should not be missed.
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Most of the close-ups have a relatively soft quality with a relatively muted color palette. If the film does not make a strong case for the high-definition format, the cinematography does a good job of getting viewers into the characters and their situations.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
The varied and en pointe soundtrack in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is an essential enhancement of a film that attempts to introduce a new dance craze (“The Sambola”) that will improve society. Dialogue is clearly reproduced. The surround channels present a modest amount of ambience.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]
Sony Pictures provides a decent list of extras:
- Audio commentary by director Stillman, and cast
- Outtakes and deleted scenes
- An Evening with Damsels in Distress: Q&A with Whit Stillman and cast
- Damsels in Distress Behind-the-Scenes
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
What distinguishes Damsels from the typical low-brow college sit-com like House Bunny and National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, is the obvious preciosity of the script. Perhaps Stillman had watched Clueless, a Jane Austen rework, too many times when informing the Damsels’ dialogue. Examples: “So is probably the unkindest word in the English language,” and “With the study habits prevailing at Seven Oaks your body might not be found until spring.” The resulting storyline succeeds largely on the basis of its leads, particularly the quirky Greta Gerwig, and their almost impromptu style of interaction. Unlike Metropolitan, Stillman’s first film, that acquainted us with the college-debutante party set and was laden with clever repartee, Damsels in Distress relies more on physical comedy. An enjoyable watch, for the most part, and definitely chuckle-provoking, this film simply does not rise to the previous heights of the Stillman cinematic portfolio.
Additional Screen Captures
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Purchase Damsels in Distress on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
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[amazon-product]B0081FSMQU[/amazon-product]
Purchase Damsels in Distress on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]
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